Chapter 23 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
@pancakesareelite:
Am I annoying?
@theanswerisno:
Username
@pancakesareelite:
What?
@theanswerisno:
My username
@pancakesareelite:
Oh, you’re my favorite
“I’d love a cup of coffee,” Lincoln said from the other side of the divider.
“Oh. Me too. I’ll make it,” I replied, spinning around in my chair. “I think it’s my turn.”
It had been about two weeks since I begged Lincoln to teach me, and he had. Every night. And every night I imagined what would happen if we were alone. Most times we weren’t. But next week, we’d be on-site together for three entire days.
I needed to constantly remind myself that Lincoln was still my boss for at least a week and a half, and if all goes well, he’d be my boss for a lot longer. I couldn’t let this crush consume me. I couldn’t give in to the Gray women weakness Gran had warned me about.
“Do you want it in your plain white mug or your other plain white mug?” I hopped to my feet and peeked over the divider.
Lincoln’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter. His soft brown eyes, now bright, glanced upward. “Um… Claire, I’ll call you back.”
My eyes popped wide. “No. No! You weren’t talking to me?”
He tugged down his headset and shut his eyes. His mouth twisted in a concealed smile. “Not this time.”
I threw my head back. “I hate your stupid headset. I didn’t hear you say hello or anything, so I assumed…” I covered my face.
“I’m sorry. Claire jumped straight in with a question.”
Claire? Who was Claire? A girlfriend?
Nauseating jealousy swirled in my stomach.
A warm hand grazed my elbow. I lowered my palms, and Lincoln’s fingers shot into his pocket. He offered me that bashful half smile and looked away seconds before my legs went weak.
If an elbow touch did that? A kiss may kill me.
Link or not, Lincoln Carden was everything I wanted.
And while he was shy and blushed generously, he didn’t want me. I knew what desire looked like. I’d been on the receiving end of it plenty of times. Lincoln Carden studied me like a project he needed to master, not a woman he wanted to devour.
It didn’t help that my Link (was he my Link?) hadn’t replied to me after I’d asked him to meet up. He’d barely been online since I’d asked, and the Overpower LAN was two days away.
I wanted to be one of the early players, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be there with him, without being with him.
The sting of rejection was painful. Link and I lived in our own world, with our own games, and being ignored wasn’t part of any of the levels.
But maybe our world never existed.
Or it did. And I ruined it by bursting our bubble and trying to make real-life contact.
I’d considered, multiple times, whether I could delete the message or send him a game request and pretend I’d never asked to meet.
I also considered lying and saying that I sent that while being deeply medicated…
or I suppose I could come clean and confront him and tell him that it was okay, that we didn’t need to meet or put pressure on this thing we had going on.
But I needed to know if he was Lincoln Carden.
Still, I wanted my friend back. Even if that was all he wanted to be.
Even virtually.
Turning away from Lincoln, I pointed at the drawings on my desk. “Are we working on these tonight?”
His smile dropped, and he sighed. It reminded me of when I first got here. “Shoot. I forgot to tell you. I can’t stay late tonight. I have somewhere to be.”
“Oh,” I said, ignoring the solid stone of disappointment landing in the depths of my belly. “That’s okay. It’s not like you have to.”
“I know.” He dropped below the divider, and I could hear him packing up his laptop and other belongings.
“To be honest, I wish I could stay. I don’t know what this says about me, but I kinda enjoy it.
I’ve never really taught anyone before. I feel like I’m learning something new as well.
” The genuine excitement in his voice made my heart swell.
“You’re really good at it,” I said. “Both the teaching and the doing.”
He stood, holding his mouse in his left hand and his wallet in his right. “You should go. It’s pretty late.”
I glanced over at my task list. There was still plenty to do. But I was exhausted.
“We’re visiting the site tomorrow just to check a few things before we stay over next week.” Lincoln kept his gaze on his backpack and spoke far too quickly. “It’ll be a good opportunity to see the processes. It’s a greenfield project.”
Was he as nervous as I was to be alone together?
I followed suit and shoved everything into my backpack. “Absolutely, I’ve looked at those plans. It’s such an interesting concept. You designed the entire thing, right?”
