“Seb’s right,” Jay said, coming to Sebastian’s defence. “We’ve been at this for hours. We can afford to take a lunch break. Besides, we all know how important it is that Milo is exposed to the culture. That’s what probation is for, right? To make sure everyone’s a good fit?”
Sebastian shot Jay a grateful look, and Jay gave him a gentle smile, tugging my sleeve again as he moved to head toward the elevator.
“Yes. Culture is important.” Luke’s eyes fell to where Jay had touched me, his mouth forming a firm line. “Let’s make sure we’re all setting a good example for Milo.”
Jay immediately let go of my arm and nodded, his Adam’s apple rolling as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, of course.” Jay winked at me, tilting his head toward the elevator. “Let’s go, Milo. Seb, you coming? The new MTRs are going to fangirl over the great Sebastian Stevens joining us for lunch.”
Seb glanced anxiously at his father, who was watching all of us with that scary, cold look on his face.
“Yeah, I think I can afford to make an appearance. I’m ahead of schedule on all my deliverables.” Even I could tell he was asking his father permission.
“Make sure you have that report we discussed on my desk before curfew,” was all Luke said, and Seb nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have a good time. It was nice to meet you, Milo,” he said, though he was no longer looking at me. His gaze had fallen to the prototype Jay had been working on. He picked it up and examined it closely. A strange feeling of protectiveness welled through me, and I found myself wanting to snatch the device out of the man’s hand.
Which wasridiculous.
The prototype belonged to Luke. This washiscompany. I didn’t have any right to tell him not to touch his own intellectual property.
Shaking off the uncomfortable feelings, I scurried after Jay and Seb, who were now chatting amicably about where they wanted to take the team to lunch.
Settling in quietly next to the two of them, I did my best to shake off the uncomfortable feelings that were swirling in my chest from that entire encounter.
I was probably just overreacting. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d catastrophized a social situation due to my chronic anxiety.
Jay glanced at me, his brow creasing in concern.
“I can hear that noodle of yours whizzing. You okay?” he murmured quietly, and I flushed, feeling shy now that Sebastian was looking at me too. He also looked concerned, and I pushed my glasses up my nose awkwardly.
“Yeah, all good. Just still thinking about the project.”
Jay smiled as the elevator doors opened to the bright, bustling MTR floor.
“Well, try to unplug for a bit. Time to meet the rest of the team.”
“You’re going to love everyone. Research is a great group,” Sebastian confirmed, his tone warm and welcoming.
I gave them both a smile and nodded.
“Alright.”
“Cool. Let’s get some lunch!” Jay beamed, stepping out of the elevator and clapping his hands jovially.
“Alright, everyone! What’s the plan?” he asked, smiling at all the eager faces of researchers ready to take a well-deserved break.
As Jay and Sebastian fielded restaurant requests, I allowed myself to relax a little.
On the bright, sunny MTR floor, it was easy to leave my worries behind.
Maybe I would make friends here, after all.
We ended up going to the Memory Tap for lunch. I was surprised to see several team members order a beer or a glass of wine with their food, and everyone spread out on the sunny patio attached to the bar.
I was spared the usual crippling decision of finding a place to sit as Jay made it clear that I was to sit with him and Sebastian at a four-top they had claimed at the far end of the patio.
