Page 169 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

He’s smirking again. “Then we’re friends and partners.”

I raise a finger. “And co-executives for two weddings.”

“And you have a date next Friday.”

I’m without words as I raise my eyebrows. I’m surprised he remembered that. “I do.”

His smirk is naughty. “Maybe you’ll be force to cancel because you have to work. Your pod has been known to pull long days.”

I gulp as my sex thumps. “My pod?”

“Your pod,” he whispers.

Kiss me, Hercules.

Kiss him, Paisley.

We blink at each other. My heart stands at attention. Butterflies flutter in my stomach. We don’t look away from each other until the sensation passes.

Finally, Hercules stands. “We should go.”

I nod fervently. “Yes. We should.”

Chapter Fifty-Nine

WTH

Paisley Grove

Ienter my apartment and press my back against the door. My smile feels brighter and wider than the sun. I’m practically floating on air. What a strangely awesome day I’ve had.

My eyes dart around my comfortably decorated apartment as I try to come to grips with what’s happening inside me. I hate to admit it, but my time with Hercules has left me more confused than blissful. And I am over the moon right now, which means I am extremely perplexed.

As happy as a lark, high on my toes, I dance over to the wall of tall windows and grin at the view of the busy road below. It felt great to tell Hercules the truth and nothing but the truth. He even now knows that I made Killer Firewall and TRANSPORT.

Gazing unfocused at the traffic racing by, I recall how tortuous it felt being driven by Max to make a version of TRANSPORT he could be happy with. It was like he didn’t care that I had classwork. He monopolized as much of my time as he could. I suffered chronic headaches and stomachaches. I was always jittery and perpetually sleepy even though when I did lie down to rest, I spent hours tossing and turning. I was thankful for Eden and Jillian, though. They did whatever they could to ease my stress. Believing that I would be done with Max after fulfilling his demands was what drove me. I never intended to work for GIT after college. I had a list of companies I wanted to apply to. Mega Apps was at the top of my list.

Then one day, I handed Max a script that activated the phosphorescence tube, or the P-tube. Right in the middle of finals week, I flew across the country to the lab on Max’s private island nestled in the Pacific Ocean. Along with a team of others, I got my very first view of real-life-human-image technology. When RLHI technology hit the marketplace, it marked the beginning of the end of headset-use virtual reality.

The way the world engages with each other has been changed forever. Once upon a time, we could only interact with someone on the other side of the world by screen imagery. With RLHI, a full-light image of an individual or group up to ten people can be in a persons’ sphere during a meeting. The software package comes with ten nodes that allow users to place those individuals wherever they want them. My parents sometimes use RLHI to sleep in the same bed whenever they’re away on long business trips. Night mode has been added to the RLHI to control light glares so the room can remain dark.

However, the RLHI has no blemishes, pores, or wrinkles that are unique to an individual. You can put your hand right through the 3D copy of a human being, object, or construct. Because it’s only a unique sort of light that my grandfather identified by way of his many explorations into intellectual curiosity. He used to give me repetitive lessons. One of them was that energy keeps human beings alive. Energy is why we have lights, TV, the internet, cars, and everything we enjoy on earth. He said that, but there’s so much more of it that’s still untapped.

I recall seeing my grandfather’s dead body during the viewing before the funeral service. That corpse was not my grandfather. He was gone. That was when I understood all he’d ever taught me about energy. He gave Max the same lessons. That’s why he’s so hell-bent on enhancing the RLHI, creating the final version that our grandfather had envisioned, and that is solidifying the RLHI so it can be touched, kissed, even made love to.

I’m not part of the team for this phase of the project. But I’ve stood exactly where I’m standing now, giving the project a lot of thought. I had destroyed sixty-seven hundred CPUs on the road to creating RLHI technology. All because the NNZN light overheated my P-tube protype. I had to figure out how to digitally control the power of the light. I’ve always been amazed by what a computer processor is able to accomplish.

“Hmm,” I moan then turn to face in the direction of my office.

I bet if I had VTI’s compression technology, I wouldn’t have destroyed so many computers. Also, with their compression technology, more attendees can be added to a cohort while using TRANSPORT for group meetings.

I race across the floor, heading to my office. At my desk, I sit and think, tapping my fingers against the black acrylic. A lot of important solutions compete for space in my head.How do I bridge the gap between the Groves and Valentines?

“Marigold Grace Valentine,” I whisper as I start the process of tracking her IP address.

She’s the one keeping Hercules and me apart. She’s also making him marry his cousin. Can’t she see it? Encouraging a union between me and her son could benefit both families. Maybe resolving the feud between our families once and for all can be my new main project. But I need to know why it started in the first place. Marigold may have answers.

Hours Later