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  “I heard every word you said,” she blurted out, cutting off his thoughts and bringing him back to reality. Then she continued without taking a single breath the entire time. “It was very interesting. I have a million questions, but I know there's no time for that. A few of your ideas really got me. I'd thought of those very same ones myself, but I'd been told that they wouldn't work. I'm glad to hear I was right. I learned a lot from your talk, and I took a ton of notes. I can't wait to read through them. Thank you for coming to our class. I just wanted to apologize for earlier and say thank you.”

  Before he could even respond, she'd turned, pushed right back through the group of guys, and was gone. Cody turned and looked over to see a huge smile on her teacher's face.

  “She's one of a kind,” the man said, with a laugh. “She knows what she's doing, and she's damn passionate about her work.”

  “Gavin Lucas is her father,” Cody said.

  “He is,” the teacher replied.

  “Why didn't you ask him to speak?” Cody asked.

  The teacher looked at him nervously, with his smile gone, but didn't answer.

  “He turned you down?” Cody asked.

  “He did,” the teacher answered.

  “It was nice meeting all of you,” Cody said, as he stepped forward.

  The guys standing before him cleared the way, and Cody walked toward the door. He walked into the hallway and began to turn the corner, and there she was again, standing just around the bend, talking to another woman her age. Cody took a step back before she had a chance to see him. He heard the woman with her begging her to go out. It was their last day of classes. They were done, and her friend wanted to celebrate. After several attempts, Julie finally gave in and agreed to go. She said she had work to do but would meet the woman there. That was when he caught the name of the place they were going to.

  With a smile on his face, Cody stood tall. Then he rounded that corner again and walked right by the two women. He could feel eyes on him the entire time, and he couldn't help but laugh to himself. He could use a night out, he thought. It had been a very long time since he'd had one, and it was starting to sound pretty damn good.

  “If I can't get her on my team, I can at least find out what her daddy has been up to,” he told himself, as he pushed open the door of the building, ready for the evening ahead.

  Chapter 3

  Julie

  Julie was sitting alone, at a table, in a club she hadn't even wanted to go to. One of the few friends she had at school had begged her to go so they could hang out, but the second a guy looked her friend's way, she'd taken off with him.

  What Julie really wanted was to be at home, in her pajamas, relaxing on the couch with her laptop in front of her. She wasn't a social butterfly and never had been, but she wasn't lazy either. When she wasn't at school or studying for school, she was working on her laptop or the computer in her room.

  Her sister Jessie tried to get her to put it all away and hang out so many times, but Julie couldn't be bothered. The two of them shared an apartment together, so it wasn't that she blew her sister off. They ate, watched their favorite shows, and spent time together, but Julie preferred to stay home while her sister liked to go out with friends. Those were the times Julie would soak up the silence and get to work the most.

  As Julie watched her friend's one dance turn into another and then another after that, she decided it was time to leave. Just as she moved to stand up, someone plopped down in the chair her friend had vacated way too long ago.

  “Going somewhere?” she heard a deep, manly voice ask.

  When she looked up from the table at the very fit, t-shirt clad chest, to the sexy face, with a huge smile, she knew her eyes widened. Cody Williams, her father's biggest competition, was sitting in front of her.

  “I was just leaving,” she let out in almost a whisper.

  “That's a shame,” he said, with a slight laugh. “I was coming to chat.”

  “With me?” she asked.

  “You're the only one here,” he stated.

  “My friend was here, but she's off dancing,” she said, with aggravation in her tone. “I didn't want to come here in the first place.”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “It's not my scene,” she said.

  “Oh really?” he asked, and she nodded. “What exactly is your scene, Julie?”

  “Honestly?” she asked, and he nodded. “I'd much rather be home in front of my computer than here, Mr. Williams.”

  “Cody,” he said quickly. “Please call me Cody, and if I'm being honest, this isn't my scene either.”

  “It's not?” she asked.

  “Not at all,” he said. “I'm actually a pretty boring guy.”

  Julie caught her eyes scanning down his chest before moving back up to his face. That was when she noticed his eyes. They were dark and mysterious. It was the first time she'd ever really noticed a guy's eyes. Her best friend Jason had gorgeous eyes, but even his had nothing on the ones in front of her.

  “I highly doubt that,” she said, as a tiny laugh escaped her.

  “It's true,” he said, as he lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “I'd much rather be home, in a pair of sweats, with my computer on my lap.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” she asked, giving him an I think you're full of shit look.

  “I came here because of you,” he said, and Julie felt her jaw drop a bit.

  “Me?” she asked. “Why would you do that?”

  “It probably comes as a shock to you,” he said, “especially after you laughed at me while I was speaking to your class.”

  “I wasn't laughing at you,” she said.

  “Oh really?” he asked.

