Chapter 48 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
@pancakesareelite:
I see girlbotxo is flirting with you
@theanswerisno:
Jealous?
@pancakesareelite:
Maybe
@theanswerisno:
Then I’ll tell her to stop
@pancakesareelite:
I’m only joking
@theanswerisno:
Told her you’d challenge her to a duel
@pancakesareelite:
Link!
@theanswerisno:
Be ready at dawn
I awoke against a hot body (both in temperature and physique) and turned onto my side before looking at Link’s gorgeous profile.
So many things replayed in my mind. The way it felt to be touched and loved by him and finally feeling safe enough to tell someone everything. He’d listened without judgment.
I peppered his face with kisses.
“This has never happened to me,” he mumbled. “Best…” His eyes dropped closed before he could finish his sentence.
I pressed my mouth against his and gently bit his bottom lip. One of his large hands pulled me on top of him and stroked along the length of my spine. “Time?”
Sleepy Link was too adorable for words. “Five thirty,” I said.
“That’s an entire thirty minutes earlier than my alarm,” he groaned.
“Yes, that was intentional,” I whispered before pushing my body against his.
“Oh.” His eyes shot open. “Am awake. Wide. Awake. But we’re doing it my way.
” He flipped me over and climbed on top of me.
His lips fell onto my neck, and every thought I had disappeared, replaced by how soft his mouth was.
My hands found his curls, and I raked my fingers across his scalp.
He groaned, dropping his mouth from mine, before dragging his tongue down my chest and lower still.
I arched my back as he did all the things I’d hoped for.
I was right about one thing: Lincoln Carden was the most capable man to have ever existed.
And he’d have proven that again if someone didn’t knock at the door.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced at me, his eyebrows low and close. “I might kill the person at the door.”
I chuckled and rolled out of bed behind him. I pulled on his sweatshirt while he opened the front door.
I made my way into the kitchen and prepared a fresh pot of coffee. “Who is it?”
He spun around with a huge grin on his face and a box in his hands. “For you.”
“A birthday present?” I squeaked. I hadn’t received a gift from anyone except my grandmother in ages.
His grin turned lopsided. “The timing is lucky. I got them for you a while ago. They’re late.”
I tore open the package, revealing two white shoeboxes. Lincoln grabbed the larger one. I took the other, confused. “A boot?” I looked at the picture of the black ankle boot on the top of the box. “It’s cute, and a bit random.”
Lincoln pointed at the very important hyphenated word I seemed to have overlooked. “It’s steel-toed, Lily.”
Lily. My nickname. Our nickname.
“My attention to detail is something you can add to your weaknesses list along with the dishes,” I squealed while taking them out and slipping them on.
“Without socks?” Lincoln shuddered. He ran off to the bedroom and returned with a pair of his socks.
He kneeled before me and took my foot in his hands.
He slipped the sock on and kissed my ankle before sliding the boot on.
He did the same with the other foot. The socks went all the way up to my knees.
I hopped up and danced around, appreciating how perfectly the shoes fit. “I didn’t even know they made cute site boots. I’m ready to be the best site engineer ever, even though I have to leave in a few hours.”
He groaned. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I know. I don’t want to leave without you.” I wanted to throw myself on the ground and kick and scream every time I thought about leaving Lincoln here and facing the final test on my own.
“We should probably get a move on. I’d like to show you some stuff on-site before your test tomorrow.” He kissed my forehead. “And don’t worry about it. You’re going to do great. Just believe in yourself.”
Once we were on-site, we surveyed everything together, and I had to use all of my willpower not to touch him. When I nearly did, he withdrew, and my soul flinched at his hesitance before remembering why. We couldn’t do this in public. Not yet.
“I guess I can’t let them know I’m dating the boss,” I whispered once we were alone in the site office.
“We’re dating?” he replied as we crouched over a drawing.
I bit my bottom lip. “Aren’t we? Last night you said you wanted to marry me.”
He threw his head back and sighed before offering me that lopsided smile I would never get enough of. “I do. I know it’s weird, but I am an absolutes guy.”
“And I absolutely love you,” I said, letting my pinkie finger graze against his thumb where he pressed down on the desk. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me anything about the final test tomorrow?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know anything. It’s different every year to keep it a surprise. The only person who has that info is Anders, and he won’t tell a soul.”
“Even if you did know, you wouldn’t tell me, would you?”
He shook his head. “Speaking of, you better leave. I think it’s best if you’re not on the road alone in the dark.”
“Would you come find me again if you had to?” I asked.
He leaned his hip against the desk and drank me in with a gaze. “Lily, it appears I’ll find you without you calling, without intending, without us knowing. I’ll always find you.”
By Friday morning, I was a mess of nerves.
I got to work earlier than usual, as did the rest of the interns.
I walked into my office and stared at where Lincoln should be.
Last night, his signal was choppy, but he still managed to call me when I got home because, for the first time in my life, someone was waiting to see if I arrived safely.
Excitement joined my nerves at the thought of seeing him later.
“Good,” Mr. Anders said, walking into my office. “You’re here. How was your experience on-site?”
I nodded. “Great. Wonderful. Informative.”
“Excellent.” He gestured for me to follow him. “Come on. It’s time.”
I grabbed my laptop, pen, and paper and walked behind him while he gathered the other six interns. We formed a straight line as he led us into the big boardroom on the second floor.
The sixteen-seater table was transformed into seven cubicles. I took my seat, and Cedric sat across from me, but thanks to the dividers, we couldn’t see each other.
I set up my workspace and fidgeted with my office supplies.
“Interns,” Mr. Anders announced, “welcome to your final test.” He gestured to the presentation on the wall. “Please navigate to the folder location shown and use the password on the screen to access the resources.”
I did as I was told, and the folder exploded with drawings, location pins, and bills of quantities.
“This year’s final test requires each intern to prove their holistic knowledge on a very basic level. You’re all fresh out of college, so I assume some of the things you learned still reside in your brains.”
He clicked over to a new slide, where an abstract area was highlighted.
“You have the next six hours to prepare a conceptual design of the infrastructure required for a multipurpose development. Considering the time limits and how many of you are specializing in different disciplines of engineering, detailed designs are not required.”
The next slide had our names ranked underneath different headings: technical correctness, neatness, theoretical knowledge, professionalism, and others.
I was in position four or five for most of them.
“These ratings are based on your weekly evaluations, but as you all know, this final test will be the largest factor determining your future at Simucon.”
My heart pounded in my chest. I thought I might throw up.
“Good luck, and remember that all reports and plans submitted have to be anonymous.”