Stronger With Her (3 page)

“You okay, babe?” Trevor asks as we cross the well-lit parking lot.

“Yeah. Why, what have you heard?” I joke.

“Just noticed the look on your face when you saw that guy on your way out. Do you want me to find out about him?” He takes the keys from my hand as we get to my car.

“No, thanks. He just seemed like a dolphin in a sea of sharks, you know? I’m sure it’s just my lack of sleep that’s affecting my judgment.” I put my bag in the back seat.

Trevor pulls me in for a hug, which is really smashing my face in his pecs. At five foot four, I’m at least twelve inches shorter, so it’s kind of an awkward position.

“You know all you have to do is ask. Now, get home safely and I’ll see you next time you decide to come out.” He kisses the top of my head, and once I’m settled in the driver’s seat, he hands me the keys and closes the door.

I get the radio going before I drive away. It was a fairly successful night for everyone. Now, if I can get mystery guy out of my head, it will be even better.

26 days ago

D
oes everyone hate Monday? I’m generally not a morning person, but Monday mornings are the worst. Something always goes wrong, someone downloads a virus, spills coffee on his or her laptop or can’t access their email. I know that most people don’t understand the inner workings of computers, but give me a break. I’ve got to figure out something else to do with my life.

“Stephanie,” my speaker phone crackles with my supervisor’s voice.

“Yes, ma’am. What can I do for you?” I roll my eyes knowing she can’t see me.

“I need you to go down to the security desk. Apparently Jake’s screen is frozen, and he can’t get it going.”

I take a deep breath before I reply. Jake is obnoxious and doesn’t know how to take a hint. He is constantly asking me out or making lewd comments. It’s exhausting to deal with him.

“I’ll be down there as soon as I can,” I respond with as much professionalism as I can muster. Hopefully, I can just do a manual restart and be back in my office in just a few minutes.

I slowly walk to the elevator, passing many cubicles filled with other computer analysts and technicians. When I went to college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Being a child prodigy made things more difficult because there were too many options. I graduated from high school when I was thirteen years old. Of course I was homeschooled because, let’s face it, a pre-pubescent girl among seventeen-year-olds would have been a really bad idea. My sister, Erin, went to a regular public high school and she told me enough to make me glad I didn’t have to deal with all the crap.

Once I got my diploma, I entered college, taking classes online. My mother is a professor of Philosophy so she was the one helping me with my academics. My father is a chemical engineer and a workaholic so he isn’t around much. I decided to study math and I got my bachelor’s degree just before I turned eighteen. That was also the year that everything changed in my world.

The elevator dings and I climb aboard. Thankfully there are only a few people in the car. I’m not a fan of enclosed spaces, but taking the ten flights of stairs is more unappealing. When I reach the first floor, I take a cleansing breath and steel myself to deal with Jake.

“Well, there’s my beautiful computer genius. How are you today, gorgeous?” Jake stands and tries to give me a hug. I take a step back and cross my arms over my chest.

“Cut the crap, Jake. I’m not in the mood for your bullshit this morning. What’s wrong with your computer?” I look up and meet his eyes. Of course, he’s tall so it’s like looking up a mountain, but I will not let him intimidate me or show any weakness.

“God, Steph, you don’t have to be a bitch.” My spine stiffens. He’s walking on thin ice right now.

“Keep it up and I’ll file a complaint with HR. I’m not joking. Now tell me what’s wrong with your computer or find yourself another tech.” I move to the desk and wiggle the mouse. The screen comes to life, but it’s frozen.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. I was logging into the system and it froze. After the last time when you bitched me out, I didn’t touch anything and called Lindsey.” He has the decency to look embarrassed.

“What were you doing before this happened? Were you on the internet?”

“I checked my Facebook really quick, but that’s it.”

“Did you click on any videos or anything like that?” I guess that he did. I start the process of getting into the registry.

“I may have, but I can’t remember.”

“Really, you don’t remember clicking on a video. What was it, Jake? Porn? A Tumblr link? Or were you just watching kittens bully dogs?” I try to sound pissed, but the idea of him watching cat videos is amusing.

