Page 77 of Nerdelicious
I laugh. “You’re saying I need to be the hero in my own story.”
You already are.
“Thank you. I had already kinda figured that out, but I like the way you put it better. You have a way with words.”
And then he smiles. A heartbreaking, happy grin that crinkles his eyes.
My breath catches in my throat.
I’m pretty sure my heart is gone. Toast. Donezo. And despite the inevitable pain looming on the horizon, loving him will be the most exquisite self-destructive decision I’ve made yet.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Areyou trying to bring the fandom here?”
“I am the fandom.”
–Overheard at Comic-Con
It’s still early when I wake up, wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and sweet-smelling man. Beast is sprawled across the bed and I’m lying half on top of him. There’s no choice in the matter, considering he takes up the entire mattress.
But I’m not uncomfortable. I could stay here forever.
He makes me want to give it all up. Maybe I could work remotely. Or I could really be a homeless wretch and hang out in front of the H-E-B with Ol’ Roy.
My phone emits a muffled chirrup. My purse is out in the entry where I dropped it last night.
I wiggle out of bed and race to answer it. It might be Granny. She’s probably realized I’m gone and now she’s totally freaking.
I pick up my phone and it’s a New York area code.
Frowning, I answer. “Hello?”
“Fredericka? It’s Amber. From Comix.”
“Oh.” Surprise colors my voice. “Hi Amber, I’m surprised to hear from you.”
I squint at the clock in the kitchen. It’s early yet. Six thirty. But that would make it eight thirty in New York.
“I bet. Listen, I’m really sorry about the email that was sent.”
This is weird. A former prospective employer calling to apologize about their rejection of me?
She continues, the sound of traffic and wind muffling her voice, like she’s walking the streets of the city. Something in my heart lurches at the sound. I didn’t realize I missed it until now. “Apparently there was some kind of glitch in our system and it sent you the standard refusal notice. It shouldn’t have mattered, because I’ve been trying to call you for the past week anyway to offer you a position, but each time I tried to call you from the office, it would ring to a Domino’s. IT said somehow the calls were being routed wrong. So I finally decided to try from my personal cell, and it worked!”
“That’s... so weird.”
Grace.
It has to be. And another thought strikes me in that moment. If she did something to sabotage my chances with this job, someone she’s only known for a few months, what would she do to keep Beast around?
“So what do you think?”
I snap back into the call.
“About...” Does she know I know who messed with their system?
But Amber just laughs. “About the job. Are you interested?”
