Page 21 of Secondhand Secrets

“Moon eyes?” Her voice pitched up, and she shook her head, momentarily pretending she didn’t know what he talked about. “Okay, maybe I did.”

He let out a sigh, his stare still burning into her, demanding something she either couldn’t or didn’t want to decipher. Like he wanted her to dig deeper to unearth what really held her back.

She slumped in her chair, allowing her shoulders to sag, forgoing her will to pretend any longer. “You’re returning to Boston in a few weeks.”

His brow crinkled, and his softened gaze roamed her face, as though he sought to gauge her thoughts. “Yeah, I am.”

And there it was. The other reason that kiss would be a one-time thing.

“Chip”—she swallowed at the thickness in her throat, a thickness that delayed her ability to explain why she held back—“I don’t want to fall for someone who won’t be around.”

Ten

“Hello, is this William Overton?”

Chip sat in his office with his phone pressed to his ear, this new office his childhood bedroom while he’d taken over the main bedroom for actual sleeping.

This call now interrupted his latest attempt to debug the issues with Stonewall’s network protocol stack. The easygoing voice on the other end of the phone seemed bright with enthusiasm. Still, the use of his formal name, William—just like his dad tended to do—had Chip sinking deeper into his office chair and frowning at his computer screen. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“This is Jay Evans. I’m senior management at Encode Enterprises.”

Chip paused, before rolling his seat back and sitting taller, as though Jay could see him rather than just hear him. “Is this about my grant application?”

Though he did his best to sound unaffected, he’d been waiting weeks for this call, and his hasty delivery was hard to miss.

Jay gave a quick chuckle. “Certainly is. Firstly, hello, Mr. Overton. Secondly, I’m calling to say your application for our Graduate Fund has proceeded to the next round. A note from your screening interview states you’re not currently in Boston. Is that correct?”

“I can return if needed.” The speed of his offer brought a dull ache to his chest, springing to mind Ally Egan’s words.

I don’t want to fall for someone who won’t be around.

She’d disclosed her limits just that morning, and he’d already proved her right. Then again, even without the news his application had progressed, an invitation to apply for an Encode grant alone was a big deal. Meanwhile, Ally had all but turned him down, and he didn’t have the luxury of chasing dead ends.

“That’s great to hear.” Jay’s voice brought him back to the conversation. “I’ve had a look over your proposal, and frankly, Stonewall sounds like a powerful program.”

“Thanks.” A relieved sort of chuckle fell from Chip. “It’s nice to talk to someone who understands what I’m working on here.”

Jay returned the laughter. “Oh, yeah, I get it. Though you’ll find being misunderstood is less of a problem when you work at Encode.”

“You mean if I get to work at Encode.” And still, Chip’s breath halted at Jay’s mere implication that he might get to work at Encode.

“You’re a step closer now, and if you do get the grant, you won’t be just working at this company. Your idea will become one of our products with all the perks that come with being a product co-owner. Actually”—he dragged out a pause, one that suggested hesitation—“having looked at your project, I wanted to ask if you’ve considered what reverse engineering your technology might do?”

“To be honest, not really.” Chip paused now, too, mostly because he worried that he should have thought about reverse engineering. “I’ve been too busy just getting the code to function.”

“Well, your tech has unique capabilities. So, think about it now.” Jay’s business-like tone pitched a genuine request for Chip to do some on-the-spot brainwork.

“I mean, yeah.” He took a moment to think, whatever his reply now, he’d likely spend days flicking through the many layers to Jay’s question. “I guess a reverse-engineered Stonewall could potentially breakdown a number of security measures to allow access to otherwise protected data.”

“Mr. Overton, this is where I would advise you to be very careful with which company you trust your work to.” Jay held a low, grave tone, one that made the muscles over Chip’s stomach harden. “Provided you get this grant, Encode has the capabilities to manage such a precarious project, but not every company will. So, back to the task at hand, remaining candidates need to put together a final pitch to present in three weeks’ time.”

A thick knot formed in Chip’s throat, not just from Jay’s gloomy warning, but because the pitch would be tied with the pressure of keeping his project on track. “I can manage that.”

The statement hung as a lie around him, or maybe an attempt to convince himself as much as Jay.

“There are only two other candidates left, and you’re all invited to Encode’s Annual All Staff gala the night prior to your final pitch. The evening is an opportunity to build connections, regardless of whether you get the funding. Although—” As if mulling over his next words, Jay took a moment before speaking again. “I should also mention the grant’s budget is far more flexible than what’s stated in the application terms.”

Chip’s gaze clouded over, and he rubbed his fingertips over his forehead. “What exactly do you mean?”

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