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“A-and I’m not asking for a lot of money. I just want to get this out there in the world.” His excitement drained away, and he straightened in his seat, like he was trying to appear more professional. “When I sign a contract, I’m going to insist on the kind that guarantees the company will produce a working product within a certain timeframe, or the rights will revert to me. That way, I can make sure there’s forward progress. And if I can eventually get back the money I spent so I can get a car, I’d really like that also.” He chewed his lip uncertainly. “I… I guess I did get a little pitch-y there at the end. Sorry about that.”
Oh, god, he was planning togivethe idea away? The man had no idea just how profitable this idea was going to be. None whatsoever.
I stared at him for a long moment, not sure how the hell I was supposed to tell him what had been going on behind the scenes. And as I stared, his face fell further.
“Crap. Is it… terrible? Like, no hope at all?” he asked in a small voice. “Maybe I’m just not explaining it well. If you let me get my PowerPoint— I havecharts. Data I’ve collected. Screenshots from the app I built, which are pretty trash right now, but… Just… shit, Bash, say something. Tell me what you’re thinking. Don’t sugarcoat it.”
“What I think,” I said slowly, “is that you are amazing. Inspiring. And a little bit brilliant.”
Rowe’s cheeks flushed, and his eyes went shiny. “Really? Oh, shit. Wow. Okay.”
“I think Project Daisy Chain is amazing, too.” I set my jaw. “And that’s exactly what I thought the first time I heard it… When someone else presented it to me.”
“The same idea?” Rowe stared at me in shock, and his brown eyes filled with tears. “What?”
I was a man who’d never had a Kryptonite, an Achilles heel. There’d never been a button anyone could push to bring me crashing to my knees in despair… until now, apparently, because seeing Rowe so upset made me want to burn the fucking world down.
Hearing his project pitch, knowing just how much effort—how much of his heart and soul—he’d poured into the concept for Project Daisy Chain, had made me ready to sign my fortune over to him if that was what it would take to take the look of desperation off his sweet face. Now, seeing his entire face crumple in confusion made me want to go downstairs, find Austin Purcell, and assault him… possibly with a burrito.
“I don’t understand how this is possible. I swear, Bash, this was my idea. I know I lied before—about being Sterling, and playing polo, and… and…Bubbles—but I’m telling the truth now.”
“I believe you.”
Rowe didn’t seem to hear me. He jumped to his feet and began pacing, swiping an impatient hand under his eyes. “I have every bit of my research, starting with the first scribbles in my design notebook. I even wrote down the episode of the show I was watching when the idea first came to me.” He patted his pockets and seemed distraught to find that he didn’t have his notebook on hand.
“Rowe, I believe you.”
“And you can ask anyone. I have witnesses. My parents will confirm it.” He paced as far as the window and turned back. “I mean, granted, they have no freaking clue what I was actually doing since they never really paid attention, and I guess they’re not great witnesses since they’re myparentsand not exactly impartial, which is the same reason Joey wouldn’t be a good witness either, but— Oh! Bobby and the guys at the Tech Barn! They could vouch for me, at least partly. And one of the hospital administrators—her name’s Tracey, and we got to be friendly when we talked about her office redesign—she could tell you—”
I stood up, blocking his path, and grabbed both of his biceps as he prepared to turn toward the window again. “Rowe. Ibelieveyou. I don’t need to talk to any of them.”
Though our corporate lawyers certainly would. They’d want every scrap of evidence they could get their hands on.
Rowe looked horrified by my response. “But youshouldn’tjust believe me, Bash. You should demand proof.” He shook his head likehewas the old and wise one of the two of us and I was hopelessly naive. “You’re so kind, and I lo—like that about you, but you really need to stop letting people take advantage of your generosity. You know?”
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. It was a novel thing to have someone be protective of me that way, but I kind of liked it… even though it was wholly unnecessary. It was true that I was generous when it came to money, but only because I had more than I could use in several lifetimes. With other things, though—with my time, with my effort, with my true feelings—no. There were very few people I would give those to unreservedly, and even my own parents didn’t make the cut. The short list included Silas, Dev, Landry, Zane, Kenji…
And now, it seemed, Rowe Prince.
The realization made me a little light-headed.
I was a risk-taker by nature, but usually, those risks were carefully calculated based on my own knowledge and experience. This thing with Rowe was like nothing I’d ever experienced before, and there was a cacophony of voices in my head—voices that sounded like Kenji and Silas, mostly—reminding me that I should pull backnow, but… I didn’t want to.
Scary as it was to feel this way, it had been scarier still when I’d thought Rowe had walked away from me for good. I wanted a chance with him. A chance to get to know him for more than two quick days. To see if this instant chemistry and attraction—thispotential—between us could actually develop into something real.
Landry had reminded me that I had good instincts. It was time I trusted them.
“Come here.” I led Rowe to the sofa and sat down beside him. I wanted to pull him in my arms, but I also knew that once I did, I wouldn’t be letting him go, and we still had a lot more to talk about.
Of course, because he was Rowe, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, he couldn’t help running a hand over the cushion like he was admiring the lines of the furniture. “This is really nice. And I love the color. Someone who really knows your style picked it out. Was it you?”
I shook my head, amused despite myself. “No, Kenji.”
He nodded, then frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Do all the board members have offices here in the building? Is that common?”
Not unless you were more than simply a board member. “No. Only Silas and me, though Silas doesn’t spend much time here these days. Look, Rowe—”
“I’m gonna get my notes and send them to you,” he interrupted. “It’s important to me that you know for a fact I’m not lying, in case later you start to wonder. I… it’s stupid, maybe, but I don’t want you to remember me that way… after.”
