As they left the office, Candace pulled Kenny aside and said, “Come here.”
She looked gorgeous as always to Kenny, a mature kind of beauty people would look back in a yearbook and say, How could I have not noticed her?
Except Kenny had always noticed her. Her rich brown skin from her Jamaican side, the stark ginger-blond curls from her Scottish side. She didn’t fit in, just like he didn’t. Except where he was quiet and soft, letting people walk over him, she was ambitious and strong. It was intoxicating.
But what the hell had just happened in Morrissey’s office?
Before he could ask, she tossed him something. “Catch!”
He caught it reflexively, then opened his hands to find the vial of his blood.
“What? But you just told Mrs. Morrissey…”
“I get it.” She smiled at him coyly. “You’re still in character. Method. Nice.”
What is she talking about? Why did she lie to Morrissey’s face?
“I can’t believe that.” Her face flushed with excitement.
“Yeah,” Kenny stalled.
“I mean, it went off just like you said.”
Like I said? “Right.” Kenny tried to act like he had a clue to what was going on.
Candace gave him a funny look. Had he blown his cover already? But this look was different. It sent a delicious shiver up his spine.
“You know, I’m impressed,” Candace said.
“Really?”
“The way you handled this. You didn’t let Eddie steamroll you.”
“Oh. That.”
“Yes, that. I’m serious. You always struck me as the kind of guy who would walk away from a fight.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Maybe if you’re Jesus. Not at Turner.”
She took a step toward him. They were alone in the cafeteria, the lights still off. In the distance, they could hear clattering from the lunch prep in the back.
“On the phone this morning, it was a new you.”
On the phone? This morning?
He’d never called Candace in his life.
They were strictly papermates.
Yet the way she was looking at him now made him feel strong in his chest. He stood a little taller. He felt a little tingle.
“How did I sound?” He was just curious, but it somehow came out flirtatious.
“You were … like a boss. Eddie wasn’t going to roll you.” She took another step closer. He could feel the electricity. “You were going to roll him.”
Kenny could lift his hand and close the distance between them. His hand could fall right on her shoulder. The back of her neck. The small of her waist.
He tried but it wouldn’t move.
Like a boss. You were going to roll him.
“And you … believed me?”
“Yeah. Who knew you had balls?”
She mentioned my balls! What would Harry Styles do?
This was uncharted territory. Yet she moved closer. The look in her eyes hadn’t faded.
“You lied for me.”
“Yeah.”
“You believed me.”
“Your story?” She shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe Eddie set you up. Maybe you set him up.”
“Then why?”
She took that final step. Her face was so close to his.
“It was your voice this morning. I just knew. You were going to win.”
She leaned in then and their lips met. Kenny had never kissed a girl before. Or a boy. Or any nonrelated human. The soft press of lips lit him up like a firecracker.
Someone dropped a tray in the kitchen and they pulled apart abruptly, suddenly self-conscious as if they’d realized they were naked.
“Whoa,” Candace said.
On any other day, Kenny would’ve said whoa back.
But today he heard himself blurt, “About damn time.”
Forget the Game using my voice on the phone, he thought—he’d seen AIs on YouTube master voices after minutes of audio samples. More pressing: Who the hell inside me just said that!
Candace shook her head. “I like it. I like this you.”
The bell rang and it was time to go. Kenny didn’t want to blow his cover. He didn’t want to stop this. But still, he had to know.
“Aren’t you curious? If it’s my blood in the vial?”
She smiled. “Like you said, if it is, he just got it from the robot thing in the Tech Lab.”
“So why lie? Why not just give her the vial and explain it?”
He shouldn’t be asking. He was going to blow it all. That kiss!
But he had to know.
She looked confused. “You said it. Sometimes the truth needs a little help.” She looked at her watch. “I have to go. Just remember your promise.”
“My promise…”
“Don’t you dare back out. I’m the EIC now. You’re my deputy.” She leaned in and pecked his cheek. “Don’t worry, the work environment will only be as hostile as you want it.”
And with that she was gone.
Kenny sat there for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. From certain expulsion and public humiliation to Candace kissing him and Eddie out of his life in the blink of an eye.
All Your Dreams Come TrueTM, he thought.
Indeed.
Why did it feel so shitty?