Page 96 of Napkins and Other Distractions
“My part,” Geoff says. “That’s all dependent on the servers being ready. And they’re ready. We’re good. Vincent, let’s do another performance run with the first-grade data. Better safe than sorry. We have the time.”
Vincent nods and begins pecking away at his laptop.
“Need anything from me, team?” I ask, unsure what I can do.
“We’re almost ready for the final data dump,” Shreya says.
“All right. That’s easy.” I smile, knowing my part is within my capabilities. “I’ll do it now.”
“You’ll need this.” Vincent hands me a thumb drive. Too large for email, the complete file from GradePlus needs to be copied to the small device.
“I’ll have this to you in a little bit.” I stand at the door, holding the drive up. “If you need anything, just holler.”
Vincent’s eyes glance up from his screen and the dawning of his magnificent smile appears. My lips tingle, and I quickly lick them, hoping he hollers.
CHAPTER 31
Vincent
“At your service. Corrine is checking on Sweetums. I’m all yours.”
“Thank you, Corrine,” I say as Kent leans in to kiss his favorite spot on my neck. His lips land on the sensitive skin right above my collarbone, and his scruff scratches in all the right ways, dispatching goosebumps over my entire body. Heading into a go-live weekend should have me riddled with anxiety, but Kent’s here with takeout. Kissing my neck.
Kent does a little bow in my doorway while holding plastic takeout bags with the familiar Purple Giraffe logo, a duffel, and a large gift bag.
“My favorite.”
“Wait, the food or the guy?” he asks, heading for the kitchen island.
“Both.”
Sometimes, the expected can be a salve for the soul.
“What’s this?” I ask, lifting the sparkly present and attempting to gauge its contents. The shiny blue bag dwarfs the plastic takeout ones, but its contents seem relatively light.
“A gift.”
“For me?”
“Yes, smoothie,” he says, kissing my nose, “for you. For later.” He puts the bag on the floor next to the island. “So, we’re really just going to go about our weekend like something huge isn’t happening?” Kent unpacks the containers of food from the bag.
“I mean, sort of.” I place plates on the island, making their familiar clang as ceramic hits granite. “If there are any errors, we’ll know.” I shake my phone. “Geoff’s monitoring his end, and any data errors route to me.”
“Are you hungry?” he asks, pulling a stack of napkins from the dedicated drawer. My heart melts because he remembers where they are. That I need them.
“Yes, but first,” I say, nuzzling into his chest, the warmth of his breath on my head, “I’d love a Mr. Lester appetizer.”
“Oh, would you?”
I nod, and my hand moves to his pants.
“Vincent, I’m actually a little uneasy. About the go-live.”
A tiny knot forms in my stomach, and I sigh. If Kent’s nerves are cockblocking me, I need to do my best to soothe him.
“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
“I hope so.” Kent’s fingers tug at his beard, pulling and twisting. “But after. Once you’re done. I have less than three months with Hopscotch to show the board … ”
