“Interesting.Bothof you are glowing,” Caleb says, grinning like the cat who got the cream. “It’s almost as if you were engaging in certain activities that induce such a ‘glow’.”
My face feels hot. And even Landon chuckles. I’m being laughed at by the man whose approval I need for FDA submission. This is fine.
“I’m not going to drag my personal life across the conference table during a critical project meeting.” I glance at Landon, who’s now watching the exchange with an amused expression. “Especially with Landon here. He doesn’t need to be part of our dysfunction. This is supposed to be a professional environment.”
“I’ve seen and done worse,” Landon says mildly, chuckling lightly to himself. “My wife and I got together after she infiltrated my company as an intern, convinced I’d cheatedher father out of his fortune. She was twenty-two. I was in my forties. We fell in love over corporate espionage and false accusations.” He pauses. “We’ve been married five years now. We have a daughter.”
The room goes quiet.
“I’m not suggesting your situation is the same,” Landon continues. “But I learned a long time ago that personal and professional lines blur whether you want them to or not. The question isn’t whether it happens—it’s how you handle it when it does.”
I don’t know what to say to that. Landon James—billionaire tech mogul and NeuraTech stakeholder—is apparently fine with workplace romance confessions.
“Willa would like Audrey,” he adds, almost to himself. “They’re similar in some ways. Both brilliant. Both convinced they’re ‘too much’ when really they’re just right.” He picks up his tablet again. “But that’s none of my business. You were saying something about FDA timelines?”
I stare at him for a beat too long.
Too much.That’s the phrase that’s followed me since I was eight years old. Too intense. Too focused. Too strange. Too much of everything people don’t want.
But Landon said it like it was the problem’s fault, not mine. Like being ‘too much’ was just a mismatch, not a defect.
I don’t know what to do with that.
Bennett clears his throat, but Caleb isn’t letting this go.
“So?” He’s practically bouncing in his seat. “Come on, Logan. Landon just shared his love story. Your turn.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“It’s exactly how this works. Cough it up.”
I look at Bennett, hoping for backup. He just raises an eyebrow, waiting.
“Fine.” I exhale. “We kissed. In the lab. Before the meeting. That’s why we were late.”
Caleb lets out a cheer that’s entirely too loud for a conference room. Bennett’s face breaks into a rare, genuine smile. Even Jenna looks up from her tablet, something like satisfaction flickering across her features.
“Finally,” Caleb says. “Serena and I have been together for months. Bennett and Layla areengaged. You two have been circling each other since before any of that happened.”
“We were focused on the project.”
“You were focused on pretending you weren’t staring at her.”
Pretending you weren’t staring at her.The accuracy of that stings. I thought I was being subtle. Turns out I was just being slow—so slow that two entire couples formed around me while I was still working up the nerve to make eye contact. And now they’ll all be watching to see if I can actually do this.
Which begs the question—What happens when it falls apart? What happens when she realizes the version of me who kissed her in that lab was running on pure adrenaline? That underneath, I still don’t know what I’m doing. That I won’t unless she decides she wants to teach me. How could that be fun for her?
My chest tightens as my mind spirals. And I shove the thoughts down before they can take over.
Caleb just grins and shakes his head. “You know, I’m amazed the sexual tension between you two didn’t short-circuit the simulation equipment.”
“That’s not how electricity works.”
“Don’t care. I’m too happy to care about physics right now.” He pulls out his phone. “I’m texting Dominic.”
“He’s already guessed.”
“I’m texting him, anyway. He’ll want confirmation from a reliable source.” His thumbs are already flying across the screen. And I sigh when my phone buzzes a moment later.
