The Boy Who Has No Belief - Victoria Quinn Page 0,60

my hand over my chest as I turned to the door and got it unlocked.

I stepped inside and found my mom in the recliner watching TV.

Lizzie had fallen asleep on the couch.

Mom grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “A heads-up next time, Emmy.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. It won’t happen again.” I set my purse on the counter and pulled out my books, careful to hide the smile that was heavy on my lips. I stared at them for a while before I carried them to the bookshelf where they’d been before, the area vacant for months because he took so long to decide what to write.

“Are those Derek’s books?” Lizzie’s sleepy voice came from the couch.

“Yes.” I turned back to the living room and looked at her. “Get to bed, honey. You shouldn’t be falling asleep on the couch.”

“Grandma does it.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Well, Grandma doesn’t live here. Now, come on.”

Lizzie gave her grandmother a hug before going to bed.

My mom got off the couch then gave me a quick look, checking me up and down. “If you want some alone time with your boyfriend, that’s fine. Just check in.” She headed to the door and walked out.

How did moms know everything?

Whatever. Nothing could take away my happiness right now.

15

Derek

“You think booster thrusters will work?” Jerome asked. “It’s going to add more weight to the vehicle, take up more space, and not to mention, it’s a hazard to the vehicle.” Jerome stood beside me and stared at my drawings, seeing where the gas compartment would be. “It’s just risky.”

I never told my employees this, but I only hired people who disagreed with me, not agreed with me. It was obvious when I conducted interviews when people were just enamored of me and would agree with whatever I said. I actually hired the people who were critical of my work because that was a benefit to me. Jerome and Pierre both challenged me, and when that happened, I was forced to defend my stance. If it held up, I knew it was the right decision. If they picked it apart enough, I knew it could be improved. “Unless we find a better tire solution, I don’t see an alternative. Not only is the rover a huge investment, but it takes over a year to arrive on the planet, and it’s such a disappointment when the rover gets stuck and has to be decommissioned. There’s little oxygen on the planet, so the chance of explosion is small. And when the tires get stuck somewhere, there always has to be a contingency plan to get it out of the situation and continue operating. It doesn’t need to have a lot of fuel, just enough for one or two boosts, so those incidences should be rare.”

Jerome listened to what I said, and after a while, he nodded. “What if we spend more time working on the tires, and if we can’t find a solution, we go with the boosters?”

“I agree.”

“Alright.” Jerome walked back to his station to get back to work with Pierre.

My phone vibrated on the desk, a message from Ryan popping up. Hey, I thought it would be fun to get the groomsmen together for a night out. Just some drinks at a bar. Not really a bachelor party, just a hangout. Friday night. You in?

The time I’d been dreading had arrived, and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. I had to be a man and suck it up. I had to be there for Ryan, not just because I was his best man, but because it was an important time in his life. I didn’t want to miss it, and I definitely didn’t want to miss it because of that motherfucker Kevin. You know I’ll be there.

Great. Just a casual thing. No strippers or anything.

I respected Ryan’s commitment to Camille. I’d been out with him many times and offers were always on the table, but he never faltered. I was his best friend and he knew I would take his secrets to the grave, but he never created any secrets for me to keep. He was loyal, committed, and honest, and that was another reason why I loved him. I knew how it felt to be cheated on—it fucking sucked. That’s fine with me.

That’s right. You’re pussy-whipped like me now. ;)

Yep. I didn’t care if the guys gave me shit about it. They’d stopped asking me to come out after I’d said no