Page 20 of Starrily (Perks of Being #2)

Chapter 20

C allie woke up with the sunshine and a permanent smile on her face. She yawned and opened one eye, and the image gradually cleared into the cabin room, draped in the soft yellow hues of the morning light. Simon was in the bed next to her, still soundly asleep, a lock of hair falling over his eye. She brushed it away and gave him a featherlight kiss on the brow.

“Morning,” she whispered.

He remained asleep, and she rose to sit on the edge of the bed, wiggling her toes. Bubbles of joy floated in her belly, emulating the feeling of waking up after a pleasant dream—only this time, it wasn’t only a dream, and it was much more than just “pleasant.” She giggled to herself, then threw a glance over her shoulder—she hadn’t woken him up.

Should she? No, wait—should she go to the bathroom, make herself presentable, then slip back into the bed and wake him up?

No. That was silly. She got up, washed and dressed, and headed for the door. Theia darted from her hiding place underneath the bed, but Callie grabbed her by the middle. She eyed the sleeping Simon, biting her lip.

Don’t be clingy. Let him have his rest. “You stay here,” she said quietly, lifting Theia to her eye level. “Keep Simon company.” She let Theia leap on the bed, scribbled a note, and slipped out.

At the outside restaurant by the main building, she picked a table halfway in the shade and ordered breakfast for two. As she stared at the vase of decorative pine cones in the center of the table, she ran over greeting lines.

Hey, Simon.

Hey, babe. No, no, way too much.

Morning , with a sexy, secretive smile. No, she couldn’t pull off a sexy, secretive smile.

“Just relax,” she ordered herself. This was Simon. She knew him. She could do this.

But to try and relax more, she brought out her tablet and went hunting for new research papers, downloading the ones that piqued her interest. She checked the abstracts of each one, but she’d dive into them later.

In the middle of her browsing, a new email popped up. It was from Dr. Watzmann, and the subject was only ??? . Callie’s stomach squeezed, but she quickly reassured herself. He’d probably sent her a puzzle with a wrong solution so she, too, could laugh at it.

No—it was a link to an article. Its title, in bold letters, proclaimed, Crisis at Aries Tech: Have They Been Stealing Technology ? Callie jerked away from the chair, nearly overturning it. Wait—there was no need to upset Simon yet. It was some ridiculous bait title. He’d never steal technology, and surely, he wouldn’t allow anyone in his company to do so.

She shook her head and sat back down. Stupid press. At least with scientific articles, she could rely on them having the exact, properly descriptive title.

Still, her fingers shook as she scrolled down.

Rumors are circulating about potential trouble at the tech giant, Aries … Not helped by the fact their CEO, Simon Montague, wasn’t present at FranCon two days ago … We asked Dean Everett, CFO at the company, who made the presentation in Mr. Montague’s absence, about any problems with their new project … Denied any issues with it … Aries Tech is funding QueLabs for their mission to the Moon, but they’re also supporting a smaller project by one of their scientists … Dr. Guidry, who, interestingly enough, has also gone underground …

“Underground? Really?” Callie put the tablet down. They truly had nothing better to do if they were concerned about two people disappearing. She didn’t know the reputation of the article’s website, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it were typical yellow press. What was next, assuming she and Simon eloped together?

They’d be partially right, but that was beside the point.

She glanced at the tablet. “You’re not reading any more of it,” she ordered herself.

But what was that about stealing technology in the title? Her hand hovered over the tablet, and she grumbled and continued reading. That’s how they get you. They lure you in with nonsense.

There was information about Callie’s project, which, strangely enough, was all correct; it even mentioned her giving talks on the subject. And then …

For those wondering why Aries Tech would invest in a random, seemingly unimportant project …

“Excuse me? You’re unimportant,” Callie muttered.

We have exclusive information from a source working at the company. Aries Tech are always looking for options to acquire new technologies, but they have to be mindful of the cost of such expansions. Ever since he’d started the company, Simon Montague had shown himself to be a true wonder boy of the business world, with an uncanny feel for when to invest or acquire companies and projects to maximize profits and stay a step ahead of the rest. But with this reveal, we have to wonder how many of those acquisitions were made fairly …

“What do you mean?” Callie whispered. Her hand shook harder as she scrolled further down. A ball of lead settled in her stomach. No matter how much she tried to tell herself this was just a silly article, deep in her bones, she knew something was wrong.

… Which brings us back to Dr. Guidry. Our source revealed exclusive information about Aries Tech intending to steal her groundbreaking software, inserting themselves into her project before anyone—including Dr. Guidry herself—could realize its true value …

The world spun in front of her eyes. She tossed the tablet back on the table and leaned over the side of her chair as if she’d just run a marathon and needed to catch her breath.

Her software? The code she’d been writing to process her data? Sure, she’d been trying new things, and the basis of that code could be useful for many other technologies. That’s why a lot of astrophysicists ended up working as programmers for major companies—the pay was incredible.

Only Aries, apparently, didn’t want to pay.

It couldn’t be true. They wouldn’t. Simon wouldn’t do this. He didn’t even want to be there at the beginning. He seemed to hate her. And yet, he remained … because he needed her.

No, he never needed her . Only her work.

Callie looked away in the approximate direction of their cabin as tears burned in the corner of her eyes.

Had everything been a lie?

