dripping down my chin, I grabbed a brown paper napkin.
He laughed, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth. “Mm-hmm, sometimes that too. Depends on the day, I guess.”
“And you play a lot of card games.”
“Mmm!” His eyes grew wide as he took in a huge sip of soda. “That reminds me. I need a rematch.”
“Oh really?”
“Yep, I think it was all beginner’s luck. And I think you took advantage of my injury.
“I’m sorry,” I tilted my head toward him, “took advantage?”
“Yeah, I was on some major painkillers. My brain wasn’t at its normal capacity.”
“I’m pretty sure you were on Advil,” I said, tossing a fry playfully at his face. He swatted it down to the table with a shit-eating grin on his gorgeous face, and I felt a warm glow flowing through me as he smiled.
Oh how I’m falling for that face.
”I’m serious. You took advantage of me in my compromised state. Now we need to see if you really have what it takes.”
“What it takes to what?”
“Go up against me,” he said with a flirtatious wink. “For real.”
“I thought I proved myself already. I mean, we didn’t just play one game…” I tilted my head to the side. “And maybe I don’t want to play again. Maybe I want to retain my title.”
“You don’t have a title.”
“Yeah, I do. I’m officially the one to beat you at your unicorn game.”
“We’ll see, Khaleesi.” He chuckled, taking another big bite. “We’ll see.”
A glob of ketchup dripped from his burger onto his lap. “Oh shit,” he said, grabbing a handful of napkins. “Probably should’ve changed my clothes after all.”
“Sorry,” I said through clenched teeth. “This place is delicious but awfully messy.”
“It’s all good. Cleaners’ll get it out. No big deal.”
Looking at his suit, I realized I had no idea what Dev did for a living. I knew he made good money and that he loved his job, but that was it.
“So I know I should probably know the answer to this already, but considering you thought I worked with kindergarteners, I’m thinking it’s safe to admit…”
“You don’t know what I do,” he said with a smirk. “Maren can never remember either.”
“Sorry. I know you work in an office,” I said, clenching my teeth.
“Computer and information systems management.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
“That’s what she said,” he said with a wink before taking a sip of his drink.
“Nice.” I tried not to laugh, but he was growing on me, and the jokes that would have annoyed me months ago were making me smile, laugh, and appreciate the humor behind them. “But what does that mean?”
He shrugged. “Every time I explain my job in detail, I get this blank stare in return. So let’s just say I work in computers and leave it that.”
“You won’t get a blank stare from me.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Doubtful.”
“Try me,” I said, wiping my hands with my napkins and placing my hands in my lap, giving him my full attention.
“Wow, you stopped eating and everything. This is serious.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, here goes.” He took one more sip, then cleared his throat and began. “I work for a company named Wiz Tech, which is a multibillion-dollar tech conglomerate. I analyze the company’s computer needs at all levels and give recommendations on software and hardware improvements. I also plan and direct the installation and maintenance of said hardware and software. ”
I nodded as I attempted to process everything he said without appearing to have a blank stare.
“You failed,” he said, throwing a fry at my face. I caught it and popped it into my mouth.
“I did my best. But I will say it sounds like you’re a really important guy. I have heard of Wiz Tech, by the way. Don’t they have offices everywhere?”
“Fifty-six countries so far. Working on expanding to a few more by next fiscal year. When that happens, I’ll need to travel over there for a week and get them started.”
“Anywhere cool?”
“Germany and the Philippines, to name a couple.”
“Nice!”
“I love it. I really do.”
“Is that what you always wanted to do?”
“I knew I wanted to work with computers and be on the technical side of things. When Wiz Tech hired me out of college, they set me on a pretty great trajectory, and last year my boss retired and I was asked to replace him. It was a shit year for me in other areas of my life, as you know, but work-wise it was the best of my life.”
“We should have celebrated that promotion.”
Dev paused. “We did. Pete and Maren