Chapter Nineteen Emma
Unrelenting, icy gusts of wind batter me as I trudge down the sidewalk to the office, my face stinging from the freezing assault.
A hard shiver rattles through my body as I pull the collar of my coat up as much as I can, attempting to shield myself. I knew the snow was picking up today, but I didn’t expect a full out winter storm.
Between the wild winds and the constant plummeting snow, I can barely see down the street as a white haze covers the city. So much for any outdoor Christmas Eve plans.
I rush into the building as fast as I can, my body stiff and trembling from the intense chill outside. The heat in the lobby envelops me like the warmest hug I’ve ever received, soothing away the stinging sensation in my ears and nose.
“Emma!”
I look up to see Ryan standing near the elevators with his phone in his hand. In what feels like a second, he crosses the lobby to reach me, his brow furrowed in concern. “Is everything okay?”
“We’ve been trying to call you,” Ryan replies. “We were going to tell you not to bother coming in today because of the storm.”
I dig my phone out of my purse that’s tucked under my coat, seeing more than a dozen missed notifications from all three of the guys. Whoops. “I didn’t feel it vibrate. I was hurrying here.”
Ryan sighs, his eyes flicking from the door to me like he’s been pacing.
“You shouldn’t be out in this kind of storm.
I was worried.” Despite the chill still lingering in my bones, a bloom of warmth grows in my chest as I gaze at him.
He’s always looked out for me, but I always thought it was because he felt obligated to because of my brothers.
The care in his voice now isn’t from obligation, though. It’s too personal. Too emotional.
“Did Josh and Max make it here safely?” I ask him.
Ryan nods and slides his arm around my shoulders, leading me into the elevator and hitting the button for the right floor. “We’re all here now. The update goes live in fifteen minutes.”
Adrenaline crackles through me all the way to my slightly numb fingertips. All of our hard work is about to be seen by thousands of people! We just have to make sure there are no hiccups.
Or colossal failures.
As soon as the elevator door slides open, I step out and head to my desk, brushing stray snowflakes off my coat before pulling it off. The stress from launch day is already making me flushed, and I’ve only just got to the office.
The outcome of this update will not only affect their reputation, but it will also affect mine too.
“Happy launch day!” Josh quips as he stands from his desk, his face lighting up at the sight of me.
A laugh breaks from me as I drape my coat over the back of my chair. “Sounds like we’re a space company.”
Max steps up to my side and tilts his head, eyes roaming my face. Thoughts of last night flash through my mind, reminding me of all the times when I thought we were going to kiss. Reminding me of how natural and easy it felt being with him.
“Your face is red,” he says before gently pressing the back of his hand against my cheek.
My eyes flutter shut for a moment as the warmth of his skin eases away the chill. I lean into his touch before I remember where we are—and who’s watching. I grab his hand and hold it there against my cheek, my eyes opening and lifting to his. “It’s cold outside.”
“I’ll make you a cup of coffee,” Josh offers.
I give him a grateful look as he passes by, a gentle flutter filling my heart as their affection surrounds me. They all show care in their own ways, and that makes me even more attached to each of them.
Three different men. Three different ways to uncontrollably fall in love.
And I think I’m already there.
“I should get set up,” I tell Max as I draw his hand away from my cheek and release him. “Let’s hope all hell doesn’t break loose.”
“Most issues will be on the technical side,” Max replies before motioning to Ryan, who pops a peppermint in his mouth as he gets ready at his desk. “And if it’s a huge fix that forces us to shut things down for a while, Ryan will have to update our users through email and social media.”
“What should Josh and I do?” I ask him, wanting to be helpful in some sort of capacity.
“Sit here and look pretty,” Josh replies as he comes back into the room with a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hand. When I purse my lips at him, he grins and hands me my cup. “I’ll be personally handling any issues or concerns that our VIP clients have.”
“I could probably use your help for some stuff,” Ryan speaks up as he rolls the peppermint to one side of his mouth. “Hell, maybe none of us will do much of anything.”
I almost smirk. I think we all know better than that. Things always go wrong.
“All right, everyone. The update is about to go live,” Josh says once we all get settled at our desks, nervous but eager energy filling the air as the snow comes down outside. We’re in our own little bubble in here, ready to finish this.
Well, part of me certainly isn’t ready for this chapter in our story to end. What if this is the finale, and I don’t even know it?
“It’s live!” Josh tells us.
Not even ten minutes later, his office phone rings.
~*~
“Max, I need an update on that profile picture bug!”
