“I dropped the camera,” he says, his voice rough from the dive. “On purpose, Ivy. I killed the feed.”
“Good. You trusted your gut and used your hands for what mattered. That’s what I count on you for.”
He stares at me like I punched him in the nose. “And the livestream?”
“Built a new one from scratch,” I shrug. “Spammed the link until the algorithm got FOMO.”
The tension in his shoulders eases. “When I let go, I knew you’d find a way to fix it.”
“At this point, it’s literally my job description,”I say with a smile.
We’re locked in place, the space between us crowded with everything we’re not saying. He took the risk because he knewI’d have his back. He trusted my strategy as much as I trusted his impulse. We are finally in sync… a team.
EXCEPT—
We’re still rivals.
One job. One winner.
“Look,” I say, the words feeling rushed. “You’ve earned the promotion. Jumping into that water like that? Risking your life? That’s not my skill set. I’m a spreadsheets-and-structure kinda girl.”
Cole scoffs, peeling a wet glove off with a pop. “That’s me being me, Stopwatch. Jumping in is easy. What you did, all that magic behind the curtain, that’s what actually made the difference.”
“Uhhh, thank you,” I say, my heart doing that annoying flip again. “Okay, new plan. We pause the competition, pretend we’ve been nothing but friendly colleagues, and let the higher-ups make the decision. Fair?”
“No.”
“What?! Are you serious?” I snap, hands on my hips. “I’m being diplomatic here. I even managed to sound sincere. What more do you want, a parade?”
“Pass.”
He walks off like he didn’t just light me on fire. I storm after him.
“You insufferable dick!” I hiss. “I was right! We can’t work as a team. You’re impossible! You’re reckless, you’re arrogant, and—”
“Whoa, whoa… leave my dick out of this.” He grins, all teeth. “He didn’t make the call.”
“What call?”
Cole peels the suit down to his waist in one rough motion, revealing a broad, wet chest and those detestable forearms of his.
“Oh, wow! Real mature. Flashing your muscles to distract me? Nuh-uh. This fight is just getting started!”
“We’ll see, Stopwatch.”
Gah! He drives me nuts!
I open my mouth, ready to destroy him with facts, logic, and a killer insult, but he looks down and digs through his bag as though I’m not here.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Looking for something, obviously.”
He continues his pursuit of God knows what. When he doesn’t find what he’s searching for, he flips the entire bag upside down and dumps the contents onto the slick wood.
I cross my arms. “This dumpster diving of yours! This is exactly why labels exist. Systems. Organization. A place for everything.”
“Hold that lecture.” He unlocks his phone and holds it out. “Read that while I get out of this sweat blanket.”
