“So,” he says. “First week?”
“Yeah. First day.”
“Ah. That explains the fear-sweat.”
I gape at him. “Excuse me?”
He smiles softly. “Don’t worry. Happens to everyone. Well, the new folks mostly. Smells like… ambition.”
I can’t tell if he’s teasing me, flirting, or both. Either way, my face flashes hot.
He clicks a few keys, and a window pops up. He types something completely foreign to me, and the screen blinks back to life. Greg stands, reminding me just how much he towers over me.
“See,” he says. “Not so scary. You’re good to go. Try not to anger the firewall next time.”
“Thanks. I’ll, uh, try not to piss it off.”
“Smart man.” He opens a jar on his cart, revealing shimmering candies. “Want a Splatter?”
He holds the jar toward me, and I blink at the contents—glistening, alive-looking sweets that definitely aren’t from any vending machine I’ve frequented. I’ve never seen anything like them, but he looks so proud, and I don’t want to be rude.
“What are they?”
“Splatters? They’re candy, silly goose.”
I take one. It’s red and warm in my palm, and when I bite down, sweet juice bursts in my mouth.
“Whoa—it squirts.”
Greg grins. “That’s kind of the point.”
Of course it is. And now I’m blushing.
He rolls his cart back. “If your machine crashes again, call my cell.” He nods to the card he’s left on my desk—his grin all tusks, eyes sparkling in a way that somehow makes me forget to breathe—and a number scrawled below. “Or just yell ‘Help!’ I might even come running… if you’re lucky.”
He gives me a slow, playful wink.
“Thanks, I think,” I mutter, watching him go. “Big IT energy with a side of biceps.”
And just like that, he’s gone, leaving me with a working computer, a half-melted Splatter, and the realization that my first day at Labyrinth Solutions might notactually kill me.
It might be… interesting.
Or disastrous.
Possibly both.
I pop another Splatter into my mouth and can’t stop thinking about Greg as the candy squirts sweet fruitiness into my mouth—muscles, glasses, tusks… all of him.
I let out a long, exasperated sigh.
“Great. I’m horny for the help desk.”
2
SUNSHINE IN THE SERVER ROOM
GREG
