“We’re sticking to my schedule because it’s an actual plan. With data.”
That hits exactly where she wants it to… On me.
Her eyes go sharp.
So do mine.
The galley goes quiet and even the sea lions stop barking.
“Uh, bros?” Blaze takes a step back, hand raised. “Is this still a work thing? It DEF stopped feeling like a work thing. Dr. O, back me up here. This feels like foreplay, right?”
“Positions!” Ivy orders. “Twenty minutes to live. Move!”
People scatter.
She marches to the starboard table, shoulders squared. Chin up. Every inch of her locking in. She’s flipping through a laminated checklist, thumb moving fast, eyes scanning, pretending not to see me approaching.
“We good to play nice today, Stopwatch?”
She flares at the nickname. Her head shoots up like I lit a fuse. I watch her brain spin, calculate and land (damn if it isn’t hot).
“Niceis not in my job description, Hartwell.”
“Neither is a hostile work environment, but here we are. Breaking all the rules.”
“And whose fault is that?” she fires back,her throat working once before she steadies.
“Let’s try not to turn this into a bloodbath before lunch. Can we work together today? No knives. No sabotage. Just the job.”
She goes still. “You’re askingmeif I can be professional?”
“Only for the next five hours.”
“Tempting.”
“After that, feel free to ruin my life.”
Her mouth presses tight.
“Yes,” she says. “I can be professional. I can compartmentalize. I can pretend you’re not the man who spent last night inside my body mining me for strategy.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Right.” She nods once. “Because a man would never lie to get sex?”
She turns back to the table.
“I was admiring your strategy,” I say quietly. “I wasn’t snooping, Ivy. I was blown away by how hard you work.”
“Don’t! Don’t stand there and rewrite it into something noble. You went through my iPad. End of story.”
“You’re right. I fucked up. That’s on me.”
She drops the checklist, addressing me fully.
“I don’t want your apology. I want this circus to be over and for me to get the promotion. Then, you can go back to flying by the seat of your pants, and I can erase you from my memory. Believe me, we are never working together again.”
Her glassy eyes are holding back a tidal wave.