He shifted on his feet, an awkward but bashful smile curled onto his mouth. “Um… Yeah.” He walked over to the doorway. “Anyway, I’ll send you the details as soon as I get my laptop back on. But I am in a bit of a hurry.”
I followed after him. “Fun plans?”
My pathetic little heart stilled in the seconds that passed.
He sighed, then smiled, and I couldn’t figure out if it was a chore or something fun. “Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
“A date?” I squeaked out as we reached the front door.
My body curled in on itself as I cringed. It seemed I really couldn’t control what came out of my mouth anymore.
His eyes widened, and he let loose a short laugh. “No, no. I’m heading to a friend’s place. We’ll probably play some games.” He scanned his fob to unlock the door and gestured for me to walk ahead of him.
I stepped outside and the night air cooled my heated cheeks. Dammit, if my cheeks were this hot, could he see it? I spun away from him and froze. My stomach jolted with discomfort and annoyance as a familiar black Mercedes stood parked right outside the building.
Without thinking, I stepped backward, wanting nothing more than to retreat into the safety of the building. But I slammed into something hard.
“Elizabeth?” Lincoln’s hand gripped my shoulder, steadying me.
I turned around and looked up at him, but his gaze was fixed above my head.
“Is that the guy who has been bothering you?” he asked in a low, threatening grumble.
“Um, yes.”
I was ready to push past Lincoln and rush upstairs. I could use the emergency exit at the back.
But Lincoln’s warm palm dropped to my waist. His fingers pressed into my side with intent, but it was gentle. All he did was shift me to the left.
Lincoln squeezed past me and walked straight up to the car. He tapped on the window hard enough to make me flinch.
“Who are you?” Lincoln asked. Not in the voice I was used to, but in another, deeper, firmer voice. The one that had all the engineers scurrying out of his path.
Alistair lowered the window and glanced between Lincoln and me. Even in the dim lighting, I could see that laser focus in his eyes that had always made me uncomfortable.
Lincoln looked over his shoulder and met my gaze for a second before turning back to Alistair.
Whatever he’d read on my face had him growing in size and authority as he said his next words: “Stop pestering her, or I’ll call the police.
” His voice was low and gravelly, filled with a threat even I believed he’d act upon.
“I’m not doing anything wrong, Mr. Carden,” Alistair’s voice broke through the quiet night. “I’m here to chat with Ms. Gordon-
Bettencourt.”
Lincoln blew out a harsh breath, misting up the side of the car. He pressed his hands on the open window and leaned inward before whispering, “Consider this a warning and leave her alone.”
Alistair, who had retreated within the car, locked eyes with me then and threw me a knowing glance that said, I’ll tell him about this.
Within a second, he was gone, leaving me trying to steady my breathing while Lincoln straightened. For a moment, he just stood there, watching the Mercedes blend into the night. When he turned around, the angry energy was still alive around him, making his black curls seem wilder.
“Would you like me to take you home?” His voice was controlled and careful, but his chest rose and fell like mine.
I shook my head. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“If you’re concerned about him coming back or following you, I could—”
“I’m fine, Mr. Carden. I won’t be alone.”
A blatant lie. But I didn’t want to explain all of this. My messy life. Lincoln Carden, my boss, didn’t need to hear any of it. And more importantly, he didn’t need to be involved. It wasn’t lost on me that Alistair knew his name. Alistair had been watching him too.
“Okay” was all he said, but still he waited until I was in my car before he got into his.
And I was grateful. Even though I wasn’t in danger. Alistair, that awful weasel, had been doing Douglas’s dirty work for years.
While driving, I checked my rearview mirror every other second. It seemed Lincoln Carden’s threat had worked, for now. As soon as I was inside my apartment, I locked the doors. Then, without showering off the day, I climbed under the covers and pulled them over my head.
I couldn’t go on like this anymore. It made no sense.
Running away hadn’t worked. And no matter how hard I tried to forget everything and create a new life that was my own, it was all pretend.
Douglas would always find a way to be there, haunting, hunting, hurting whenever he could, however he could.
It was nice having someone there to defend me. Lincoln Carden was my boss, and he didn’t have to. He had plans. He had friends. He…
He was going to play games with his friends.
On a Wednesday night.
That was something my Link did too.