Rose’s face lit up like a cartoon cat. I lifted a warning finger.
It didn’t stop her.
Rose scooched closer. “I’m trying to find her social media accounts. It doesn’t seem like she has any. The only photo of her on the entire internet other than her modeling years is one that is so beautiful it’s surely fake.”
“Cool,” I choked out, trying not to sound too interested. She’d never mentioned anything like that. In fact, she rarely spoke about herself even though she seemed to be talking all the time. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t like her in, like,thatway, and I’m only saying that because I know you need to hear it.”
“I mean… office romance is my second favorite trope,” Claire said. “Weren’t you annoyed with her at first? It could totally count as enemies-to-lovers.”
Rose tilted her phone toward Claire, whose mouth dropped open.
I grumbled, dropping my head in my hands and hoping my curiosity wasn’t showing.
“Oh my goodness, she’s gorgeous. Is this her?” Neema turned the phone to face me.
I spotted those now-familiar gray eyes. Her hair was redder, and her freckles bright. But it was her. She was breathtakingly beautiful. And they all agreed, so that was simply a fact. It didn’t mean anything. It was scientific if you considered that the majority in this room thought so too.
I nodded.
“No wonder you have a crush on her.” Rose let out a failed wolf whistle.
“I don’t.” I looked at Claire for help. “I said I don’t.”
She raised her brows and simultaneously narrowed her eyes. “You sure?” She wasn’t teasing like the rest of them. She looked… worried.
“I don’t. She’s nice and smart and kind… and a better engineer than I expected her to be. I misjudged her. I’m the problem here,” I rambled. “And besides”—I tried stopping myself but the words came out faster than I could filter them—“she’s my employee. Even if I did like her, I can’t do anything about it.”
I glanced over again and saw the caption on the photo read:GB Production Princess. Nausea gathered in my stomach.
“So, youdolike her,” Neema teased.
Shaun leaned in for a closer look. “I get it.”
“Stop, okay? Stop, please.” I rubbed my hands across my face and all the way to the back of my head. “Talking about her like this is inappropriate.”
“Sorry,” Rose retracted fast. While she was quick to tease, she also knew when to pull back and never pushed thereafter. She silenced the rest of them with a glance. “We won’t say anything else.”
William also knew when to fly to her rescue. He grabbed his laptop. “Change of topic.”
I blew out a long breath, grateful for whatever it was William would show us.
“Rose and I have game news.” He navigated over to the video game he and Rose designed together and double-clicked it. “Overpoweris ahead of schedule, and Thunderstruck wants us to capitalize on the current buzz around genre-blending and host a huge in-person LAN where local gamers can access an early version.”
He opened a saved file, and a dark-haired sorcerer appeared on-screen with a sharp-eared dwarf that undoubtedly resembled Rose.
My eyes widened, and I leaned in. I hadn’t seen these updates. “This looks incredible.” I’d been following the creation of this game since William had the brilliant idea of surprising Rose with it. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to play this version.”
Rose beamed, and I could see how she tried her best not to launch herself into my arms. “Really?”
Over the last few years, I’d been updating Lily onOverpower’s development, knowing how much she’d love it. And how much I’d love experiencing it with her. In my head, I’d already blocked off release weekend in the hopes she’d be available to play it with me.
“It’s sometimes all I can think about.”
Wait.
Lily follows William. She could see his announcement. For an in-person LAN.
That means… Lily could be there.
