Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Lucky for me that grin didn’t do a damn thing besides piss me off. It was so annoying, it canceled out his appealing features, like his blue eyes.
Tanned skin.
Plump lips.
Fuck.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” she said. “Moving on, let’s look at the syllabus. I’ll tell you a little about what you can expect in this lab for the next six weeks.”
As I slid my syllabus in front of me, Ken Doll leaned over. “Name’s Ryder,” he whispered, making electricity run down my spine.
Of course it was. Such a rich boy’s name.
His breath tickled my ear, which was the only reason I shivered. Warm air unexpectedly brushed across sensitive nerve endings. That’s all.
“Alex,” I ground out through clenched teeth. I scooted my chair away from him. “You’re too close. Back off.”
He grunted out a laugh, then finally turned his attention to Marissa as she reviewed the syllabus.
Being a summer program, everyone paid out the ass to attend. There were no exams or papers, only ungraded projects we had plenty of time to complete and learn from. As I listened to her review our planned schedule, the buzz of anticipation I’d woken up with returned. This is what excited me—computer coding, machine learning, robotics, all the nerdy technology I could get my hands on. I wasn’t about to let spoiled idiots ruin this opportunity for me.
Working with Ryder would be fine.
“Grab a pen or highlighter,” Marissa commanded. “There are a few important details I want to emphasize.
The spoiled idiot plucked his backpack off the floor and rifled through it. After pulling out a pen, he dropped the backpack on the table—a Prada?—in my space and halfway across my laptop.
“Uh,” I whispered. “Wanna move your shit?”
“It’s an expensive bag. I don’t want it to get dirty on the floor.”
This had to be a joke.
“It’s a fucking bag.”
“Shh. I’m trying to listen,” he spoke sideways out of his perfect mouth.
Not that I’d noticed.
Of course, he didn’t remove the bag. Instead, he rested his elbow on the table and, every few seconds, shifted it my way, nudging the thousand-dollar bag farther on my laptop.
All the while, he sat there with an innocent expression, staring at the front of the room.
It happened at least four times, and each time, my blood heated another few degrees. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Mommy and Daddy clearly taught him he was better than everyone else because they had fat wallets. Maybe it was time for him to learn their money couldn’t save him in every situation.
As slowly as I could, I inched my fingers forward until I could grab the strap on his bag. Then, with one solid yank, I sent the whole thing, every thousand-dollar bill that bag cost, tumbling to the floor. His shit flew in every direction. His pencils, pens, and paper fluttered to the floor all around our lab table.
“Oh shit,” I cried. “Ryder, you knocked your bag down. You’d better pick it up before it gets dirty. Looks like a nice one.” I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing out loud. Damn, pettiness felt good sometimes.
I risked a glance at Ryder, expecting the same anger and annoyance on his face that he’d been causing me. All I found was that damn Ken Doll smirk.
“Let the games begin,” he mouthed.
Fine, if that’s how this was going to be, I could roll with it.
Let the games begin.
CHAPTER ONE
ALEX
The animated thump of house music thrummed through my veins on tempo. Some nights, the music felt like the only thing keeping my blood pulsing and my brain computing. Even the energy drink I’d chugged before my shift couldn’t keep me on my feet as well as the heavy pulsing beat. If the power cut out and the music vanished, I’d collapse to the floor in a heap, fast asleep.
Day to day, I balanced graduate school, family drama, and work—three obligations that could have kept my schedule packed individually. Together, they damn near drove me into the ground, but all were essential. School would get me out of this life, my job kept me in school, and my family was, well, they were my family.
“Hey, boo.” Trevor, the perkiest and twinkiest of my coworkers, bounced into the staff lounge wearing a beige puffy jacket that reached his ankles and a winter hat with fur trim. “Dayum, it’s colder than Parker’s balls out there tonight,” he said with a dramatic shiver.
I turned from my locker and raised an eyebrow at my favorite coworker and one of my closest friends. “And you know Parker’s balls are cold… how?”
He hip-checked me as I reached his locker next to mine. “You know our boss has a heart as cold as ice. It’s only fair to assume his balls are just as frosty. Have you tried to picture that man fucking?”