“It’s fixed! It’s done!”
I exhale in relief as I listen to Max and Josh shouting to each other across the office. I look back down at Ryan as I stand next to him at his desk, watching his fingers fly over his keyboard to type out update posts for the company’s social media platforms.
“All right, the update about the file sharing feature is out,” Ryan says as he slowly rolls his neck. “What now?”
For the past few hours, we’ve been troubleshooting issues, answering questions from users, and making sure all of SyncUp’s VIP customers are happy with the update. Aside from the little issues that we’ve been tackling, the update has already garnered us some good feedback.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think it’s a success.
“We still need to post an update for the profile picture glitch. It’s fixed now,” I tell him.
Ryan nods and starts on an update post, his eyes narrowing a little in concentration.
I like the little crease between his eyebrows when he does that.
We take the next thirty minutes to tie up loose strings and answer a few more questions posted in the comments of the social media posts. In that time, no major bugs pop up. Nothing that has to be immediately dealt with anyway.
Josh stands from his desk. “I think we can be done for the rest of the day. The on-call team is available for the rest of the day, and everyone is off tomorrow and the next day.”
I smile in relief. “I think things are looking good, guys. People really like the work that we’ve done.”
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Max replies, his voice full of gratitude.
My heart skips as our eyes meet. There are many things that I can thank them for, starting with this job, but that doesn’t even scratch the surface.
I part my lips to reply, but the lights suddenly shut off, cloaking us in near darkness aside from the white glow of the snow-covered city right outside the windows. The heater that’s keeping us from being popsicles whirs for a second before turning off, silence filling the building.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ryan grits out.
Josh rubs the back of his neck as he glances around, waiting for the power to boot back on. But it doesn’t. “That’s definitely a sign that we should stop working for the day. Maybe it’s time to head home.”
Max wanders closer to one of the windows and glances down. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
We all hurry to his side and peer down, staring at streets and sidewalks full of snow. Barely anyone is in sight, and the cars in the road are stalled. No one is going anywhere.
“I think we’re stuck here,” I say as my stomach flip flops. Stuck in one place with all of them in an office that’s rapidly losing its heat.
“I’ll turn on the battery powered Christmas lights,” Josh replies before setting off, switching on the lights hanging from our desks to add an extra red and green glow to the office space.
At least it’s getting more festive in here, but as I let Ryan and Max lead me to the sofa in the lounge area, the holidays are the last thing on my mind. Is this some sort of test to resist my desires? Or is it a sign to act on them since there’s nowhere to run and hide?
Josh sits across from us in a cushioned chair, rubbing his hands together. “It’ll get a little chilly in here. I wish we had more things to keep you warm, Em.”
“I’m fine,” I reply, despite how tense my body is already becoming to fight the cold. I thought I would be safe from it here.
Max squeezes my knee. “You don’t have to lie.”
“We’ll figure it out eventually anyway,” Ryan says as he leans closer to me, peering down as I slip my hands between my thighs to keep them warm.
“We should figure out what we’re going to do now,” I tell them, my stomach twisting when I realize all of their eyes are on me.
And they’re so dangerously close.
Even Josh, who is a few feet away in another chair, could reach me in a matter of seconds if he wanted to. But his eyes remain settled on me, shadows adorning his handsome face.
“We pass the time until the power comes back on and the storm dies down,” Josh says.
“Pass the time how?” I find myself asking.
We could just talk. We could play a game. We could eat all the sweets that Ryan stashes in the second drawer of his desk.
Yet, none of those things come to mind.
Not with Max and Ryan sitting so close to me, physical contact inevitable in some manner. Not with Josh gazing at me as if he’s waiting for something to happen. I think we all know that we’re stuck in a pivotal situation.
But who’s going to say something first? Who’s going to do something first?
“Let’s just focus on keeping you warm,” Ryan replies as he reaches around the front of me so that he can rub both of my arms, generating heat underneath his big hands.
He has to lean so close that our faces are barely inches apart.
“How’s that feel?” I can barely answer. His touch is gentle, comforting—but also dangerous.
As our eyes meet, the air leaves my lungs as a heated haze rolls over my mind, clouding my most logical thoughts. The ones telling me to pull away. To keep my distance from the men I shouldn’t feel this way for.
Ryan frowns, concern filling those green eyes that I keep getting lost in. “Em?”
The sound of his voice sends me over the edge, and I surge forward and kiss him, igniting a flame that I won’t be able to control as the taste of peppermint fills my senses. And just like that, the line is crossed—and I don’t want to go back.