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Actually, she was happy that she could provide him with some amusement, because she couldn’t seem to find anything else to do to help him. She felt swamped by guilt most of the time for taking advantage of his generous nature.
He had laundry and cleaning staff who came in once a week, so it left little for Kara to do except cook, and she had plenty of extra time to do that. Baking and cooking were about the only useful things she could do to help, but Simon seemed to think it was some monumental task akin to saving his life when she fixed a meal. It seemed that Simon didn’t cook and existed mostly on sandwiches when he was at home because he had never really wanted to employ a full-time chef. Of course, his personal assistant bought his groceries, a task that Kara had taken over from a grateful Nina. Simon’s assistant said that she was tired of seeing Simon live on the microwave dinners and the sandwich fixings that he requested every week. The tiny, well-kept woman, probably somewhere in her sixties, had just uttered an emphatic, “Hallelujah, he’ll finally eat,” and handed Kara his usual grocery list quite joyfully.
Kara closed her nursing book, her studying complete, and stretched out on her back, rolling on the huge king-sized bed in the guest room until she was staring at the ceiling.
She should ask Simon what he wanted for dinner, although she already knew how he would reply.
Anything that I don’t have to cook!
He usually spent the morning in his office and the afternoon and evening in his computer lab upstairs. The condo was enormous, and Kara wondered if she would ever find her way around without making a few wrong turns.
Hopping off the bed, she walked through the gorgeous living room, admiring the view from a large picture window. Simon lived in the penthouse, the largest condo in the building, and every twinkling light of Tampa was spread out in front of her in breathtaking splendor. How incredible to have this splendid view every single night. She wished Simon would take a moment to enjoy it. He seemed to be obsessed with a project right now and only came down for a brief time for dinner before returning to his lab.
Kara wondered if he was avoiding her and felt guilty that he might be hiding in his own home. They had never spoken about what had occurred in the kitchen six days ago. They circled around each other politely, making superficial conversation at dinner.
As she turned and mounted the black spiral staircase, she admitted to herself that she actually wanted his company. Working and going to school had kept her busy and her loneliness at bay. Now, she had too much time with nothing to do in the evenings except watch Simon’s enormous television or read after she had finished studying. Solitude was all well and good, but it got lonesome night after night. At least when she was working, she had the company of customers and the other employees.
Disgusted with herself, she turned left after she reached the top of the staircase, making her way to Simon’s lab. What did she have to complain about? She had every luxury, every convenience. She lived in a home most people only dreamed about and never had to worry about funds. Still, she wanted a little more of Simon’s company when she should just be damned glad she had a roof over her head and an endless amount of food to eat.
Stopping outside the door to his lab, she tapped lightly.
“Come in.” The abrupt, distracted reply made her smile. He was definitely consumed with some sort of project.
Usually she just poked her head in, but curious about Simon’s lab, she entered and closed the door behind her. Computers were everywhere and Simon had a chair on rollers that slid from one computer to the other, making it easy due to the plastic that covered the floor under the circle of computers. She padded across the plush carpet until her feet met the smooth plastic and peeked at the computer screens. Gaping, she realized she recognized the picture on the largest screen.
Squinting, she asked quietly, “Hey. Is that Myth World?”
His head popped up and he met her eyes with a surprised look. “Yeah! You know the game?”
“Know it? I’m at expert level,” she answered, slightly insulted that he thought she wouldn’t be familiar with such a popular game. “Lydia had it and I was hooked after trying it the first time.”
She loved the game and always got some time in whenever she could on Lydia’s computer, even if it was late at night. It was her one indulgence. She couldn’t resist letting the computer take her to a whole new world when she played the game, challenging her to find out its secrets and battle mythological figures.
Simon’s lips started to curl and kept going until he was wearing a shit-eating grin that made her heart skip a beat. It was the first honest, completely brilliant smile that she had ever seen from Simon. He rolled his chair over to the computer screen with the familiar figures as he answered, “It’s my game. This is Myth World II.”
“Oh, my God. Let me see.” She pushed in front of him in her excitement. She hadn’t seen the original game in a week, and here was the newest edition. Right here in the home she lived in. “Is it done? Can I play it? I really miss that little bit of escapism.”
“I just have the demo. It’s not on the market yet. You can try it if you like,” Simon answered in an indulgent and boyish voice. He went through the controls and stood, allowing her to plop her rear in the available chair and focus on the new game.
It was similar, yet completely different, and Kara worried her bottom lip as she tried to figure out all of the intricate details of the game. “You made it harder,” she accused in a laughing voice.
“Was the original version easy?” he asked her with a smile in his voice.
“No. But it wasn’t this hard,” she answered, her eyes concentrating on the busy screen.
“It was. You just aren’t used to this one yet.” His eyes scanning her face, he asked, “What do you like about the game?”
“The strategy, the challenge of figuring out secrets, the make-believe world. It’s like being catapulted into another dimension for a short time.” She tipped her eyes to his as she got completely destroyed on screen. “You are a genius, Simon,” she told him with complete honesty. “I never realized that this was a Hudson game.”
Kara could almost swear he was blushing as he turned his head, replying diffidently, “It’s just computer stuff. Nothing exciting.”
She pulled her hands from the desk and folded them neatly on her lap as she told him emphatically, “It’s incredibly creative, Simon. It takes more than programming to come up with something like this.”
“I’ll put them on your laptop,” he told her quietly.
“Oh, Lord, no. I’d never get my studying done.” Her eyes laughed up into his, her tone playful.
“I think you can control yourself,” he returned, sounding disappointed.