Game on, Twombly||Stuart Twombly

Chapter Fourteen

"What are we doing here?" 

The question leaves my lips as Stuart and I pull up in front of a pizza place in the cab we took from the hospital after my grandmother begged us to leave. I, of course, went back to my room to change into some clothes that aren't covered in blood. 

A short sleeved, button up dress in a peach color adorns my body, my feet covered by tan, suede wedges, my rings on my fingers, a watch strapped around my wrist, and a navy blue messenger bag slung across my shoulder. 

"This is the place where we're gonna try and get people to use Google to advertise their businesses. The others are in there now, besides Nick and Billy," Stuart explains as he pays the cab driver, the both of us getting out. 

"Wait, where's Nick?" I ask as we walk up to the pizza restaurant. 

"He's trying to get Billy back, because Lord knows we're not gonna be able to do this without him," he mumbles, putting his hand on the small of my back as we walk through the restaurant doors. 

"Who knows, maybe they'll actually be good salesmen?" I suggest as we walk up to the group who surrounds a bald man and a boy who looks about our age in a booth toward the back with computers and charts in their shaking hands.

"--can automatically match, um, your ads to webpages, uh, that are most relevant to your business," Neha manages to stutter out, making me roll my eyes and let out a sigh at her robotic voice. "Yo-Yo?" 

"Review ad performance to see impressions. Click, cost, and--" he starts in a robotic tone just like Neha, but I can't take it anymore. 

"Oh, for the love of God," I mutter, causing the group to look back at me. Their eyes widen when they see me, their faces immediately breaking into grins. 

"Holland!" they exclaim, running toward me and wrapping me in  group hug. I smile, wrapping my arms around them briefly before pulling back to look at them. 

"How's your grandma? Is she gonna be okay?" Neha asks with concerned and curious eyes. 

I nod my head with a smile. "She's gonna be just fine. There's nothing to worry about. She's actually the one who forced me to come here. You know, besides Stuart," I say, looking to the boy in question with a smile. 

Looking back to Neha, I see her mouth, "We're so talking about this later," glancing between Stuart and me. 

"Okay, you all are hopeless when it comes to any and all social human interaction," Holland states, making the rest of the team roll their eyes. She turns to the man they had been talking to, standing in front of the table he's currently sitting at. "Sir, as they have probably told you, we are from Google, and we are trying to win these--" 

"Look, you seem like good kids," the man says, interrupting me, "and I appreciate you stopping by. But we're just a family-run business. We don't do the internet."

"But, Sir," I try again, only to have him cut me off yet again. I glare at the man, ready to lunge at him. Stuart seems to sense this, for he grabs my hand, pulling me back to his side. 

"Thanks for coming. Frankie will get you a slice on the way out." 

A sigh leaves my lips as we walk out, the younger male that was sitting next to the older one , giving them slices of cheese pizza as we walk out the front door. 

The sun shines bright in my face, making me squint as the five of us lean against the brick wall of the pizza restaurant. We silently eat our food, watching as people walk and ride passed us. 

"Oh, great," Stuart mutters, his eyes on something across the road as he takes another bite of his pizza. I follow his gaze, rolling my own eyes when I see Graham's team riding Google bikes across the street from us.