The Nerds and the CEO (The Nerd Love Equation, #5) Read online

  The Nerds and the CEO

  A #NerdLove Equation Novel

  Allyson Lindt

  This book is a work of fiction.

  While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Allyson Lindt

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Acelette Press

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  The Nerds and the CEO (The Nerd Love Equation, #5)

  Blurb

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Epilogue

  THE END

  The Nerds and The Matchmaker Chapter One

  Also By Allyson Lindt

  About the Author

  For my eternal dragon

  Blurb

  AS LONG AS ANTONIO has Justin and the Silicon Valley start-up they built together, Antonio’s content to hide his true feelings. He’d rather keep Justin’s friendship than confess his love and lose everything.

  But Justin’s gotten careless with their business.

  The board of directors sends them Emily, a contract developer, to ensure their rules are being followed. Justin doesn’t expect her to be the one-night stand he played out the scorching fantasy with, of sharing her with Antonio.

  As long hours and tight deadlines push the three closer together, they heat up keyboards and the sheets. If their private hookups become public knowledge, she’ll lose her job, they’ll lose their company, and the three will be torn apart before they discover if all of them can find happily-ever-after together.

  The Nerds and the CEO is a stand-alone novel, but shares characters with the other #NerdLove Equation books. Check out the entire series, including The Virgin and The Kingpin, available exclusively in the Holiday’s Ever After box set.

  Chapter One

  “CAN WE PUSH OUT THE beta on this subset of rewards?” Justin pointed to a line item on the production schedule displayed on Antonio’s monitor.

  The men sat across from each other in Antonio’s office, hammering out scheduling details that didn’t want to be tamed. Antonio twisted the screen to face him, and frowned. “Not without drawing extra attention. And if I give any of my guys more work, I have to stop pretending these demands don’t require overtime.”

  “Fuck.” Justin didn’t have a problem offering their salaried employees an incentive for working extra hours, but he and Antonio were already pushing their luck with their time demands. Trying to balance working on a project their board of directors explicitly turned down, with getting other work done, was taxing everyone as it was.

  Justin stood and strolled to the other side of Antonio’s desk. Justin leaned in to get a better view of the split screen, resting one arm on the back of the chair and his hand on the desk next to Antonio’s. A flash of heat flowed between them, despite Justin not making contact, and he paused for a moment to let it pass. Years ago, when they started working together, Justin questioned the energy. Was it attraction? Lust?

  It was common enough Justin wrote it off as nothing these days. Familiarity at the most. He focused on the development timeline. “There’s nothing else to move.”

  “No. We’re tapped.” Antonio twisted in his seat. Muscle rippled along his back, stretching his shirt and hinting at a physique honed by a steady diet of gym-time. He faced Justin. “I need another person.” Antonio’s r’s rolled of his tongue. His accent wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to reveal Italian was his first language.

  That, combined with a strong jaw and brown eyes so dark they were almost black, got Antonio a lot of tail. Male. Female. He had his pick. If Justin were anything other than straight, and not worried about destroying a brilliant friendship and business relationship, he’d be tempted to see if the reality matched the promise of the packaging.

  Justin shook the thought aside. It was better than dwelling on the work issue, but it would dead end just as quickly as this search for more development hours.

  Antonio’s phone rang, and Rebecca flashed on the screen. Justin reached past him to hit the speaker button. “What’s up?”

  “I had a feeling you were in there.” Rebecca was Justin’s assistant, and frequently knew better where Justin was supposed to be than he did. “Grant’s looking for you.”

  Justin gritted his teeth as a dull throb started behind his right eye. He didn’t have to ask if she knew what Grant wanted. Justin had hoped to put off another money conversation until after the PrimeAssure contract was signed.

  He grabbed the receiver. “Send him through.” The line clicked. “Grant. Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I do for you?” He moved back to the opposite side of the desk and dropped into a seat, sharing a scowl with Antonio.

  “How’s the weather up there?” Grant’s tone was pleasant. It was also disconcerting. This was a man who loathed small talk.

  “Sunny. Warm. Perfect golf weather, if you like that sort of thing.” Same as it was nine times out of ten in San Jose.

  Antonio raised his brows.

  Grant made a tsk-tsk sound. “Never cared for golf. Listen, about that conversation we had a few months back?”

  “Which one?”

  “You know which.” The one where Grant was concerned about annual profit loss projections, and asked if Phase 3 would be out of beta in his lifetime. “Don’t yank my chain on this. The solution to low numbers is not to put higher numbers on paper.”

  Damn Rebecca for being efficient. Justin would make sure next time to specify don’t send this until after the PrimeAssure visit rather than no rush to get this to Grant’s office.

