Page 14

Chapter Fourteen

Luke

It's only been two days since I left Vegas, but already, my world seems several shades darker than it was before. The glitz, the lights, and the intimacy of Vegas have drained away, leaving the cold corporate world behind... Except cold implies sterile, unchanging, and my life has been nothing but chaos.

Meetings, meetings, more meetings. PR strategies, social media campaigns, video recordings to demonstrate that our other products are unaffected, manic calls with shareholders to assuage their fears, eighteen-hour days that don't leave me any time to reach out to Sera.

I text her good morning... and good night, and that's all I can manage. I haven't worked this hard since the company first launched. Plus, there's a three hour time difference, which means she's normally asleep when she gets my good night text.

Toward the end of the second day, Andy buzzes through on the intercom. My assistant and go-to man has seemed depressed since leaving Vegas, too, or maybe that's just me projecting how I feel onto everyone else. "Steve is here to see you. And sir, he looks..."

"Speak your mind."

"Unhappy."

I stand. "Send him in."

Steve marches into my office, opening and closing his hands into fists. "I just got some news from the AI team," he says. "They finally found the rogue code. It was well hidden... but they found it. You're not going to like this."

"Lay it on me," I demand.

He grinds his teeth, suddenly reluctant.

"Steve, don't tiptoe around this."

"It was TechGuard," he says.

I drop into my seat, shaking my head. "TechGuard..." The company that Sera works for. "She..." She promised me they weren't involved , I almost say, but I don't want to show how vulnerable I feel in front of Steve.

After the surprise performance with Delilah Sky, we shared a bottle of champagne and then fell asleep together... well, she fell asleep. I held her for a long time, savoring the moments, knowing I'd never experience happiness like that again.

In the morning, saying goodbye was the hardest thing I've ever done. But I had to do it. For the company. And now Steve is telling me she was involved. Her department was, at least.

What if she knows nothing about it?

"I'll get to the bottom of this," I say firmly.

Steve flinches. "We need to sue them into the dirt."

I will not tear her world to pieces before I have all the information. But that's not the excuse I'm going to give to Steve. Plus, there are other concerns.

"We don't want it to look like we're not taking responsibility for this. So far, we've won some PR points by being open and honest. If we try to pin it all on some smaller company, a contractor, we look weak. If a small department in TechGuard can derail us, what are we worth?"

He sighs. "After this, no more contractors."

"You're getting no argument from me there. It's my fault for caving to the shareholders and their greed. They've learned their lesson now."

Steve gives me a rare smile. "I know. I heard you on the call with them. I've never heard somebody flayed over the phone before."

I laugh. He's not wrong. I unleashed fury on them, so they'd understand a few million extra in profit isn't worth a fuck up of this magnitude.

"I'll make enquiries," I say. "In the meantime, fix the code. Fix the AI. Fix the car."

"We will," Steve replies. "But please..."

“Go on,” I say tersely, when he looks down and stops pauses.

He swallows. “I’m sorry, but please don’t tell her anything.”

“We’re done here,” I say, my voice devoid of emotion.

He turns and quickly leaves the room. The thought that he thinks he has any right to speak about her makes me sick. Who does he think he is? He doesn’t know her.

Sure, I don’t know her, not as much as I’d like, but those days in Vegas were meaningful. I formed a connection with her I’ve never experienced with anyone else. Ever. I have to believe that counts for something.

After another conference call, I take out my cell and text Sera. It will be around seven PM on the East Coast right now. I’ve moved one of my meetings… using the excuse I’m digging into the TechGuard mess. But a precious few minutes to talk with Sera? That’s worth more than even a billionaire could pay.

Luke: How’ve you been, Sparkplug?

I smile when she replies almost instantly.

Sera: Woah, is this something more than ‘good morning’?

Luke: I’m sorry, beautiful. I’ve been so busy.

Sera: I’ve seen online. But it looks like you’re doing a good job. You’ve kept the share price steady apart from an initial blip.

That’s true, but trust in the AI feature is at an all-time low. If I can’t make it work – and get answers – the share price situation will change drastically. People expect results… not bucketfuls of cash sunk into research and development to receive no real gain.

Luke: How have you been keeping yourself busy? Apart from fantasizing over a certain CEO, of course…

Sera: LOL. I wish I could shoot you down, but I can’t. If I was a cool, calm, and collected sort of chick, I’d tell you I haven’t thought about you once. But the truth? I’ve been thinking about you a lot. Furthermore, the last couple of days have proved how difficult long distance can be.

