And she was about to be my lab partner for our mid-semester project. We were going to be unstoppable together.
Leyla stepped into the classroom, laughing with a friend about something she’d seen on TV, her wide smile overtaking her sweet face. Freckles adorned the bridge of her nose like a constellation of stars. I knew they got darker over the summer, a fact that I stored away in my ever-increasing vault of things I noticed about her.
She was the equation I never saw coming. She intrigued me, challenged me, and I had a hard time figuring her out. I’d nevermet a woman like her, and my attraction to her had only grown over time.
This joint project was my chance to finally spend time with her in a place where I was most comfortable and let her see who I really was. I had prayed over and over that she would be my partner before receiving that email. God must’ve known how much it meant to me.
Yep. Leyla Cooper was my lab partner, and I was going to use this opportunity to win her over. She just needed to get to know me and maybe give me a chance.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nikolas
Present Day
Leyla Cooper was never goingto give me a chance. Not nine years ago and not now. Even though I knew this deep in my soul, it didn’t stop me from going after a job at her company.
My blue Armani suit made me feel confident, even though my palms were sweating and my pulse was high. Knowing I’d see Leyla in a few short hours had my nervous system in overdrive. It was chem class all over again. Gone were the days when I tried to change who I was to fit in, but there was no way I was walking into Earth Organix on my first day wearing anything but my favorite suit. I needed every advantage.
When I saw the LinkedIn job listing for an R&D department head at the company she led, I didn’t hesitate to apply. After the blowup at UCSD, I tried to explain what happened, but she shut me out completely. After seeing her go to extreme, ridiculous lengths to avoid me for the rest of that year and our senior year, I finally gave up.
It was beyond me why she wouldn’t give me a chance to tell my side. Having something unfinished for so many years festered in me. I didn’t do well when I couldn’t finish something I’d started, and this had eaten away at me for years. Even when I filled out the application, I knew I was risking rejection again. From Leyla’s actions it had been clear.
She and I were enemies.
Well, I washerenemy. I never felt it was mutual. We had just started building a friendship when everything went down, but she ignored or blocked any communication and would turn around and walk the other way whenever she saw me. I gave up trying.
It was easier to just ignore her the way she ignored me, and after graduation, I was sure I’d never see her again. Not for a lack of trying, though. My attempts to find her at her favorite surf spots during those first few years after graduation were unsuccessful.
It was stupid to apply because I knew the second Leyla saw my name, she would laugh hysterically and toss my resume away immediately. Yet I couldn’t help myself.
When I received Lucas Austin's email and subsequent video interview, I was shocked to learn I’d been hired. I was surprised to see him leading this job hunt, given his role as CFO, but I believed God was answering my longtime prayer to bring her back into my life. All I could hope for after all these years was that she had forgiven me.
While we were working together on that fateful project, my admiration had only grown. Long before everything fell apart, I realized with absolute clarity that my feelings for Leyla had also grown in a way that surprised me. She inspired me, challenged me, and pushed me out of my structured comfort zone. She made me nervous in a completely different way, and I had been grateful just to be in her orbit.
While doing the four-count box breathing exercise that my counselor taught me, I straightened my tie and nodded in the mirror.
“Time to show her that I’m not a jerk after all.” I’d long given up on ever winning her over as someone she could love, but I’d settle for being her friend over her enemy any day.
Upon arriving at Earth Organix, the receptionist gave me an employee badge and directed me to the lab elevator. I had no idea whether Leyla or Lucas would greet me, so I sent up a quick prayer for favor and for my palms to stop sweating.
Spoiler alert. They did not.
I nodded at a few people who got into the elevator with me. Keeping my eyes forward and avoiding eye contact, I made sure neither of them would try to initiate small talk. Having a root canal would be less painful. I snorted at my own joke, causing the two women on my left to look at me with concerned expressions, which I promptly ignored.
When the door to my floor opened, I stepped out and took a deep, fortifying breath, only to choke on it when I saw Leyla coming out of an office with a frown. Her hair seemed to be blown by unseen winds, making her look like she was in a photoshoot.
Was that music I heard in the background?
Unfortunately, the goal of making a great first impression was shattered as I tried to stop the coughing fit. Leyla and the woman walking next to her stopped talking, their attention now on me, my sweaty palms, and red face.
Way to go, Niko. Well, at least I looked good.
I saw the second recognition registered on her face. Her tight smile slid into a grimace, but not before something fiery flashed in her eyes.
I’d been privy to that look before. It was the same explosion of green when Leyla was frustrated at a problem she couldn’tsolve or when she fought me on a point she disagreed with. The last time I’d seen that flash of color was when she told me what a self-righteous jerk I was before completely walking out of my life.
I cleared my throat, grateful to finally breathe again. She and I stared at one another in a battle of wills. I wasn’t sure if it was some strange game of chicken to see who would look away first, but she’d lose this one. There was no way I could tear my gaze from her beautiful face. The face I’d only seen in photos over the last ten years.
