Chapter 43 #2
The entire crisis had lasted barely fifteen seconds, but to Willow, it had felt like an eternity. She slumped against the back of her chair and tried to slow her breathing.
Carefully, she peeked up. Had anyone noticed that she’d been the one to fix the display issue?
None of the men paid her any attention. They were focused on the screen. But Freida Rhodes’s gaze was fixed on her, expression entirely unreadable.
Oh crap. Willow swallowed and forced a polite smile.
The corner of Ms. Rhodes’s mouth twitched in what might have been either a grimace or an answering smile before she refocused on the presentation.
Just as Willow was starting to relax a little, she noticed a new point of tension.
Rick Haggerty—their VP of sales—was tapping his stylus against his tablet with increasing force, a frown on his face. He was their CEO’s son, and, according to Scottie, just as technologically challenged as his future brother-in-law, Mr. Sorensen.
Kudos’s VP of licensing leaned over, trying to help without interrupting the presentation but apparently not having any luck either.
Mr. Sorensen kept talking, oblivious to the problem.
Willow knew she could ignore it too. She was tasked with making sure the presentation went smoothly; the issues Mr. Haggerty had with his tablet weren’t her responsibility.
In the past, she would have stayed silent, worried that she might overstep or make the problem worse.
But now she’d already fixed two tech issues in a row. She was equipped with an emergency kit and a ton of tips from Scottie. Maybe she didn’t need to stay under the radar. Perhaps this time, instead of making things worse, she could help.
She leaned across the empty chair between them and whispered: “Want me to try?”
Mr. Haggerty glanced up and stared as if he was noticing her presence for the first time. Finally, he reluctantly slid the device toward her.
Willow checked the battery status. The stylus was connected to the device and fully charged, even though the percentage went down from ninety-seven to eighty-nine as she was holding it. The screen looked fairly clean too, and no other apps were running in the background.
She turned Bluetooth off and back on, then went into the settings and tapped “forget this device” before reconnecting it again.
The stylus still wasn’t working. None of her pencil strokes registered.
Her shoulders slumped as she ran out of ideas.
Maybe it was interference from her weird aura after all.
Just as she was about to give up and hand back the tablet, she noticed something that didn’t look right. There was a gap between the stylus and its plastic tip.
The nib had become loose! Quickly, she twisted it back in and tested the stylus again.
A perfect black line appeared.
Yes! With a triumphant grin, she slid it back toward Mr. Haggerty.
He tried a few squiggles, then looked at her as if she had pulled off a magic trick and mouthed, “Thanks.”
Willow nodded and quietly exhaled.
When she glanced up, Ms. Rhodes’s gaze was on her again.
Willow gave her best helpful-but-unimportant-assistant smile—the kind that said “just doing my job; no big deal.”
Ms. Rhodes studied her for a moment longer, then turned her attention back to the screen.
The next half hour was a complete blur. Willow tried to take notes to the best of her ability, jotting down all of the questions and reactions from the Unicorn Pictures team while also keeping an eye on the display, the laptop, and Mr. Sorensen’s remote.
Thankfully, no other glitches happened, maybe because she now knew she could deal with them and her nerves had settled. For the first time in her life, she experienced a quiet thrill of confidence when it came to tech.
Finally, the presentation and the following Q it was your quick thinking.
They want to work with people who adjust fast under pressure and have a backup plan ready when things don’t go their way—and that’s exactly what you did.
” Scottie stepped even closer—so close that she could feel Willow’s body heat, even through their coats.
“Just for the record, the Unicorn Pictures execs weren’t the only ones you impressed today. I’m very impressed by you too.”
She’d been nearly bursting with pride all day. Not just because Willow had been able to fix the glitches herself but also because she’d let her help with the setup and the tech-failure drills. It felt like a big win, not only for Willow, but for their relationship too.
Willow’s blush intensified. “Thank you. For helping me with the setup and the glitch-fixing drills. And for teaching me that some things don’t break when you lean on them; they only get stronger.”
Their gazes held.
“Yes,” Scottie said, her voice a little scratchy. “They do.”
Without breaking their eye contact, Willow brushed her knuckles over the hood of the car behind her, then lifted her other hand to Scottie’s face. She trailed her long, graceful fingers across Scottie’s jaw, making her pulse jump and her breathing speed up.
Last month, they had decided to keep their interactions strictly professional while at work. But, frankly, Scottie no longer cared who might be watching, and apparently, neither did Willow.
She closed the remaining inches between them and kissed Scottie, softly and without hurry.
The slow slide of Willow’s lips against hers sent tingles through every inch of Scottie’s body. She wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer, until Willow’s hips were flush against hers.
Willow’s fingers traced up the side of her face, then threaded through Scottie’s hair as if she couldn’t resist touching the rebellious strands.
When they finally pulled apart, both were breathing heavily.
Willow smoothed her hand over Scottie’s coat lapels. “Now that you helped me save my job, will you also help me celebrate?”
“Of course,” Scottie said. Willow deserved to celebrate. “Where do you want to go? Le Pigeon?”
Willow shook her head.
“Potato Champion?” Scottie chuckled.
“No. I was thinking…” Willow lowered her voice to a raspy whisper. “Your apartment.” Her heated gaze left no doubt that she wasn’t talking about getting takeout.
Scottie’s breath caught. She didn’t need to ask whether Willow was sure, nor did she have to think about her own answer. She wanted Willow with an intensity that felt almost like an ache. “Yes,” she got out huskily.
“Okay.” Willow breathed out the word. “I’ll follow you home. I just need to let my sister know not to wait up.” She pulled out her phone. Her fingers trembled as she typed a quick message, probably due to an equal mix of desire and nerves. Then she slid the phone back into her coat pocket.
Scottie caught Willow’s hand between hers and softly rubbed her fingers. “Drive carefully, all right? I want you in my bed, not in a hospital bed.”
“Can’t promise I’ll stick to the speed limit, but I’ll be careful. You too, please.”
Scottie nodded.
They moved at the same time, Willow heading toward her car, while Scottie walked around hers to the driver’s side.
She fumbled for her keys.
By the time she found them and managed to press the fob, Willow had reached her car. They exchanged one last look across the rows of vehicles, then both hurriedly got in.
Scottie prayed to any patron saint of technology who might be listening that both of their car batteries would start right up.
They were about to make love for the first time, and no tech glitch was allowed to get in the way.