2

BROOKE

“Sup, nerds?”

I whip my head around the side of my computer monitor to stare toward the open door of the IT hub, groaning internally when I see the person behind the rude greeting. Theo is leaning against the doorframe, taking up most of it with his massive size. Thick, corded forearms folded across his chest; he surveys the room with a condescending eye.

What the heck is he doing here?

The IT hub is the last place I’d expect Theo to be. Perhaps he was trying to find the weight room. Did he get lost?

“Theo,” Erin greets, scrambling up from her desk near the door. It’s a struggle for her to get to her feet- she’s super pregnant, due any day now. “Thanks for coming in.”

Theo glances around from his perch in the doorway, taking in the interior of the IT hub. It isn’t much, though it’s probably more space than the nine of us need. A couple of comfortable couches sit at the front of the room, a place for us to relax and hang out when we need a break. The walls are lined with five large desks on each side, providing each of us our own personal workspaces. There’s a long conference table situated in front of the back wall, which displays several large TV screens and a smartboard.

I straighten to peek over the top of my computer monitor from my desk at the back of the room, studying the unwelcome intruder in our space. Tall, tanned, and hard-bodied, he looks like a total fish out of water in here among us IT geeks. His t-shirt and leather jacket do little to disguise his form underneath- the dude’s built like a linebacker with his broad shoulders and chest. His chocolate brown hair is cropped short, his hazel eyes unblinking. Square jaw clenched, rough and days past needing a shave. Devastatingly handsome.

I catch myself ogling his physique appreciatively and force myself to look away and back down at my keyboard instead. His looks may be distracting, but I’m not an idiot- I know who this guy really is. Theo Jacobsen is a jerk with a capital J. An arrogant narcissist with a devil-may-care attitude. A guy whose bedpost has probably run out of space for notches to add. A total alpha-hole.  

Erin claps her hands together to get our attention and my head snaps back up.

“Alright, gang… so as you all know, I’m going to be leaving for a while,” she smiles, rubbing her baby belly. “So for the next few months, Theo is going to be taking report from you each day, running it up the ladder to leadership.”

I blink. Did I hear her correctly? I couldn’t have heard that correctly.

“I hope you’ll all make him feel at home while he’s here.”

I snort. Theo, at home with a bunch of geeks? Doubtful.

“And who knows?” Erin continues, waggling her eyebrows. “Maybe you can teach him a thing or two about what we do here, get him to join our ranks.”

It’s Theo’s turn to snort. “Yeah right,” he scoffs, setting a large hand on Erin’s shoulder. “But thanks for the warm welcome.”

He flashes a wide, charming smile. I feel my face heat, eyes fluttering down to stare at my keyboard again. Whose bright idea was it to assign Theo as a liaison to the IT unit? We do serious work here- and from what I hear, Theo hasn’t worked a day in his life, nor taken anything seriously.

I refocus my attention back to the lines of code I’ve been trying to perfect for a new tracing program I’ve been working on, my temperature rising in annoyance. Erin chats quietly with Theo for a few minutes, then turns him loose to wander around the room.

He stops at Carly’s desk first, planting himself behind her chair and leaning in to say something. She laughs loudly, tossing her head back toward his hard abs. She’s obviously flirting- no joke’s that damn funny.

Ugh. Surely Carly’s not dumb enough to fall for the Theo charm? She’s been with the IT unit for two years longer than I have, and she’s probably my closest friend on the unit since we’re the closest in age. She’s a tall, waify brunette- conventionally attractive, but not what I’d necessarily pin down as Theo’s type. She’s pretty quiet, conservative. Some may say mousy.

I don’t know why their interaction bugs me so much. Maybe it’s because Theo seems like a predator, Carly like prey. I get back to work, tuning Theo out as he continues making the rounds. It almost works, too- ten minutes later, my fingers are dancing across the keyboard again as I fall back into a groove.

I try to keep my eyes focused on my computer screen as I feel Theo prowl up next to me, his presence large, looming. I don’t look up as he leans in, slapping a big palm on my desk.

“You’re the new girl, right?”

He knows damn well who I am.

We’re from the same pack. Our fathers are friends. I’m the same age as his sister and used to hang out with her at his house. My twin sister recently found out she’s mated to one of his best friends. My identical twin.

It’s laughable now to think of how I used to have a big crush on Theo when we were younger, before he flew the coop after he graduated from high school. Before I paid attention to the rumors of his womanizing ways and before he covered his body with tattoos and so much hard-earned muscle.

I dart my eyes to him, then back to my computer screen. “Theo.”

My hands fly over my keyboard. “How’s Quinn?”

“Riiiiight, that’s where I know you from,” Theo muses, continuing the facade.  “My kid sister.”

