My Wife is a Hacker (Nicole Riddle and Jared) novel Chapter 611

Chapter 611
Nicole looked at him and frowned gently. “His name is Jared.”
Carl looked at her; the difference in her attitude was so pronounced that he was almost in despair. “Why can’t it be me?” His face was a little pale with a sense of fragility. “We’ve been partners for so many years, and you should be well aware of my feelings for you. I would like to know why it can’t be me.”
Nicole looked at Carl calmly, as if not surprised by what he said. “Carl, you know me.” Her upturned eyes were beautiful yet cold, with a look of calmness. “I like someone, or I don’t. I will not hide or back down and don’t want to affect you. If you think my personal relationship has affected our partnership, I’ll leave after I’ve settled the thing, and we won’t be in touch
again.”
With that, she looked at Carl, who was in disbelief. She was quietly waiting for his response. Carl forced a smile, not expecting Nicole to say such a thing to him. ‘That’s not what I mean.’ “Nicole, we’ve known each other for over ten years. Are you going to leave me over this?” He asked, feeling upset. “Don’t you really think of me as a brother?” 1 Nicole looked at him calmly. “I wouldn’t have said something like that had I not treated you as a true brother.” She knew that keeping it ambiguous would hurt Carl even more, eventually.
Carl looked stunned and seemed to have figured out what Nicole meant. He remained silent for a long moment while Nicole waited patiently. Noticing Nicole look him in the eyes, a bright smile returned to his face. “I got it, Nicole. The camaraderie between us is something that matters to me, and I don’t want to give it up. I’m happy to keep our relationship as it is.” Nicole nodded, looking at Carl, who had quickly thought it through, with a faint smile in her eyes. “Good.”
‘Carl is still excellent; there is no need for him to head into a blind alley with her.’
There was a fleeting look of dejection in Carl’s eyes as he could tell what was on Nicole’s mind. But he quickly raised his eyes and handed the thing in his hand to Nicole.
“This is my drawing. Could you take a look at it?” he said excitedly.
Nicole looked at his design drawing and raised her eyebrows in appreciation. “This design is very innovative.” She casually pulled a piece of paper and did some number crunching, then changed a few incorrect numbers on the drawings, and then handed it back to Carl. “You can now design and build your baby.”
Carl felt a little excited upon hearing her affirmative reply. Nicole’s approval was a boost of confidence to him. He clenched his fists and looked Nicole in the eyes as if he was making a promise. “I will get first place.”
looking at him, she always knew that this partner of hers was extraordinarily capable. So she nodded her head and said, “I believe in you.”
Carl’s frustration of being rejected vanished, and he happily emerged from Nicole’s room and walked toward his, not noticing that Vera was looking at him from the stairwell.