Hardwired (The Hardwired Series) (Volume 1) Read Free Page B

ready to decide on this?” Max grinned and gestured to the others.
    The other three men in suits nodded, and one after the next, they voiced their commendation of my efforts and subsequent decision to pass on the project.
    Blake looked me in the eye, pausing for a moment before delivering his verdict as casually as he’d devastated my morning. “I’ll pass.”
    Panic alarms went off and tears threatened, quickly following by my inner voice. She was crafting a farewell speech for Mr. Landon that included telling him where to go and how to get there. I looked to Max, waiting for the final blow.
    “Well, Erica, I think you’ve created a really great community with this, and I would certainly like to hear more. Let’s schedule a time in the next couple weeks for a follow up, and we can get into more of the logistics. After that, we’ll decide if we want to offer you a deal. How does that sound?”
    Sweet relief. I wanted to jump over the table and hug Max. “That would be wonderful. I will look forward to it.”
    “Great. I think we’re done here then.”
    Max rose to chat with the other men before they headed out, leaving me face to face with Blake, who was now smirking at me with that gorgeous smug face. I didn’t know whether to smack him or fix his hair. I had a few other things in mind too. Feeling so conflicted about someone in such a short period of time made me question my own sanity.
    “You did well,” he said, leaning in closer.
    His voice was low and raspy, making my skin tingle.
    “Really?” I countered unsteadily.
    “Really,” he reassured me. “Can I take you to breakfast?” His eyes softened, as if we hadn’t spent the past twenty minutes at odds with one another.
    Confused, I stuffed my notes back into my bag. Blake was beautiful, but he grossly overestimated his assets if he thought I was going to let him pick me up after that show.
    “There’s this great little pub across the street. They do a full Irish breakfast.”
    I stood and met his gaze, thrilled by the opportunity to serve him up a little slice of rejection. “It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Landon, but some of us have work to do.”

    * * *
    “He asked you out?” Alli gushed into the phone. New York City hustled and bustled in the background.
    “I guess so.” I was still reeling from the morning events.
    “Did you wear your power suit? With the teal blouse?”
    “Yes, of course,” I said, stripping the very garment off of me and collapsing onto our futon back at the dorm.
    “Well, no wonder. You look amazing in that. Was he hot?”
    Blake Landon was one of the sexiest men I had ever shared airspace with, but he had no respect for women in business, which put a serious damper on my attraction to him. Unfortunately, he was perilously close to being in my top ten of people I most despised.
    “It doesn’t matter, Alli. I’ve never been so humiliated.” I winced, reliving his challenges and the subsequent rejection.
    “You’re right. I’m sorry, I wish I could have been there to help.”
    “Me too. Anyway, how was the interview?”
    Alli paused. “It was good.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Really good, actually. I don’t want to jinx myself, but it sounds pretty promising.”
    “That’s great.” I tried to hide my disappointment, knowing she was excited about this one. She would be working under the marketing director at one of the biggest labels in fashion. I had known for months that Alli would be looking for a full-time gig after graduation, but the thought of running the site without her depressed me. Unless we could afford to hire a new marketing director, I would become the new voice of the company, and networking had never been my forte.
    “Nothing is set in stone though. We’ll see.”
    “We should celebrate,” I said. Heaven knew I needed some sort of reward for surviving my hellish morning.
    “We should celebrate our new best friend, Max!” she squealed.
    I laughed, knowing Max was just her type too, if she only