My eyes roll so far back in my head I can practically see my skull.

He leans closer. He smells good- woodsy and masculine. “So how are you settling in with the nerd herd, kid?”

“It’s Brooke,” I grind out, fingers still typing furiously.

Somehow, he takes that as an invitation- Theo grabs for a chair from the conference table behind my desk, dragging the legs across the floor loudly as he pulls it closer. He sinks down onto it, leaning back and kicking his feet up on the edge of the desk. His big motorcycle boots land with a thud as I silently curse his presence.

“So, what are you working on?” he asks, pulling a bag of pretzels out of his jacket pocket and tearing it open. I turn to stare at him as he pops one in his mouth, starts chewing.

“You shouldn’t be eating in here,” I grumble. “Not around all the equipment and computers.”

He chuckles, popping another pretzel into his mouth. “My bad. Wouldn’t want to offend them.”

I heave a sigh, turning back to my computer and trying to resume my work. Trying, because Theo’s very presence is a distraction.

I can feel him peeking over at my monitor, watching me.

“Those aren’t even real words,” he comments, mouth full of pretzel.

“It’s code.”

“Code for what?”

The keyboard clicks under my fingers. “A program I’m working on.”

“What kind of program?”

I sigh, stop typing. “Why do you care?” I ask, shooting him a sideways glance.

“Just trying to get up to speed.” He flashes another one of those gorgeous smiles and damnit if it doesn’t give me pause. How can someone that good looking be so insufferable?

I go back to typing and get approximately one and a half minutes of work in before Theo speaks up again.

“Want some?”

I whip my head sideways to see him thrusting the bag of pretzels in my direction.

“What?” I blink. “No.”

I turn back to my monitor, go back to typing.

He keeps shoving pretzels into his mouth, crunching loudly. “You sure?”

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

I heave a sigh, pushing back in my chair.

“Do you mind?” I ask, tone laced with irritation. “I’m trying to work, here.”

His eyes go wide, brows shoot up. As if I’m the one being unreasonable.

“Sheesh, why so hostile?”

“Just trying to do my job,” I mutter, not risking another glance. It’s bad enough that he’s going to be working with the IT unit for the next few months, but the last thing I need is him zeroing in on me, distracting me from my work.

“Doesn’t your job include sharing information with the liaison?”

He’s got me there.

“Fine,” I sigh. “You want my report?” I push back in my chair again, swiveling it toward him, sliding my black framed glasses up the bridge of my nose and folding my arms across my chest indignantly. “I’m still putting the finishing touches on my new integrated tracing program. I’m hoping to have the source code finished by the end of the week, and I’ll spend next week debugging.”

Theo’s looking at me with his jaw slack, like I just spoke in Chinese.  

Then he starts raking his eyes over my body. There’s not much to look at- I’m dressed for comfort in a pair of leggings, an oversized Rolling Stones t-shirt, and a pair of chuck taylor sneakers. Still, his lingering stare makes me profoundly uncomfortable.

“What are you doing later?” he asks, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

Now it’s my turn to look at him like he’s speaking a foreign language.

“Huh?” I blink.

“I was thinking about going to the bar in Goldenleaf,” he says casually, wadding up the empty pretzel bag. “Wanna come?” He waggles his eyebrows.

“What?” Is he frickin’ serious? I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “Are you asking me out?”

Theo shrugs, tossing the wadded-up pretzel bag toward the trash can by the wall. It bounces off of the rim, landing on the floor. “Seems like you could use a break. And all that nerd-speak was kinda sexy.”

Unbelievable.

“No thanks,” I reply curtly, spinning back to face my monitor and placing my hands on the keyboard.

He lingers, assessing me, like it’s the first time he’s ever heard the word ‘no’.

“And here I thought you were the nice twin.”

I whip back around to look at him, incredulously. He’s getting on my last nerve.

“So you do know who I am!” I pronounce, exasperated.

His face splits into a shit-eating grin, two rows of perfectly white, straight teeth. Those devilish good looks and that charming smile probably allow him to get away with murder, but they won’t work on me.

“You’re definitely more tightly wound than your sister,” he sighs, lacing his fingers together and bringing his hands behind his neck, reclining back on them. “You need to loosen up a little. I could help you with that.” He winks.

I wrinkle my nose, scowling at his innuendo. Does he really think I’m that kind of girl? Or is he just trying to get under my skin?

I shake my head, returning to my computer screen. “No thanks,” I mumble, setting my hands on the keyboard to type again. “You can go now.”

“Now why would I do that when I’m having so much fun talking to you?” Theo asks, undeterred.

I ignore his question, focusing back in on the line of code that I’ve restarted five times since he invaded my space.

This is going to be a long few months.