She’s right. I want to tell her it’s just because I’m going through a busy period, but huge portions of my life – weeks and months at a time – are busy periods.

Luke: I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too. You’re always on my mind.

Sera: Other than that. I’ve been spending time with Ellie.

Luke: How is she doing?

Sera: She’s happy to be getting some treatment. Graham is staying stoic, but I can see how worried he is underneath it all.

I swallow, not wanting to lead the conversation where I know it has to go.

Luke: Is it affecting the other people in your department? How many are there in your department, by the way?

Sera: It’s a small subsection of TechGuard. There are only seven of us.

Dammit. I was hoping she would say it was more than that.

Luke: Are you still working on your AI project?

Sera: I’ve been tinkering with it. I’m more concerned with intent – if we can call an algorithm that for ease of conversation – rather than it sounding friendly at this stage. I’m training it to recognize empathy without going the whole ‘sacrifice one to save a million’ route. It’s a fascinating series of problems.

I can feel her passion through the phone, my memory going back to when she gave the speech, her enthusiasm imbuing each sentence with excited energy.

Sera: How is the hunt for the saboteur going?

I almost don’t want to tell her, but I can’t lie.

Luke: We’ve narrowed it down to TechGuard, as a matter of fact.

Sera: WHAT!?

Luke: My co-lead just told me. He wanted to go nuclear, but I told him I’d try to get more information. I need to know, Sera, that you had nothing to do with this.

Sera: Are you fucking kidding me?

Luke: You didn’t know me before the conference. You had no reason to be loyal to me.

Sera: Newsflash, Luke. I would never sabotage any product we were working on, not because you rocked my world and shattered my heart, but because I’m a PROFESSIONAL. I care about my work. I care about the future of AI. I care about this department. Graham has worked so hard trying to make it mean something to corporate. It’s his pride and joy.

Luke: I’m sorry, Sera. I had to ask. I had to be sure.

Sera: It’s fine.

She says she’s fine, but I doubt it after what I just told her.

Luke: It’s not. It’s messed up. But thanks.

Sera: I’m going to find out what’s going on.

Luke: What? How?

Sera: I don’t know yet, but if somebody thinks they can ruin everything you and Graham have worked for, they’re about to get a rude awakening. Who the hell do they think they are? I care about you. I care about Graham. I’m not just going to sit here and let them get away with it.

I smile, my pride for her expanding even more, something I wouldn’t have thought conceivable until it slams right into me.

Luke: You don’t have to.

I type out the message, but she sends another message before I click send it.

Sera: Don’t tell me not to do this, Luke, because it isn’t your choice. If somebody has been sneaking around behind our backs, sabotaging not only you, but us too, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I’m going to help you with this whether you like it or not.

My smile grows wider.

Luke: Be careful, angel. I don’t want you to get in trouble.

Sera: It’s not me you need to worry about.

Luke:

I send a series of flexing emojis, then get back to work. I’d prefer to spend the rest of my day talking with her, preferably not via text, but she was right when she said long distance would be difficult for us. There’s too much work, an endless ocean of it, going on and on and on…

After several hours, I grab a quick break to check my phone. She hasn’t texted me again, but I’ve got a missed call from Victor. I walk out onto the balcony adjoined to my office, giving me a view of the LA cityscape and a healthy lungful of fresh air.

“You called?” I say, skipping a greeting.

Victor chuckles. “It’s that bad, is it? I was going to ask if you want to go for dinner one night this week, but from the way you answered the phone, clearly you think there’s a big, important business deal about to go down.”

I laugh darkly. “It’s been nonstop,” I admit.

“Any update on the sabotage?”

Why did he have to ask me this? If he didn’t, I would’ve remained quiet about it. But I can’t lie to Victor, the closest person to a father figure I’ve ever had.

“It was TechGuard,” I say with a tired sigh. “But before you offer any theories, I’ve spoken to Sera. She had nothing to do with it.”

“You told her,” he says flatly.

“I trust her,” I snap. “Go on, tell me I’m being an idiot.”

“Oh, Luke.” He sighs. “I don’t think you’re being an idiot. I just want you to think about this. I know you’re smitten, but?—”

“It’s more than smitten,” I interrupt. “She’s a good person. If you told me I had to bet my fortune one way or the other, I’d bet on her not being involved. I know how that sounds, but it’s the truth. She’s got a good heart.”

“And you know all this after a few days in Vegas.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not my place to tell you how to live your life, but please, Luke, for your own sake, be careful.”