Page 58 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

Mason’s eyebrows turn quizzical. “What is it?”

I sense my probing gaze has made him feel uncomfortable. Separate from assessing his appearance, I’ve been wondering how to contribute to VTI’s bottom line without crossing GIT. But I'm here to do my job, and I never do anything shabbily.

“You're going about it all wrong,” I say.

I recognize his frown. He's a little uncomfortable with criticism. “And how is that?”

“You have a lot of new products, but none of them are notable.”

He readjusts in his seat, giving me his full attention as he strokes his chin. “Keep talking.”

“Well, if you don’t think big, you can’t grow big.” That’s what my grandfather used to say.

His mouth is caught open, and I take the look on his face as a sign that he wants me to say more.

“The thing is, it costs a lot of money to bring a new product to market, and it's always a gamble. GIT is our competitor. The fastest way to bridge the gap between us is to take something you do very well and make it better. Make it distinctive.”That’s how Grandfather made his fortune.

Mason shifts abruptly in his seat and then rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I see—”

I'm on the verge of going too far by strengthening our competitor’s position in the marketplace. “VTI’s products extend from video-game apps to VSC chips that work with DVR technology. Let’s figure out how to take what we have and make it bigger, or get rid of the baggage and start over.”

He slowly narrows his eyes as he stares right through me. He’s obviously thinking. And then he abruptly reaches out and taps a button on his desk phone. It rings.

“Hey, Herc. It's me, Mason.”

Suddenly, I feel like I’m being squeezed by a straitjacket.Is “Herc” who I think he is?

“Mason, what’s going on?” Hercules sounds so short.

I thought he was out of the country. Can people who are out of the country be reached with a one-button dial from an office phone?

“I’m joined by Lark Davenport, our new Jeff. I'll let her tell you what she just told me.” He nods at me.Go. Say something, Paisley.

Beads of sweat break out on my forehead, and I’m struggling to not hyperventilate or tear up. It feels so wrong and yet so right to be in Hercules Valentine’s universe yet again. I want so badly to confess my true identity—but I know I can’t.

“The beginning?” I chirp.

“Yeah, the part about thinking big.”

“You mean, if you don’t think big, you can’t grow big?”

“You called to recite a mantra?” Hercules grouses.

Mason throws his hands up as if Hercules were in the room to see the gesture. “Hold on, Herc.” He nods at me. “Give him the rest. I don’t want the big boss to think your ideas are mine.” He winks at me.

I sit up straight and try to visualize Max on the other end of the phone instead of Hercules. “Okay, well…” My efforts are in vain. All I see is Hercules’s face.

Mason watches me like he’s expecting me to be as bold and concise as I was with him.

I clear my throat. Hercules is silent.Do you ever think about me? Because I think about you often.That’s what I want to say.

“Identify a human need, and then satisfy it.”What am I saying?“Take Facebook for instance. People never knew how starved we are for human connection until the emergence of Facebook. Human connection—that’s a need.”

Hercules remains deathly quiet. I raise my eyebrows at Mason, wondering if Hercules is still on the line.

“Continue.” Mason says.

Continue?What was I saying? Oh yeah…