Chapter Eighteen Max
Tomorrow is the day. Update launch day. I can’t believe we’re already here.
“Do we have an official okay from the programming department? Did they fix those last-minute bugs?” Josh asks as the four of us gather in the conference room for one last meeting.
Instead of getting ready for Christmas and doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, we’ll be monitoring the update launch and making sure that everything goes smoothly. Sure, it sucks to miss out on the festivities, but this update impacts the future of our company.
We need to be all in. No matter what day it is.
“Yep. I talked to Brian earlier,” I reply, my fingers flying over the keyboard of my laptop as I multitask. I need to send out a few more emails and double check a few more details before I can leave today.
“Perfect,” Josh says as he clicks his mouse, undoubtedly going down a checklist of last-minute things to do. “Ryan, are the social media posts ready to go?”
“They’re ready. Emma and I finalized them last night with the input of the marketing team,” Ryan replies from across the table where he sits next to Emma. He’s been pretty insistent on being around her after the fire.
I guess I can’t blame him. I think we’re all feeling pretty protective over her because of that.
“All of my stuff is good to go too. It has all been improved and implemented,” Emma speaks up. “I called everyone earlier and got confirmation.”
Josh nods and clicks a few more times. “And we all agree to be here in person tomorrow to monitor the launch? We don’t have to be here all day, but if we can spare a few hours, that’ll put our minds at ease. Then, we can do some holiday stuff afterward.”
Everyone at the table nods in agreement. Sure, we can work from wherever, but it’ll be easier to collaborate quickly in real time if we’re all together.
And it’ll be our last official work day together too.
The thought of that makes my heart sink a little. It’s all bittersweet. I’m proud of all that we’ve done together, but I’m sad that it’s ending.
Emma’s contract will be done, and we won’t work together anymore. What worries me is that I don’t know how often we’ll see each other after Christmas. It’ll be hard to justify an excuse to hang out with her to her brothers.
They’ll get suspicious. They’ll piece things together.
We can’t have that happen.
So, will this be it? Will we barely see each other again and be forced to go on with our lives like the last few weeks didn’t happen? It just doesn’t seem… right.
But maybe it’s for the best. Maybe that’s what needs to happen to make sure that we don’t make any big mistakes.
“All right, good,” Josh replies before clicking one more time. “It sounds like we got all our bases covered. There’s really nothing left to do other than to wait for the launch and make sure that it goes smoothly.”
“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Emma says with a bittersweet look on her face. “Time passed by too quickly.”
“I wish we had another project to bring you on for, but it’ll just be updating maintenance for a while,” Josh sighs with a disappointed frown. “I don’t want this to be the end, even if I’m relieved to be done with all this work.”
Emma smiles. “Maybe we’ll work together again down the line. This was the best project that I’ve worked on, though.”
“Am I sensing some bias?” Ryan asks, the side of his mouth turning up in a smirk.
A laugh breaks from her as she shrugs. “I mean, maybe a little, but it was a fun project. You guys were definitely the best people that I’ve ever worked with.”
“I’ll believe that,” I say, shooting her a playful wink from across the table.
“Good because it’s true,” Emma quips before looking out of the window. “It’s pretty windy and snowy today.”
“It’s picking up too,” Ryan replies. “We should probably head out early if there’s nothing left to do today.”
Josh shuts off his laptop. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. Make sure you all get some rest. Tomorrow will be hectic, even if nothing goes wrong.”
Nerves will run high tomorrow, but if things go well, all the hard work that we put in will have paid off. We can enjoy the rest of the holiday feeling victorious and proud, and I’m looking forward to that feeling.
And a break.
I actually want a break after the chaos of this month.
Josh and Ryan end up leaving first, while Emma and I linger behind to do a few last-minute things on our laptops.
“I didn’t expect the weather to be so bad. I need to stop by the market on the way home,” Emma sighs as she shuts off her laptop and grabs her purse.
“I can come with you,” I offer as I pitch another look toward the closest window.
Snow tumbles from the sky, coming down at a sharp angle as the wind blows hard and blankets the ground below. Traffic is already backed up, and judging from how cloudy the sky looks, the weather won’t let up for a while.
“I don’t want to bother you,” Emma replies as we walk to the elevator together.
I give her a pointed look before hitting the down button. “You could never bother me, Em. The market is by your apartment, right? I’ll help you carry everything to your place, and I’ll call a car from there.”