  “The projections are legitimate,” Justin said. “Our alphas have all gone smoothly, and we’ve got a beta and contract in the pipes.”

  “In the pipes isn’t signed.”

  “It will be. I wouldn’t have slated the money if I wasn’t confident.”

  Grant sighed. “The problem with you tech boys is you’re always confident. It doesn’t equal reality.”

  “In three weeks, I’ll have signatures, I’ll have a deposit, and those numbers you’re looking at will be a modest estimate.” Justin wasn’t making things up for the sake of looking good. It might seem like smoke to someone not on the inside, but he had no doubt the deal was done. He smothered irritation that someone would
question it. Grant had his reasons, and those were based in experience. This was a different beast, though.

  Antonio had a small pocket of their developers working on the projects he and Justin wanted done. If they could get something out there, stay under the budget set for the entire company, meet their existing deadlines, and prove it was a worthwhile endeavor, he could justify expanding the company it into more. It was the staying under budget and still meeting deadlines that caused issues for Justin and Antonio.

  Justin looked up. Antonio gave him a sympathetic smile and shrugged. At least that made for a reassuring view.

  “Tell you what,” Justin said to Grant. “Your next office visit is coming up. Make it three weeks from now, and I’ll show you the contract personally, as well as let you sit with the developers and see how this flows.”

  “That sounds great. In the meantime, I’d like to give you some extra help, to ensure you meet your upcoming release date. I have the perfect retainer for your group.”

  Justin’s stomach sank. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  “It’s no trouble. It won’t come out of your budget. Ms. Lowry is my best, and she’ll be there to help you and reassure me. Nothing more.” Grant kept a handful of contract developers on a small salary when they weren’t working for him, and paid their standard hourly rate in addition to that when he needed their skills. It ensured they made him a priority when he called. For instance, when he lost faith in a company.

  There were rumors he stayed vested in one or two companies over the years, after his retainers fixed their projects. No one remained solvent after Grant branded them as not viable, though. His investment was the equivalent of a gold rating, and his pulling that money was a death knell.

  Justin scrubbed his face, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “When you put it that way, it sounds fantastic. I look forward to it.”

  “Great.” Grant’s voice was flat and seconds later, the line went dead.

  Justin didn’t put the receiver back in place. “Plans tonight?” He looked at Antonio.

  “Same thing I do every night.” It wasn’t taking over the world, but he and Justin spent most of their free time hammering away at the programming work they didn’t have enough staff for. It didn’t matter that it was Friday; the answer was always the same.

  “We’ll take tomorrow night off.” The impulse struck Justin, and while it wasn’t a good idea to waste that time, they were going to need a little break before things got really busy. It had been too long since he and Antonio went out for fun. And watching Antonio pick someone up, especially when he hinted after at details, was as alluring to Justin as finding his own hookup.

  Justin dialed another number. “Rebecca, as you’re walking out tonight, will you call us in a delivery from Golden Dragon? Standard order and instructions. Thanks.” He finally replaced the handset in its cradle, then leaned back in his seat. “I almost forgot. You’re getting an extra developer.”

  WHEN ANTONIO WAS GROWING up, it was a given that he’d take over the family business—his father’s technology company—someday. That didn’t stop people from asking him what he wanted to be when he got older. His answer changed weekly, but he was pretty certain what he did now was never on the list. Not that he knew how to describe what this was. Keeping the suits happy while trying not to lose grasp of the dream he and Justin built from the ground up? Not exactly a job title.

  Another developer should be good news, but rumors about the type of extra staff provided told Antonio this wasn’t news to celebrate. “I’d like to think you’re joking.”

  “My sense of humor isn’t that bad. She’ll be here Monday morning. Grant assures me she’s the best retainer he’s got.” Justin said the word retainer the same way someone might say hitman. In Grant’s case, they were synonymous. Even with disdain dripping from Justin’s voice and marring his expression, he was attractive.

  Antonio would much rather admire the scenery for a few more minutes than have this conversation. Too bad that wasn’t practical. “Do we pause the work on education?”

  “No. Definitely not.” Justin was toeing the line of carelessness with this project. It wasn’t obvious at first, but after his fiancée dumped him six months ago, and as the work deadlines got tenser, he let more slide.

  Sometimes Antonio worried Justin would throw away what they already had, to prove his education idea could work. Not that Antonio blamed him for pushing. Despite the title Founder and CEO that decorated Justin’s business cards and email signature, Justin didn’t have the kind of control he wanted over their finished product. Money talked, and they still needed someone else’s to make the magic happen.