  “I swear I wasn't,” she said, trying to defend herself. “It wasn't like that.”

  “Than what was it like?” he asked.

  “I was just thinking about my family,” she said.

  “So you were thinking about your family while I was talking then?” he asked.

  “No. Yes. It's complicated. So you came here because I laughed?” she asked, trying her best to change the subject.

  “Not at all,” he answered. “You're the real deal.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Unless all those notes you were taking while I was talking were bullshit,” he said.

  Julie felt her eyes widen again.

  “Were you drawing pictures of your family while I was talking?” he asked, with the corners of his sexy lips rising.

  Julie felt her eyes roll before she could stop them.

  “I was not drawing,” she answered, a bit more harsh than she should have. “I was taking notes.”

  Julie was always a calm, sweet person. She made it a point to be. She'd seen her sister come off like she didn't care about the feelings of other people enough to know that she never wanted to be seen that way, but there was something about Mr. Williams, Cody, that was getting to her.

  “Other people might have just stared at you while you rattled on, but I was actually interested in what you had to say,” she said, before she could stop herself.

  “Rattled on?” he asked, as his hand went back up and ran through his hair again.

  Julie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at his response.

  “I liked your ideas,” she said. “You probably won't believe it, but I've had a couple of those very same ideas.”

  “And?” he asked. “What did you do with them?”

  “Nothing,” she answered, as a sad feeling moved through her. “Well, not nothing exactly. It doesn't matter. I just meant that I found the things you said valuable, so I wrote them down to look at them later.”

  “To steal them?” he asked.

  “What?” she snapped out. “No! I don't need to steal ideas. I have plenty of good ones of my own.”

  “I bet you do,” he said.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked harshly.

&n
bsp; “Settle down,” he said, with a laugh. “I meant it. I bet you do have good ideas.”

  “Really?” she asked, immediately feeling a confidence she'd never felt before run through her veins.

  “Of course,” he said. “You liked what I said enough to take so many notes. That means you must be pretty smart.”

  “Seriously?” she snapped out, and he burst into laughter.

  “You should see your face right now,” he said, as he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “I was just kidding. You seem very smart. Shit! Your teacher even said you were.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Yep,” he answered. “He said you were brilliant.”

  “I am,” she said.

  “I bet you are,” he said. “So, what notes did you take? Can I see them?”

  “I don't have them with me,” she said. “I'm not sure I want to show them to you anyway.”

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “Why's that?”

  “Those are trade secrets,” she said, with a laugh. “I'm going to lock those babies away in a vault. You never know when I might need them.”

  “Need them for what?” he asked.

  “To kick your ass,” she said, as she pulled her shoulders back, feeling more confident than she had ever remembered feeling before.

  “Kick my ass?” he asked, with a smile on his face.

  “You heard me,” she said. “Keep smiling, buddy.”

  After a few seconds of silence, they both burst into laughter.

  “I'm serious,” he said. “You were the only person that took a single note. I'm genuinely curious to know what you found valuable in what I'd said. I'd really like to see them.”

  “I'll think about it,” she said.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “You're something else, Julie,” he said.

  “So are you, Cody,” she replied.

  Just as he'd opened his mouth to say something else, her friend walked up. What a time to pick to want to hang out, Julie thought, wishing her friend would turn around and go right back to the guy she'd been dancing with.

  “And who's this?” her friend asked.

  “I was just leaving,” Cody said, as he stood up, not taking his attention off of Julie. “Can I see your phone?”

  She shook her head but handed it to him anyway. He messed around with it, and seconds later, she heard his phone ding from inside of his pocket, but he didn't reach for it. Instead, he handed her phone back to her.

  “It was nice chatting with you, Julie,” he said, as he turned to walk away. “We'll have to do it again sometime.”

  “Hey,” she called out to him, and he stopped and turned to look at her from over his shoulder. “How did you know where I was?”

  A giant smile filled his face. Then he turned back and walked away.

  “Damn him,” she growled out from under her breath.

  The man had looked really good in a suit just hours before, but seeing him in jeans, that settled against his ass in just the right way, and a t-shirt that clung perfectly to each muscle had Julie undecided on which look she liked better. They were both so damn sexy.

  “Who was that?” her friend asked, as she turned and watched him leave. “He was at the school today, wasn't he?”

  “He's nobody,” Julie answered, knowing it was a total lie, but not ready for the million questions she knew would be coming her way if she told her friend the truth.

  As she watched him walk away, she hoped she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life by giving him her number.

  Chapter 4

  Julie

  The next afternoon, Julie was sitting on her couch, with her feet up, still in her pajamas. She had her laptop on her lap, her phone next to her, and the television on. It was her first day off from school. She was done, and she couldn't be happier. Her dad had already text her to see when she'd be coming home, but she hadn't answered. Honestly, she wasn't even sure of the answer herself.

