Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance novel Chapter 1603

Leo pulled out a chair and sat down next to Chunky, eyes glued to the computer. He pointed at the screen, breaking down exactly how to fix the glitch.

A few coworkers shot curious glances at “the boss’s girl.” She sat there, sweet and quiet, sometimes scrolling through her phone, sometimes looking up at her boyfriend across the room.

Leo and Chunky were still knee-deep in tech talk, hashing out solutions, totally oblivious to Anya watching them. “Chunky, this server just can’t handle that much,” Leo said. “We’ll have to compress everything.”

Chunky shook his head. “It’s already as compressed as it’ll go.”

They kept trying different things, hoping something would stick.

After a while, Anya got thirsty and wandered over to Leo’s desk. She grabbed his familiar water bottle and poked him on the shoulder. “Chad, is this your water bottle?”

Leo glanced over. “Didn’t you buy that for me?”

Anya grinned. “Just making sure I don’t grab someone else’s by mistake.”

She filled up the bottle at the water cooler and took a long drink.

Once she finished, boredom hit. She drifted outside to the patio, pacing back and forth before hopping down the steps one by one and leaping off the last one for good measure.

Leo and Chunky finally settled on a temporary fix. Through the big warehouse window, Leo spotted Anya bouncing around outside.

“Look at her—she never just walks like a normal person,” Leo said, a mix of exasperation and affection. He got up and headed out the door. “Hey, come down from there. If that platform breaks, you’re going down with it. Come inside—it’s freezing.”

“Okay!” Anya called back, hopping down and following Leo inside. He pulled up a chair right next to his. “Sit here. We’ll head home later tonight.”

Anya nodded and settled in beside him.

Later, their cook dropped by, so they cobbled together a simple dinner at Leo’s studio, working straight through until nine at night.

Finally, Leo got up and draped Anya’s coat over her shoulders. She tugged her arms through the sleeves. Leo turned to Chunky. “I’m going to the university tomorrow to meet my advisor—see if he has any ideas about today’s mess. I’ll be back in the afternoon. And don’t even think about slacking on your diet while I’m gone.” He gave Chunky a pointed look.

Once Anya was bundled up, Leo took her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and led her out. Just before leaving, he called to the team, “Keep an eye on Chunky’s snack stash tomorrow.”

Chunky’s fifty-pound weight goal had hit a wall, and Leo was determined to keep him on track—without making him miserable.

Anya chimed in, “Chad, you should ask me for tips! I’ve been through all this.”

On the way home, Leo worried that Anya hadn’t eaten enough, so he dragged her out for a late-night snack before heading back to their apartment.

That night, Leo wrapped his big hand softly around Anya’s neck. “You’re the one who said you wanted to come home tonight, remember?”