  “Grant assured me she’ll only be here to provide extra labor. She’s not a spy or anything of that sort. My interpretation.” Justin ground out the words with disgust. “Give her the tasks that require the least training, and leave the high-end work to the people who know the product. We still have full control.”

  “That sounds too simple.”

  Justin’s smirk shown through pursed lips. Kissable, alluring... Antonio shook the thoughts aside to focus on when he was alone.

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Justin asked. “I don’t think for a minute she won’t report back to him, outside of whatever we tell him.”

  Normally Antonio tried to distract himself from things like the set of Justin’s mouth when he was focused. Or the intense flash of Justin’s blue eyes when passion—good or bad—simmered inside. Or the fact he was more handsome than was fair. Right now, Antonio preferred enjoying the eye candy to acknowledging Justin’s creeping irritation, and his half of an awkward power struggle of a conversation.

  “But you don’t want to shut down the extraneous work while she’s here.” Antonio shifted the direction of his thoughts, and the big picture clicked into place. “That’s what we’re doing tonight—figuring out how to keep the other project off her radar.”

  “Yup. With a little maneuvering, she can shadow each of us as is expected, and never have to know we’ve split our resources.” Some of the strain evaporated from Justin’s voice. “I’ve got another meeting. We’ll regroup this afternoon.”

  “Wait.”

  “Hm?” Justin paused.

  “Never mind. I’ve got it.” Antonio wouldn’t give voice to the doubt whispering through his thoughts. The murmur that Justin might sabotage this on purpose. He might be nearing burnout, when it came to shelving his ideas in favor of the board, but this company was still his baby. Asking—even implying otherwise—would add a new layer of tension to the situation, and that was the last thing they needed.

  Antonio dove back into his work. If he had a brand-new developer coming on, retainer or not, he had a lot to rearrange outside of what he and Justin would discuss tonight, and probably over the weekend. Like making sure the new person had enough work to keep busy for at least a couple of days, with minimal instruction, until Antonio figured out a longer-term schedule.

  Fortunately, he had a mile-long list of minor bug fixes—the kind of thing that always got shoved to the last minute, because they were quick to fix, but somehow never got corrected before the initial release. They should be easy to hand off and get her familiar with the code, so Antonio could see what she was capable of.

  A group chat message from his development team chimed over his speakers.

  Picking up Mexican. Anyone want anything?

  The question was followed by a series of lunch orders. He hadn’t realized it was noon. With the schedule that loomed in front of him, eating at his desk seemed like the best option. He typed, grab me whatever the special is today, and turned back to his work.

  Just as he was getting back into the right mindset, his cellphone chimed. So much for finding his focus. Dad flashed on the screen, and Antonio swiped Answer without hesitation.

  “Ciao.” It felt good to speak in his native Italian. It was nine in the evening back home, and this was usually when his parents called when they wanted to chat.r />
  “How’s it going?” His father’s cheerful voice rang over the line.

  Antonio wouldn’t mind chatting, if he weren’t strapped for time. “Great. Busy. Life as usual. What’s up?”

  “Checking to make sure you still plan on being home for your mother’s birthday.”

  Antonio had scheduled the time off months ago, and he was looking forward to seeing Milan again almost as much as he was seeing his family. “Of course.” The trip was six weeks out. His development team would have either met their deadline by then or missed it by a mile. Either way, he wasn’t skipping something as important as Mother’s birthday. “We talked about this, though. Nothing’s changed. You could have emailed.” He stayed casual despite his suspicion. Dad wasn’t much for idle chatter. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got a couple of business associates in the States this week, and I’d like you to show them around San Jose while they’re out there. Also, I was hoping while you were home, we could discuss transition, and set aside some dates to make things happen.”

  Oh. That. Dad wanted to retire, and have Antonio take over his technology business. Move back home. Stop working for someone else, and pick up the reins of the family business. It was the one thing Antonio didn’t need to be thinking about. He’d managed to put it out of his head for a few days. “Happy to take the gentlemen out to dinner. Give them my number, and we’ll make arrangements. I’m not sure I’ll have final dates for you by then.”

  “It’s been more than a year since we started kicking this around. How much longer do you need, to set the wheels in motion? Have you started making transition plans with Justin yet?”

  He hadn’t. Justin was half the reason he didn’t want to go. The other half was that Antonio wasn’t interested in the family business. He and Justin built this one together, from the ground up. He’d worked for his father for a couple of years and never made it above the bottom rung. He didn’t belong there; he did here. “The timing hasn’t been great.”

  “We’ll talk about it when you’re back in Milan.” The pleasantness vanished from his father’s voice. “No excuses this time.”