Page 1 of Fight for Me
1
They say somepeople never quite grow into their ears, and Dr. Marchenko—bless his heart—was a prime example.
Jake hid a smile behind his Canon and focused through the viewfinder, snapping the old professor’s headshot with as much professionalism as he could muster. It was never a good idea to laugh at your clients, even if they did look like they might fly away at any moment.
“There you are, sir,” he said. “Quick and painless.”
Dr. Marchenko rose shakily from the metal stool, taking an extra step to stabilize his stooped frame.
“Thank you, young man,” he wheezed. “I don’t know why they need a new photo every year. It’s not like I can get any better looking.”
Jake chuckled, setting his heavy camera on a side table as the old man shuffled away. The room emptied for the first time all morning, and he heaved a sigh of relief before ducking into hiscubicle. Julie Carter’s voice rang out from the hallway seconds later.
“Andy, are you here?”
“That depends on what you need,” Jake’s boss answered, emerging from his office.
Jake kicked his well-worn boots up onto his desk as their voices buzzed in his mind like white noise. He caught the words “intern” and “first day” in the hum of conversation, followed by the name “Lexie Preston.” He froze, his blood pressure automatically rising. Surely they hadn’t said—
“It’s nice to meet you, Lexie. Just have a seat, and we’ll get your staff photo,” Andy replied.
“Thank you, sir. I’m excited to be here,” said a young woman, and Jake’s heart hammered in his chest at the familiar sound. He pressed his feet against the edge of his desk and stretched back in his chair, trying to peek around the partition. He could see Andy’s back and shoulders. Then, leaning a little farther, the side of Julie’s head came into view, her dark hair twisted into a sleek bun. But Jake still couldn’t see who was on the stool—the new intern, the girl whocouldn’tbe...
Distracted by his own curiosity, Jake forgot to account for the laws of physics—namely, the fact that objects fall downward—and he crashed to the ground in a thunderous avalanche of limbs and equipment as his chair whipped out from under him. Several photography books and his computer keyboard joined him on the floor.
“As I was saying, I have an intern as well,” Andy said as Jake rolled into view. “This is Jake Tanner. It’s his second year working with me, and he takes better pictures when he’s right side up.”
Jake swallowed a groan and managed a weak wave in the general direction of his new audience—his internal body temperature hovering somewhere around eight million degrees.As he opened his eyes a fraction, he registered a head of blonde hair and a dark blue dress on Andy’s left. A pair of green eyes swam into focus a second later, and Jake noticed they were full of laughter, undoubtedly at his expense. He did his best not to spontaneously combust as he slowly disentangled himself from the chair.
“Well, that was quite an entrance,” Andy said dryly after the women had gone. “Can I get you anything? Tylenol? A defibrillator, maybe? I think we’ve got one in the hall.”
“I hate you,” Jake muttered, drawing a laugh from his supervisor who, at only six years Jake’s senior, often felt more like a friend than a coworker.
“You know her?” Andy asked.
“Not exactly,” Jake admitted, righting his chair.
“Oh, well, don’t worry about it, Tanner. You’ve got a whole year to prove you’ve got a brain.”
A year. Awholeyearwith Lexie Preston.
Maybe the universe had taken pity on him after all.
“Honey, I’m home!”Lexie called as she pushed open the door of her new off-campus apartment. She stopped in the doorway, caught off guard by the enormous bouquet of red roses that took up a large portion of the small dining room table.
“What’s this?” she asked, raising her voice to be heard above the staccato of exploding popcorn kernels coming from the kitchen. She dropped her laptop bag onto a chair and plucked a small card with her name on it from among the blooms.
For my best girl. I can’t wait to see you! –C
“Some delivery guy dropped those off a little while ago.”
Lexie looked up to find her roommate, Olivia, leaning across the small bar that separated the kitchen from the dining areaand open living room. She set the card down on the tabletop and bent to inhale the thick scent of the flowers, which were all perfectly shaped and identically vibrant. The whole arrangement must have cost a fortune. But then again, Colton Derricks had never been one for small gestures.
“How’s all that going?” Olivia asked, her voice tentative.
Lexie glanced up to find her best friend watching her carefully, searching for cracks.
“It’s good,” Lexie said. “He’s at a conference today, or he would have come by.”
