until tomorrow night to decide. You donât have to declare anything now. Go have a drink. Get to know each other. Weâll have this room open at least an hour early if you want to meet here.â
Jonah wished he had entered the competition just so he could partner with Charlie. It had been so long since he had worked side by side with her. It wouldâve been fun.
But he had the chance for a different kind of fun as soon as the room cleared. He stood by the door and answered questions as participants filtered out. When Charlie came past, he stood in front of her, blocking othersâ view, and tucked his room key in her jacket pocket. âAny questions?â
She flashed a ready smile. âNot at all. I think Iâve got this handled.â
Yeah, she had him handled all right.
Chapter 7
C harlie left the conference room feeling pretty damn good. Not only had she ranked in the top three, but Jonah was also keeping his word about getting together tonight. A key card in her pocket said plenty. The halls were quiet, as the vendors had wrapped up hours ago. She knew sheâd find company in the bar if she wanted some.
What she really needed to do was figure out who she wanted to pair with for tomorrowâs challenge. As she walked toward the elevator, she thought about the opposition. No way would she ask Poison; the dude was pretty toxic. She was sure he wouldnât want to work with her anyway; she was beneath him. Then again, he thought everyone was beneath him.
âExcuse me,â someone behind her called.
Charlie turned around. The only other female in the hacking competition stared at her.
âHi, Iâm Jane. Uh, Cracker.â
Charlie nodded. The name fit her. The girl was as pale as a snowman. That probably wasnât why sheâd chosen the hacker name, but Charlie wasnât looking to get into a lengthy conversation about the origins of their names. Jane continued to stare, so Charlie asked, âCan I do something for you?â
Jane shook her head as if to clear it. âYeah, I was hoping you might want to pair up for tomorrowâs challenge. You know, since weâre the only two girls in the running.â
âWe should work together simply because weâre the same sex?â
Color bloomed on Janeâs cheeks. âWell, not the only reason. Obviously, weâre both good. I mean, I get that youâre better than me since you came in third, but you know what itâs like with the guys. Most of them canât believe weâre allowed in the same room. As if weâre not worthy.â
Of course Charlie knew.
âYou donât really want to go through having to talk to all of the guys and hope one of them will partner with you, do you?â
âI also donât want to rush into an arrangement without considering all my options.â
âFair enough. Maybe we can grab a coffee tomorrow afternoon?â
âSure. Iâll look for you on the con floor. Have a good night.â The elevator opened, and Charlie sincerely hoped Jane wouldnât follow. She wanted to go to her room and grab some clothes and then go to Jonahâs room. Would spending the night interfere with her keeping it simple? Worse, was she being presumptuous to think she could spend the night in Jonahâs room?
She rolled her eyes. She and Jonah had spent plenty of nights together, and he never had a problem with it before. A quick run through her room and then she went up two floors to Jonahâs room. Part of her wished she had something special to wear, but she didnât even own any sexy lingerie.
All this thinking was making her nuts. This was Jonah. He liked her the way she was. At least while she was naked. She wasnât quite sure what else to think of Jonah. Sheâd never gotten around to asking why he left without a word. Mostly she was afraid of the answer. Heâd moved on to bigger and better things.
And sheâd needed to