  When she went home the night before, after having Cody walk up and take a seat at her table, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Was he as bad as her father and uncle made him seem, or were they just pissed that some new, young guy was taking them on? Sure, the guy was definitely confident, but if he really was coming out as strong as it sounded, maybe he had a right to be. He didn't seem mean or dirty, which were two of the words the men in her family had used. The man definitely had a sense of humor and some really great ideas.

  Julie opened the browser on her laptop and began searching for information on Cody Williams. She'd done it before but only for a few seconds. Since all she was going to be was a lackey for her father, she hadn't really seen a need to dig deeper into the competition. Most of what she knew came out of the mouth of her dad, who felt threatened by the new competition, and her uncle, who had no filter whatsoever. It was time to do her own search, and search she did. She found photo after photo of the very handsome and sexy man she'd seen just the day before. Most of those photos were of him in a suit, much like the one he was wearing while he spoke to her class. There were a few photos of him on a golf course, and it stated that they were from a charity event. That was a good thing. Julie loved when companies gave back, and she made it a point to tell her dad and uncle that every chance she got. Julie hadn't stumbled across any photos of Cody with arm candy hanging from his arm. That was another plus. She found things about his business, and none of it was awful. So, where had her family gotten their information? They worked with many companies on different projects. Had it all been through word of mouth? Had it been from reputable sources? Were they just pissed that he was taking the local coding scene by storm? The man was cocky, but she'd also found herself being cocky with him, and that was not normal.

  Julie was usually soft spoken. She'd even thought that maybe that was part of the reason her dad didn't look at her the same way he looked at her brother, the one that hated the business and took off for the service. She always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, don't judge someone from other people's thoughts and all. That was just another negative in her dad's eyes. He'd told her several times that she went too easy on people, but she didn't care. She was who she was, and she was proud of that person. If someone screwed her over, she never gave them a chance to do it again, but she always gave everyone a chance in the beginning. Screw what everyone else thought. Those were words she lived by, and her father didn't like it one bit.

  Just as Julie closed her laptop and set it off to the side, her phone buzzed. Thinking it was one of her parents, she let out a sigh and picked it up to check it. When she saw the text, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

  Best coder on the planet: Are you enjoying your first day without classes?

  Julie: I think you have that wrong. I'm the best coder in the world. You just haven't seen it yet, but you will. I am very much enjoying my day off. Thank you for asking. Are you working hard? I sure hope so. Better stay on your toes.

  Julie quickly went in and changed his name to Cody, making sure not to add his last name. The only person that ever saw her phone was her sister, and she was pretty sure Jessie wouldn't have a clue either way, but she wasn't taking any chances. Jessie was like Gavin. She'd never cared about the family business. She'd gone to school to be a nurse, and she loved it.

  Cody: I am definitely working. If you're the best, maybe you should join my team.

  The second she read his message, Julie froze, and a nervous feeling filled her. If she joined his team, her father would disown her. There was no doubt in her mind. She'd still have the crew. They'd never side with him, but there was no way she could hurt him or her uncle that way. Joining Cody's team was not an option, and it never would be.

  Julie: I don't know about that.

  Cody: Why not? What are your plans for the summer?

  Julie thought as she read his message. She knew who he was. He'd just spoken to her class and talked about his company, but d
id he know who she was? Was he just messing with her? Was he serious? When she worked with her dad during the summers, she was a regular employee. She stayed in the background. There was a huge chance that he had no idea who she was. It wasn't like there weren't other people with the name Lucas in the world. He didn't know, she thought, and that gave her a feeling of relief. She wasn't sure why, but it did.

  Julie: I'm not sure yet.

  Cody: Don't you think you should decide? You want to jump on that shit right away. You are going to code, right?

  Julie: Of course I am. That's what I do.

  Cody: So, what are you doing today? I mean besides being lazy and enjoying your day off.

  Julie: Never said I was being lazy.

  Cody: I bet you're ass is planted on the couch. Shit! You probably haven't even gotten dressed yet.

  Julie: Have too.

  Cody: You're totally lying. I remember my first day after my classes. You're full of it. Especially after your late night at the club.

  Julie: Okay, fine. You got me there. I'm not dressed yet, but I did not have a late night. I bailed not long after you did.

  Cody: I didn't bail. Your friend came back, so I left. Not to mention, I had to be up early this morning. We can't all be lazy all day.

  Julie: I'm just saving up my energy so I can better kick your ass a little harder.

  Cody: I bet.

  Julie: I'm doing a pretty good job already. It doesn't seem like you're doing much work right now.

  Cody: Even the best of us need a break every now and then.

  Julie: Really? Should I count myself lucky that you're spending your break sending me messages? Maybe you have ten conversations going at once, so maybe I'm not that lucky after all.