Page 117 of Only the Wicked

I swirl the coffee in my cup. If I were him, I’d want to know who’s paying my salary, but he doesn’t seem overly bothered. I suppose lots of companies have investors, or owners as he chose to describe it, who work behind the scenes.

“Hudson’s good people,” Jake says, and it’s clear, to him, that’s what’s most important.

“I agree.” At least, that’s my preliminary read on my new boss.

If KOAN doesn’t work out, I really will be unemployed, but that’s not something I worried much about when I agreed to come on. If the team doesn’t pan out, I’ll find something else. After I uncover the leak.

“Should I call Hudson?” He squints one eye, and I think that’s his way of asking for more information. “To give him the update.”

I could tell Quinn, but she’s our tech guru. Her response will likely be about as useful as Jake’s.

“Go ahead.” He scratches his head and stands with a grunt. “I’ll hop in the shower. Give you privacy.”

I could also go up to the suite, but this is better. Down here, there’s no chance Rhodes will walk in and things will get awkward. If I were to shut up, he’d assume I’m keeping secrets.

The bathroom door clicks closed. Hudson doesn’t answer, so I look up Caroline’s name, then press to call her. She answers on the third ring.

“This is Caroline.”

“Hey, it’s Sydney.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You sound down.”

A deep melody mixes with the running shower. I’m pretty sure Jake’s butchering a Jimmy Buffett song.

“I wouldn’t say down, I’d say–”

“This has to do with the guy.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Call it a hunch.”

“Can I ask you… Dorian…does he ever…” I can’t ask if her husband sees himself as better than everyone else without sounding bitchy. “Does he view those… Does he see the world as a stratified class system?”

Dorian not only has more money than Rhodes, but he was born into his wealth. His uncle was president. He’s basically American royalty.

“He wouldn’t say that…”

“But he does.”

“He’s not the best at getting to know the people who work for him.” The way she says the words slowly, like she’s stringing the sentence together cautiously, is almost humorous. “What’s going on? Is MacMillan rude to wait staff?”

A long time ago, Caroline and I, along with a couple of other friends, wrote up a red flag list for dating. Rude to the server was at the top of the list. Logical for our group. We’d all been waitresses at some point during school.

“No.” He just categorizes an entire section of the population as NPC’s. “But you love Dorian, right? I mean, obviously you do. Not only did you marry him, but after you separated, you got back together with him. So even though he?—”

“Dorian’s not perfect. I love him despite his imperfections, although, I’ll admit, sometimes it can be challenging. But, I mean, you know, you don’t get to be in Dorian…or MacMillan’s place…without some ego attached. That’s what you’re talking about, right? He’s got a massive ego?”

“No, not really.” I wouldn’t say his ego is huge, but then again, I’m still getting to know him. There’s the rub. “I guess I want to know that I can trust him.”

“Ah. You’ve seen a red flag, which is unnerving. My advice is to take things slow. Get to know him and get to know how you are with him. Those are two different things and I would argue they are equally important.”

“I didn’t actually call you for advice.”