The Payback (Team Zulu 2)

6

Sage

Thenextevening,Iswallowed my pride and knocked on Brandon’s door. My hideous ensemble had been carefully crafted. Baggy pink sweatpants, aSave Ferristee with a faded red sauce stain on the collar, and no makeup to conceal the dark circles under my eyes from last night’s shitty sleep. If my new neighbor was still interested in me after this, there was something seriously wrong with him.

When he didn’t answer, I went to knock again, but paused with my fist an inch from impact.

This was an awful idea. I should avoid Brandon and find some way to pay for the expensive repair my computer needed.

Laptop in hand, I spun on my heel and made a hasty retreat. The creak of Brandon’s door opening made me freeze one step away from the safety of my apartment.

Shit.

“Sage?”

The sound of his smooth, rich voice sent an unwanted flush creeping up my neck.It’s just hormones, I told myself.Nothing but a visceral response to an attractive person. It doesn’t mean a thing.

With my back to Brandon, I mentally fortified myself for dealing with him. Asking for help, even though he’d offered it, was something I loathed.

I turned around. “Hi.” My breath caught when our eyes met. It’d only been a day since I’d first stared into them, and they were no less enthralling now.

“What a nice surprise.” Dressed casually in a white tee and gray cargoes, he folded massive arms over his broad chest while leaning against the doorframe. It looked like he’d just gotten out of the shower. A wisp of still-damp dark hair hung across his brow. I definitely didn’t want to use my fingertips to brush it aside for him.

He nodded toward my laptop. “That giving you trouble?”

“Yeah. It wigged out on me when I fired it up last night. I took it to a couple of shops today. The repair quotes were scary.” This month’s tight budget didn’t allow for the extra expense. I was lucky to live in my nan’s old apartment for free. Lettie paid a modest rent, which helped with my day-to-day costs, and I tutored sophomores and juniors to cover the rest.

One side of Brandon’s mouth tilted up. “I’m only mildly offended you didn’t bring it to me right away, but let me see what I can do.” He held out a hand, and I passed him the laptop. When he left the door open and headed inside his apartment, I made no move to follow.

“Come on in. I just brewed a pot of coffee.”

Crap.

Plan A of tossing my computer at him like a hot potato and hightailing it back to my place was a complete failure.

Open boxes littered Brandon’s living space along with a small dining set, black leather sofa, timber coffee table, and a big-screen TV that had yet to be mounted on the wall.

After pouring two cups of coffee, he handed me one. “Is black okay? I haven’t been to the store to buy creamer yet.”

“Black’s fine.” It was how I drank mine, anyway.

“My tools are in here.” Brandon waved me through to the room that mirrored my own. Except when he opened the door, it wasn’t a bedroom at all, but some kind of home office on steroids.

Four large screens covered one wall. Facing them were a comfortable-looking swivel chair and a desk holding a keyboard, laptop docking station, two tablets on support stands, audio speakers, and a multifunction printer. Against the side wall were several tall glass-door cabinets filled with black boxes, each of them with colored blinking lights—server boxes. Odd that there were enough for a large office. A little overkill for one person.

Hard plastic cases were arranged on the other side of the room. They were unlabeled, except for one with a picture of a four-propeller drone. The space whirred with the sound of all the electronic devices. The window-mounted AC unit explained why it was so cold in here. It probably ran twenty-four seven to keep the equipment from overheating.

He must’ve spent the entire day organizing this room while neglecting the rest of the apartment. What did he use this stuff for?

At the desk, Brandon connected my laptop to one of his and ran what looked to be some kind of diagnostic program.

“I met your roommate last night.” His eyes remained on the screen while his fingers danced across the keyboard. “She seems…intense.”

I smiled, wondering what Lettie had said to get that reaction. “She’d probably take that as a compliment. Don’t let her size fool you.”

“Never again. Do you back up your files regularly?”

“Yep. Everything important is in the cloud.” A small grace.