as hell, especially with those eyes—
Okay, knock it off.
He’s your boss, Emmy.
I took a deep breath and then let it all out.
Good…like it never happened.
I didn’t try to get Derek’s attention because he was obviously deep in thought, and I didn’t want to interrupt him.
He continued to stand there and stare at the piece of machinery he was working on. He started to pace back and forth as he looked at it, his brows furrowed, his eyes focused. It was fascinating to watch him think, so that’s what I did.
Pierre glanced over his shoulder and watched him. “He’ll probably skip lunch today. We’ve been having a lot of problems with this prototype. That’s what you get for pushing innovation to the limit. Fucking nerd…”
My eyes moved back to his. “Excuse me? What did you just call him?”
“What?” Pierre asked playfully. “I’m a nerd too.”
“He’s not a nerd—and neither are you. You guys are working hard to change the future for everyone on this earth. You should show yourself more respect, and if you can’t, then you better show Derek that respect, because he’s the one working his ass off every hour of the clock while you’re home living your lives.”
Pierre had the humility to bow his head as he ate. “Sorry…just a joke.”
Jerome chuckled. “Man, she ripped you to pieces. I like that.”
I grabbed my food. “You guys are all really special people who do something ninety-nine percent of humanity can’t do. Maybe you were called nerds when you were young, but you’re badass now. So just remember that.”
Jerome nodded. “I like it.”
“I’ve never heard a beautiful woman talk about us like that before.” Pierre nudged Jerome in the side. “Imagine if the rest of them were like that.”
“Oh man.” Jerome shook his head. “I wish…”
Derek eventually came to the table and grabbed his food. “Thanks for picking up lunch, Emerson.”
“No problem.” I was afraid he would skip it because he was so focused. I’d rather see him eat, if only for his health. Part of my job, which wasn’t advertised, was taking care of him on a personal level, like making sure he had food in his stomach.
“You’ve got a loyal girl here,” Jerome said. “Pierre was talking shit, and she stepped up.”
I felt my cheeks grow warm.
“I talk so much shit about Pierre, so we’re even.” Derek grabbed his sandwich and took a bite, making a joke instead of taking it seriously.
“Wait, what?” Pierre asked. “All I did was call you a nerd. What are you talking about?”
Derek shrugged then turned to me. “That’s not offensive, by the way. We’re all nerds.”
“That’s not how I see you guys at all,” I said. “It’s a derogatory term.”
He gave a slight smile before he went back to eating. “Thanks for having my back anyway.”
I liked spending time with the guys, but I knew I couldn’t get too chummy with them. It would cross the line from coworkers to friends, so I wanted to have some professional distance. Because I wasn’t one of them. I took my food and walked into the office so I could let them talk about the mumbo jumbo I couldn’t understand.
When I sat on the couch, Derek walked inside with his food and joined me. He sat across from me.
I was surprised to see him there, but I didn’t question it. He’d been on his feet all day, and maybe he just wanted to relax on the comfy couch.
He put a few chips in his mouth and chewed. “How’s it going over there?”
“Well, it’s a bit lonely without listening to you guys scream at one another, set something on fire, and then cheer when things go right…”
He chuckled. “Turn on the radio.”
I chuckled at his comeback. “Still not as interesting.”
He took another bite of his sandwich.
“How are things going on your propulsion…thing?” I listened to every word he said, but it was hard to remember all the details because I didn’t understand the science aspect. I could rarely remember the name.
He shrugged. “It’s rough.”
“I’m sure you can figure it out, Derek.”
“I’m not worried about figuring it out. But rocket science is different from all other fields because you can’t push your work through a simulator and get results, punch it into a computer and have your software check everything. The only real way to know if it’ll work is to launch the rocket. It’s like launching software without a single bug—practically impossible.” He bit into his sandwich again.
I’d never thought about it that way before. “Wow,