Touch And Go - Aiden Bates Page 0,83
to?” I played it off as silly, but maybe it would do me some good to see a therapist.
Julie caught the attention of a waiter and passed him the beers while she talked to me. “Me? Nah, I’m way too in denial about my own shit to start talking it through. But do you? Got someone you can talk to?”
“A few guys, I guess…” I grinned and looked down at the floor.
“Then get them on the phone, baby boy. Rely on those good contacts. And hook a girl up if they’re cute—”
“Sebastian?”
I spun around, startled, and found the new waiter leaning over the bar. His afro was huge and his smile bigger. He pointed to the courtyard. “Someone here for you.”
I glanced at the clock. Holy shit. My shift was done. Time was still wacky, spinning too slow when I needed it to race by, and disappearing when I wanted to linger. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants, pulled my backpack from under the counter and gave Julie a nervous grimace. “Job interview. For a computer position.”
She kissed my cheek and then slapped my butt on my way past. “Go get ‘em.”
The minute I stepped into the courtyard, I saw two things. First, there was no sign of anyone who looked like an IT recruiter—not a black polyester suit or even bad haircut in sight. In fact, the courtyard was all but empty, except for one table in the far corner where he sat… Broad shoulders, dark black hair, and startling gray eyes. Matt.
He raised his fingers from the tabletop as I came closer. “Hey.”
“Hi… I, uh…don’t wait the tables here.” I looked back toward the bar. “But I can get someone to take your order—”
“I’m good.” He nudged a basket of complimentary breadsticks. “Take a seat.”
“I’m actually waiting for someone…” I glanced around the courtyard again. No one in sight.
“Yeah. Me.”
I didn’t have time for games. For whatever had brought him here. I raised my eyebrows. “What?”
“Please.” He motioned to the place opposite him. “Sit down.”
I sat before my brain caught up with me, and I hung my backpack on the back of the seat as it slowly dawned on me. “Oh. I’m meeting you.”
Matt nodded curtly and showed no signs of being impressed by my deductive skills. I was perplexed by the need for all this cloak and dagger. “I don’t get it. If you wanted to hang out, you just had to call. I would have met you whenever, wherever.” The way I’d missed him felt kind of pathetic. “Or just barge into my apartment like the others. I missed you, man.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Right.” I chewed my lip and studied his face, looking for a hint of what it was he was up to.
He cleared his throat as he took a pen out of his jacket pocket and flicked open a folder on the table. “Who have you done freelance work for most recently?”
“Uh…” I rattled off a few names and threw in the big tech guys I’d been doing small jobs for before all the shit with Ben had gone down. “Why? What is this about?” Could’ve been anything from Ben stuff to…anything.
He chuckled shortly and kept his eyes on the notes he was jotting down. “Did you graduate with honors?”
“Um, yeah.”
“What hours are you available?”
“What for?”
Matt pinned me with his sharp, clear eyes. “Working for me. This is a job interview, Seb.”
“Wait, what?” Matt wanted to hire me. Hmm.
“If I wanted to see you nonprofessionally, I would have just called, but I really have been busy. So busy I need help, and I have a job to offer you.”
“Shit. Okay.” I sat straighter and wiped my hands on my thighs. “What kind of job?”
“I need a new cybersecurity man for my business, and from what I saw that day at the Tower… You’ve got what it takes, and then some.”
“Thanks. I, uh, wasn’t prepared for this. Do you want to see my resume?” I reached for my backpack, nervous now, even though I knew Matt and he’d helped me when I was going through Ben’s hard drive. He obviously knew stuff. And I wouldn’t be able to fake my way through getting hired. I was flattered beyond belief that Matt would want me on his team, but the sensation I wasn’t qualified for whatever it was he wanted me to do washed over me. Speaking of which… “What exactly do you do?”
His lips twitched with a smirk, and he cocked his head to