Page 69 of Starrily

The door suddenly flew open as Jessica whirlwinded into the office. “Hey, guys!” She stopped, her eyes lowering to Simon and Callie’s joined hands.

Simon and Callie coughed at the same time, and he quickly let go of Callie.

Jessica kept her eyes on the same point for a moment longer, then shook her head and smiled. “Long time no see, huh? Tell me everything about the telescope observation. Boy, I can’t wait to get back to business.” She made a vague punching movement with her fists. “What’s on the agenda for the upcoming week?”

Simon sighed and looked at Callie. “Who’s gonna tell her?”

“Two weeks.” Everett rattled his fingers on the glass of Simon’s working desk. “You’ll be gone for two weeks … on aroad trip.”

“It’s an important road trip,” Simon said.

“FranCon is in two days. You’re supposed to be there. You have a presentation to do!”

Simon slumped in his chair. “You can do it. You know our products as well as anyone.”Especially me.

“That’s not the point! You’re the CEO, the genius, the technological mastermind.” Everett put his hand to his forehead. “You’re the charismatic presenter—I’m just the man behind the curtain. You go on the stage and flash a phone and a smile, and all the women will faint and buy our stuff.”

“Always good to feel appreciated,” Simon joked, not that it worked on Everett. “Maybe it’s your time in the sun. Or the limelights.”

Everett shook his head. “This is because of that Guidry woman, isn’t it? First the telescope, now … this.”

“It’s an emergency.” He couldn’t tell him what kind, of course.

“Her emergency! You’ve got nothing to do with it.”

“Well …”

“Well, what? Go on. Give me one good reason you have to leave right now.” Everett fixed him with a firm stare.

Simon kept silent.

“I should’ve cut the funding. You clearly don’t have your priorities straight.”

Simon scoffed. “Of course. You don’t think any priorities besides business ones exist.”

“Excuse me?”

Simon weighed his options. He had to tell Everett something, or he’d never hear the end of this. And maybe letting Everett know this was connected to him would help. As ruthless as he was in business, Everett was still human and cared about him.

“It’s me,” Simon said. “I’m sick.”

“How? Where?”

“It’s a complicated condition.”

“Then you should be in a hospital, not going on a road trip.” Everett ran his hand over his bald head. “Is it something left from the accident? Or something new?”

Could he tell him? Everett had always said he could trust him. And Simon always had. “I think it’s from the accident.”

“Then we should go see the same doctors that healed you back then.”

“I don’t think they can help.”

“And a road trip can?”

“It’s just a journey to a destination. Cal—Dr. Guidry, she knows some people in Louisiana that can help me.”

“What kind of doctors does she have access to that we don’t?”