“Come,” he mocks. “Or we will be late.”
A deep grumble escapes my chest. I have half a mind to throw his snarky, pretty little ass up against the god damn wall and remind him who owns this fucking building.
Whose company this is.
Who he works for.
My palm twitches, fingers flexing as I try to find my grounding.
His vicious green gaze holds mine in challenge.
So my sweet little Oliver has a bitter streak. How lovely.
“I am the CEO," I say pointedly. “They wait for me.”
“Sounds quite inefficient. I would think a man like you would be more… considerate of your employees’time.”
I brush past him, our shoulders colliding as I try to take the lead, but he steps in front of me.
“Oh, I am quite considerate of myemployees’ time,” I bite. “I think in due time, Oliver, you will understand I am very considerate.”
He scoffs, but finally relents and lets me get in front of him.
My stomach twists in knots. I can feel his gaze on me, studying me.
Judging me.
Why I care what he thinks is beyond me. I do not give a shit what most people think about me or my company. I would not be where I am if that were the case. But…
There is a strange inkling inside of me that beckons for his fucking approval in a way I haven’t felt in ages. Not even with my ex, and that fact alone is damn near terrifying.
Giving anyone that kind of power… it’s…
It’s like giving the Grim Reaper your soul and trusting he will not reap it when you let your fucking guard down.
I can not give anyone that power, least of all Oliver.
Oliver taps away on his computer as I let out a heavy breath. Chickadee purses her lips.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I bite at Ericson. He’s young, like Oliver, but he’s smart as a whip. Usually.
But today… today he is trying my patience. Or perhaps I am the one who is out of sorts. Again.
“The code is… conflicting,” Ericson says with a huff as Maria and Bill, the other two leads on Project Phantom, stare at me in concern.
“I don’t see how.” I cross my arms. “You three are thebestengineers on my team. Are you seriously telling me that you can not isolate the cause of the malfunction in not one, not two, but seven prototypes?”
“Yes,” Ericson says skittishly.
“For fuck’s sakes, what the hell am I paying you for then?” I snap.
“Sloane…” Chickadee groans. “Take it easy. Let the man explain—”
“There is nothing to explain!” I shake my head. Oliver stops typing. I catch his gaze out of my peripheral vision. “They had one job, Chickadee. One! Isolate the source code for the malfunction. They’ve had months.Months, and yet here we are…”
“It would help if I had the original source for the code,” Ericson says and I bow my head in frustration.
The original source code.
