David nodded and led Nick inside, to a compact kitchen with cheery yellow linoleum, where he rifled through an aged refrigerator. “Do you want a beer? Maybe some orange juice?”
Nick took his bearings, searching for hidden cameras peeking from the light fixtures. Maybe this was like one of those reality TV shows where some unsuspecting bystander got pranked.
But also, he was pretty damn thirsty, now that he thought about it. “Yeah, man. Orange juice sounds good. Thanks.”
David poured two glasses and pulled out chairs from a nearby bistro table. Nick sat and sipped. The juice was the pulpy kind that left spongy bits in his mouth. His favorite.
But also, what the fuck?
“So Aubrey sent you?” David began. Up close, his saintly aura took on a hint of the bovine.
“Um.” Nick sipped again, mostly to distract from the fact that he had no intention of answering that question. “I’m justgoing to cut to the chase, okay? Because I didn’t come to ask you to admit to stealing her project.”
“Oh. You... didn’t?” David’s shoulders drooped. He looked, of all things, crestfallen.
“No. I came totellyou that’s what’s you’re going to do. I mean, thanks for the orange juice. I love this stuff, with all the little pieces in it. But I’m not leaving until you email your boss and tell her—or him, I guess—what really happened. I’m going to stand behind you and watch. And you’ll make sure Aubrey gets credit for what she built. Because you sure as hell don’t deserve to benefit from all her hard work.”
David’s lower lip wobbled.
Nick stared, equal parts horrified and fascinated. “We clear?”
David fiddled with his juice, then lost the battle with his trembling chin and burst into tears. He was an ugly crier, the kind that got blotchy in seconds. Nick set down his glass, nonplussed.
“Sorry.” David covered his face with his hands. “It’s just been so hard. Oh my god, I can’t tell you how hard it’s been. I didn’t really think it through, you know? And now I’ve been living in a nightmare.”
Nick glanced around for a napkin. The guy was dribbling mucus. “Is that so.”
“Yeah.” David peeked up through his fingers. “People keep asking me about the program, how does it work, how did I come up with this line of code, when will it be ready to go live, it’s endless. And I don’t know! I can see how Aubrey built it, mostly, but I don’t get how she put all the pieces together.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s just never been my strong point, you know? I’m never the guy with theideas. That was her. And I just got tired of it. Being in her shadow. You can understand that, right?”
Nick slitted his eyes. “So you screwed her over because you didn’t like that she’s smarter than you?”
“Yeah. Er... No.” David sniffed. “I don’t know. I just saw an opportunity and went for it. But it turns out when you do something smart, people expect you tokeepdoing smart things. And I didn’t know how much pressure that would be. I haven’t been able to sleep. Or eat. I’ve lost ten pounds in the past month.”
Nick jiggled his heels against the stool. He wasn’t about to shame a man for crying—sometimes, tears cleansed the soul—but if this asshole wanted sympathy, he could look elsewhere. “I really don’t care. I’m just here to make sure Aubrey’s reputation is cleared.”
David barreled on as if he hadn’t heard a word. “It’s been awful for me. Terrible. One challenge after another. First, my boss wanted me to do a presentation to the whole department about how I brought the idea to life. Then he upped my workload, said I was capable of more. And now the company’s trying to give me the Innovation Cup. The Cup! I’m supposed to give aspeech.”
Nick quirked a brow. “A speech?”
“Yeah, Osos does this big company gala every year, for Christmas, you know? They give an award to whichever employee goes ‘above and beyond.’ I always thought I should win, but not if I have to make a speech about something I didn’t actually do. It’s giving me nightmares. I keep having this dream where my name gets called, but when I go onstage, everyone’s laughing. Then I look down and realize I’m naked. And I just... I need Aubrey to come back. I need for this all to stop.”
Nick looked at him, deadpan. “Wow. Sounds tough.”
“Really?” David swiped at puffy red eyes. “You get it?”
“No, asshole. I don’t.”
That quieted David, finally. He wiped his nose. “But... you can understand why I did it, can’t you? Or do you just think I’m a horrible person?”
Nick drained the last of his juice. “To be honest, yeah. That last one. But where’s your computer? You have an email to write.”
Nick hovered by David’s shoulder as he typed. Now that the adrenaline rush of his arrival had worn off, the clack of keys grated on him, each staccato tick another nail in the coffin that held his hopes of ever touching Aubrey again.
He jammed his hands into his pockets. Think about something else. Anything else.