Emma chews on her bottom lip before smiling. “Thank you. That would actually help a lot.”
I don’t want to say goodbye to her just yet either. Today flew by too fast, just like all the other days. After Christmas, there’s no guarantee that we’ll get to spend any time alone together.
This might be the last time.
Once we exit the building, a gust of wind hits us, blowing against our hair and clothes.
People hurry up and down the sidewalks to get indoors or to their cars.
Luckily, her building is close, so I take her hand and lead her in the direction of the market, which is the bottom floor of one of the big apartment buildings.
“I love a snow day, but maybe not like this!” Emma says as she huddles close to my side, her cheeks and nose already turning red.
Our laughter follows us as we rush across the street, snow crunching under our nice boots. It’s cold and windy as hell, but warmth still lingers in my chest as we hurry through the city together.
“Right here!” Emma says as she abruptly slows down in front of the entrance of the store, her boots sliding out from under her.
I hook my arms under hers, catching her before she can hit the ground.
Emma gasps and grabs my hands, steadying herself as her back rests against my chest. “You saved me. Holy cow!”
I can’t help but laugh as I wrap my arms around her, hugging her against me as she catches her breath. “Slow down, beautiful. You almost wiped out.”
Emma turns around, laughter shaking her. “That would’ve been so embarrassing.”
I put my arm around her and lead her into the warm store. “I wouldn’t have let you be embarrassed.”
Emma grabs a shopping basket and motions toward the produce section. “Would you have fallen too? I’d feel less embarrassed if I wasn’t the only one who fell.”
I chuckle and walk past crates of fruits and vegetables, pausing when she has to toss something in her basket. “I’d rather just pick you up and run off with you.”
“What a hero,” Emma replies, rolling her eyes at me playfully. “Can you grab a piece of ginger up there?”
I reach up and grab her one so that she can bag it and place it in her basket. “Anything else?”
We breeze through the aisles, her basket filling fast. It’s surprisingly nice—casual, easy. Almost like a date.
“Do you cook?” Emma asks me as she peers at all of the different pasta noodles.
“I do,” I reply. “Mostly protein and carbs, but I make a damn good greens smoothie.”
Emma raises her eyebrows in interest. “That sounds nice. You’ll have to make one for me one day.”
“You’ll have to come by my place. I’ll gladly make you one,” I tell her as I move toward her.
Emma looks up at me, her cheeks lightly flushing. “I’d like that.”
I want her to come over tonight, and not just to make her a smoothie. We can spend some time together warming up while we watch the snow fall. I’m sure she still likes those cheesy rom coms that she loved back in the day.
I don’t care what we do. I just want to be with her.
That’s how screwed I am.
When we check out and carry the bags back to her apartment, a bittersweet feeling hits me once more. As simple as it was, it was nice shopping for groceries with her. It felt very… domestic, and I liked it. A lot.
“Thanks for helping me,” Emma tells me as she stops in front of her apartment door to grab her keys.
“My pleasure,” I reply.
Emma smiles to herself as she unlocks the door. She pushes it open and turns to me, taking the two bags of groceries that I’m holding. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early. Last day.”
“Last day,” I repeat with a faint frown. “I wish it wasn’t.”
Emma’s expression softens as she nods. “Me either. I’d work with you guys for a lot longer if possible, but we all have to move forward.”
Does she only mean business wise? Or all across the board?
Do we need to prepare for a full goodbye?
“It was really nice while it lasted, though,” I say, our eyes remaining locked.
“Really nice,” Emma agrees, her voice dropping a little. She has every opportunity to say goodnight and head inside her apartment, but she stands there gazing at me with those captivating eyes of hers.
This is a perfect moment to kiss her. Again.
That first kiss ended way too quickly.
This one won’t.
I step toward her, hearing her inhale deeply like she’s preparing herself. Like she wants me to kiss her.
Fuck. I do.
I really do.
I lean forward, but before my lips can touch hers, Ethan and Andrew pop in my mind like a warning.
I kiss her cheek at the last second before pulling away.
I shouldn’t want more. But when I see her smile falter just before she hides it—like maybe she wanted more too—I know this is going to wreck me.
“Goodnight, Emma.”
Emma blinks in surprise, but she plasters a smile on her face a second later. “Night.”
I watch her walk inside and disappear behind the door, knowing I just left a piece of myself on the other side. And I don’t know how to get it back.