“Fuck you, Steph. It doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out anyway. I’m going to get a cup of coffee while you service me.”

“Good, take your time,” I say as I finally get to where I need to be. If he’ll go away, I can get this done and get back to my office before he comes back.

It doesn’t take too long to figure out that the asshole downloaded some malware when he was looking at gifs on Tumblr. What an idiot. Once I get it all cleaned up and back online, I hurry away from the desk. I don’t like being out in the open like this. I’m much better tucked away behind my desk and double monitors. As the elevator doors close, I hear someone ring the bell at the desk. Not my problem, I think as the car begins its ascent back to my safe place.

I
can’t believe they pay for security in this building. Most of the time when I come here the desk is unattended. I hear the elevator ding but I can’t see who’s there. I tap the bell on the counter to get my brother’s attention.

“I’ll be right with you,” I hear from the side office.

“That’s okay. It’s much easier for me to rob the place if you stay in there. Thanks, man. See ya,” I call back as I round the desk.

“Fuck you, Runt. What are you doing here?” Jacob asks as he puts me in a head lock.

“Get the fuck off me, asshole,” I say as I stomp on his foot and push him off me. I swear he’s still an eleven-year-old boy, not a grown man.

“Son of a bitch that hurt. You might have broken my pinkie toe,” he cries as he limps to his chair. I laugh at him being such a baby.

“Give me your man card. You seriously can’t be crying over that.” I shake my head and lean against the desk.

“Fuck off, lazy ass.”

“Yeah, because I can tell you’ve been working really hard so far.”

“My computer froze and the tech was working on it. Did you see her? She’s a fine piece of ass. A little nerdy, but she’d be fun to corrupt.”

“You’re disgusting, you know? Ma would kick your ass right now if she heard you talking like that.”

“So, I’m going to ask you one more time, why are you here? Did you just come to bust my balls or do you have an actual purpose for ruining my morning?” Great, now he’s going to pout.

“I’m sorry to have ruined your day, but I was told to come and remind you that it’s Ma’s birthday, and we’re all taking her out for dinner tonight. Seven o’clock at Outback on Pine and Second.”

“Ugh, do we have to go there? We should be taking her to some place really nice,” he whines as he rolls his eyes and huffs in frustration.

“It’s her choice, and that’s where she wants to go. Put on your big boy pants and be there at seven. Don’t even think about being late or skipping out or I’ll send Maureen’s crazy ass after you. You know John won’t stop her either.”

Jacob visibly shudders. “Man, I think my nuts just crawled up into my stomach. Don’t worry, I’ll be there. Do not let that crazy-ass bitch anywhere near me.”

“I knew you’d see it my way. All right, I’m outta here. Gotta go make the dollars, you know?” I slap him on the back as I move around the desk.

“Yeah, I know. It’d be nice if you’d start sharing those dollars with the rest of us, so we don’t have to slave away in places like this,” he mutters. I know he’s been a little jealous of my success, but he’s never said it out loud. I wave as I leave the building. A response isn’t really necessary.

As soon as I’m in my truck the damned phone rings. I check the caller ID on my dash before answering. “Hey, Simone, what’s up?” My secretary doesn’t call me very often, so I’m caught off guard.

“Hi, James, I just wanted to remind you that you’re supposed to pick up donuts for the meeting you have in twenty minutes. I’ve already called in the order, so you just have to drive through and get them.”

“You’re a life saver. I completely forgot, but I’ll take care of it. I’ll be there soon.”

She hangs up with a quick goodbye, and I turn the truck around to get the donuts. I can’t have a pissed off crew this week.

By the time I fight traffic and get to my reserved parking spot, I’m late for my meeting. The guys aren’t going to let me forget this for a long time, especially since I’m always preaching the merits of promptness. I rush into the building with the pink boxes hoping that the sweet treats will distract them.

“It’s about time, bro. We thought you’d run off or something,” my brother Joe says, relieving me of the donuts.

“I had to stop and remind Jacob about tonight. You know he never checks his phone. I’ll grab my files and be in there in a minute.”