Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,12

make them go away.”

Romeo was giving him that look again. “We’re not zapping anyone.”

“I know,” Teddy said cheerfully. He hadn’t really meant it, of course—it had just seemed like the suggestion might needle Romeo a bit. And, well, mission accomplished.

“Let me see the list,” Romeo demanded.

Teddy handed it over, but kept his pen. If Romeo wanted to add something, he could use his seventeen-cent Bic. But although Romeo scraped his lip with his teeth and mumbled things under his breath, he didn’t write anything more. Finally he handed the pad back. “All right. How do we reconcile this?”

They played with designs on Romeo’s tablet for a long time, taking turns making changes to the vase’s look and schematics. Every now and then, Teddy did something ridiculous—like shrinking the sensor almost into nothingness—mostly because it was sort of fun to watch Romeo sputter. Also, Romeo sputtering was better than Romeo serious, his head bent close enough to almost touch Teddy’s, the warmth of his body making Teddy forget he’d originally felt chilly in this room.

Sometimes they took a short break to stretch their cramped muscles and rest their screen-blurry eyes, or maybe one of them would hurry to the bathroom or fetch fresh coffee. Romeo drank his out of an extremely ordinary and boring navy-blue mug. It had no rainbow designs and not even a cutesy saying. With so many fun mugs in the world, why would anyone choose one like that?

Five o’clock came and went. The hum of the rest of the Reddyflora employees, audible through Romeo’s open door, ebbed away. After a while, big band music started to play, which meant Imani was the only other employee left. During the day, she wore earbuds, but she preferred using the speaker when she had the office to herself. Or, in this case, when she was sharing with just Teddy and Romeo.

Romeo handed the umpteenth iteration to Teddy, apparently noted Teddy’s answering lip curl, and groaned. “This is hopeless.” He stretched out his long legs and let his head loll back on the chair. But even though he must have been as exhausted and frustrated as Teddy, Romeo still looked unrumpled, as if he might stride off to a nightclub any moment and nod at paparazzi along the way.

Teddy hadn’t bothered to look in a mirror since lunchtime, but he was positive his hair had escaped the restraints of product and was doing its weird little frizzy thing. His skin, pale even in the summer, must look fish-belly white under the fluorescent glare. And the suspenders that had looked so stylish this morning felt like twin boa constrictors trying to scrunch him into a ball and swallow him whole.

Also, he was hungry again. A pizza would truly hit the spot, but he didn’t mention that.

Romeo sat back up and rubbed his forehead with both hands. “Don’t you have plans for tonight?”

“Sure. Finish work. Vegetate in front of Netflix. Sleep.”

“Really? I would have thought you’d—Never mind.”

Teddy didn’t want to never mind—he wanted to follow that intriguing half statement to its end. What did Romeo think Teddy did with his time off? And why did Teddy care?

“At this point, I just want to go home,” Teddy said.

“We could quit for tonight and take this up first thing in the morning. I guess.”

“Nah.” Teddy shook his head. “Because when we come up with a solution—if we do—we still need to give Imani time to run the final numbers. And if those check out okay, the crew will have to draw up better images for Lauren to show Joyce Alexander. That takes time.”

“I know.”

They sat without talking for what felt like a very long time. Imani’s music wafted in, and if Teddy really concentrated, he could hear the slight hum of the building’s heating system. The walls were too thick for traffic noises or the rumble of the el to make their way inside.

Romeo’s chair was a nice one, with a high back and leather upholstery. Comfortable, probably. But the one where Teddy sat had narrow armrests and a back that hit him in the wrong place, not quite giving the support he needed. He shifted a few times and then sighed.

“It’s not like we’re trying to cure cancer,” Romeo said. “Or colonize Mars. This shouldn’t be so hard.”

“Mmm.”

Count Basie’s lively riffs floated into the room, making Teddy tap his toes despite his mood.

“Joyce Alexander,” Teddy said quietly. “Man, if you’d have told younger me I might someday be designing something she’d see... I’d have