I want You Deeper

Jeremy’s eyes widened. Brooke was an interesting person. She was this bundle of energy, packaged into a petite frame. It would be hard to even be in a room with her without smiling.

Which was why what she’d just said had been just fine. If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded catty and negative. But Alyssa’s former employee was one hundred percent genuine.

“It’s okay,” Alyssa assured Brooke. “It all worked out for the best…for all of us.”

Justin, who had been watching this entire exchange with amusement, finally spoke. “Brooke’s pretty spectacular, but we had to reduce costs, so the more senior staff members were the ones we cut. Which is exactly why we’ve decided to outsource.”

“And that’s where you come in.” Brooke pushed a button on her laptop and the big whiteboard on the other side of the room lit up.

They all shifted their attention to that wall, where Brooke stepped them through a presentation on their goals, their numbers, and how much those numbers had changed since Alyssa left.

Jeremy watched, mildly interested, but even more interested in what was going on in this room. It took some complex politics for a company to fire someone, and then bring her back as an independent contractor later.

“It’s not just about the company, either,” Brooke said once she reached the final slide and everyone had turned back to face her. “I wasn’t finished learning from you.”

Justin sat up in his chair, clasping his hands on the table in front of him. “We anticipate we’ll need you just a few hours a week at first. But some big events are coming up, marketing expos and such. Some travel may be involved, but I’d love to send the two of you to represent the company.”

Next to him, he felt Alyssa perk up. He knew, then and there, that this was everything she wanted. He also suddenly knew why things had felt so off in this conference room. It wasn’t weird politics. It was right there, in the way Justin looked at Brooke.

They were a couple. Jeremy’s first thought was actually that Justin had a crush on Brooke, just as he considered himself to have a crush on Alyssa. No guarantee it was reciprocated. He recognized Justin’s expression while he watched Brooke sell Alyssa on taking on this project. Jeremy was pretty sure that was the same expression he had when he looked at Alyssa.

But then Brooke looked over at Justin, just after he suggested Brooke and Alyssa attend events together, and Jeremy saw the expression on her face. Whatever Justin felt for Brooke, it was reciprocated.

Yep. They were a couple.

“This sounds amazing,” Alyssa said, looking from Justin to Brooke. Jeremy wondered if she noticed the sparks flying between the two of them like he did. “What are the next steps?”

“Brooke will fill you in. Jeremy, let’s take a walk.”

A walk with Justin Travers. How could he possibly turn down that opportunity?

The funny thing was, just a couple of weeks ago, if someone had asked him if he wanted to have a meeting with Justin Travers, Jeremy would have thought about asking his thoughts on business sorts of things. Right now, though, he half-hoped the guy and would have some suggestions for figuring out how to win Alyssa over. Or, at the very least, how not to repel her by opening his big mouth.

“We’ll be right back,” Jeremy called out as they exited, but he may as well not have wasted his time. Neither of the women seated at the table even glanced his way. He followed Justin out, heading straight for the elevator.

It was strange-like he had orchestrated it-but they passed no one between the conference room and the exit to the building. Meanwhile, they made small talk about Jeremy’s return, his time overseas, and how his company was doing. The entire time, Jeremy just wanted to ask what this was all about.

“I love what your company is doing,” Justin finally said as they started a walk around the block. “I’ve been watching it for some time.”

Was he about to say he wanted to acquire Jeremy’s company? That wasn’t really how these deals were made, so that made no sense. No, it had to be something more.

“I have an idea for a new piece of hardware, and that’s what you do.”

That was definitely what Jeremy did, which set him apart in most circles. He was constantly in conversations with founders of companies specializing in software. Apps were fun. He’d always been more into the inner workings of technology, but he got why everyone went the app route. Justin’s tutoring app, for instance, helped kids learn. It was easy to explain to people and get their interest. When someone asked what his company did, eyes usually glazed over, even when he explained it in short, very basic terms.

“It would take my concept beyond tutoring. Kids could learn anywhere, interacting as they would in a classroom.”

Jeremy didn’t want to break bad news here, but he’d heard enough pitches in his day to know when someone was off base. “Sounds like software to me.”

“We already have the app down. We need to take it further to make it more like a classroom. And for that, we need hardware.” Okay, now Justin had his attention.

They’d circled the building and were in the elevator by then. “Let’s schedule a meeting,” Justin said as the elevator drifted up to his floor.

“Loop in your business partner. We’ll discuss.”

“Sounds good.”

Jeremy didn’t want to look too eager. If they were going to partner up on something, he had to retain his negotiating power. But the prospect of working with one of the biggest legends in tech had him pretty excited.

They stepped out of the elevator to an empty conference room. Jeremy looked around, not sure what to do from here.

“Sync up with my assistant and we’ll figure it out.” Justin dropped that sentence and headed off down the hall.

That left Jeremy standing there, wondering where he could find Alyssa. When he looked down at his phone, he got the answer to his question. Alyssa had left.

Took a rideshare home, the text read. Thanks!