***

A soft tapping on his cheeks woke Simon up. He smiled and blinked the sleep off his eyelids. “Morning, Phoe—”

Theia eyed him with her usual mild disinterest, comfortably nested on Callie’s pillow. He scratched between her ears. “Where’s your mistress?”

He sat up and stretched while Theia jumped over to a chair. Looking around, he spotted a note on Callie’s pillow: Meet me for breakfast, with a heart drawn next to it.

Could’ve had breakfast in bed, but there’d be other opportunities for that. Simon whistled as he headed for the bathroom, washed, and styled his hair. Many opportunities. A whole lifetime of opportunities—as soon as they fixed his problem. And on this bright and joyful morning, the problem seemed minuscule—such an easy thing to fix. Soon, he’d be free, and he and Callie … they could be anything they wanted to be.

Next to the door, he kneeled to Theia’s eye level. “What a night with an amazing woman does to a man, huh?”

Theia licked her paw.

“You don’t understand. You’re a cat.” He petted her again, then opened the door. “It’s gonna be a great day, you’ll see!”

It was still early, and there were only a few other people around in the restaurant; it wasn’t hard to spot Callie at one of the tables. Simon sat down and smiled. “Morning.”

Callie didn’t greet him back. She was staring off into the distance, and it took him a second to notice the shine in her eyes.

The shine of tears.

“Callie?” he reached for her, but she slapped his hand away.

“You lied,” she said, her voice on the verge of breaking.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

She finally looked at him. “Everything you did was to get my code.”

“Is this women’s talk for something?” What did he do wrong? Had he slept in too late?

Was she regretting last night?

Callie slid over her tablet. It was open to a web article, and Simon took in the title. Aries Tech. Stealing Technology.

He felt blood drain from his face. Her code. Callie’s software.

“When were you going to tell me?” she said in a shaky whisper. “Or, would you have never told me? Would you keep following me, trying to get on my good side with your fake smiles and bad jokes? Try to soften me up with your stupid cooking and art projects and bucket lists— oh, live a little, Phoenix ,” she spewed. “When were you going to ask me? Today? I’m probably softened enough to hand you the software for free, right? Whip up a little contract, oh, my project is yours now.”

He flinched at her use of words—the exact phrase Everett loved to throw at him. “It’s not like that.”

“Which part?” She tapped on the article. “Which part is wrong? Please, tell me.”

He scanned through it, barely acknowledging his company might be in trouble. It didn’t matter—not when Callie was angry at him . “Oh, please,” he said, getting to the last few paragraphs. “Where did they—this information isn’t even current!”

Callie’s eyes widened, and he instantly realized how he’d messed up.

“So it is true,” she said.

“Callie—”

Her chair screeched as she rose. “Was anything even real? You wanting to cheer me up because I’ve been working all day. Helping me with my talk. Getting Jessica to write about my work. Even the …” She leaned an arm on the table to support herself, reaching up to her forehead with the other hand. “The observatory. You got me a slot so my project wouldn’t be delayed. I thought it was so nice of you. No one had ever done anything like that for me. But you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you needed my project.”

“That’s not true.” He stood up and faced her across the table. “Everett had already wanted to stop the funding by then—”

“Don’t pin this on your subordinates,” she growled. “You’re the CEO. You can decide. And you were the one working with me, not him. Of course, because you’re the funny, charismatic one. Everyone loves you, so naturally, I would, too.”

“If you’ll remember, I was no happier with the situation than you were—”

“Of course, because I’m dull and boring, and I only care about my work and have no sense of humor.” She waved her arms around. “Must’ve been the sacrifice of your life. I bet you’d have rather seduced anyone else but me.”

“It wasn’t—”

She held up a hand. “I need time to think.” She grabbed her tablet and stormed off. Simon made half a move to catch her, but he stopped himself, and he stayed frozen like that, arms stretched out, until a waiter came by, carrying two cups of coffee.

“You can take them back,” Simon said, his tone expressionless, and marched back to the cabin.

He waited for five, ten, fifteen minutes, sitting on the bed, absently petting Theia, but Callie didn’t return. Should he go after her? What if something had happened to her?

Well, something did indeed happen to her— he . He messed up badly this time. He should’ve told her about Everett’s plan ages ago, at the latest when Everett threatened to pull funding. But he didn’t have enough courage, or perhaps initiative, to do it.

Simon scoffed at himself. He prided himself on being so brave, on looking danger in the eye daily and not blinking; but in truth, he was a coward, given a cozy life, so he wandered through it aimlessly. He never put up a fight with Everett, not even when he knew his adviser was doing something wrong, because he just couldn’t bother.

And now Callie was going to pay the price. He may have been the culprit, but he dragged her name into the newspapers, made it so everyone would only remember her as that woman who got cheated, instead of the wonderful person she was.

And he’d taken her trust and broken her heart.

He dragged himself to the bathroom and started to pack up his stuff. Perhaps he deserved to fade away. He was no longer Simon Montague; he was just a pale shadow. A useless impostor. He should disappear before he ruined more of Callie’s life.

The front door slammed, and through the open door to the bathroom, he saw Callie enter the cabin before she disappeared around the corner. Clothes rustled as she began to pack, but she didn’t say anything.

She was leaving. He was sure the road trip was canceled, but not getting help from her family didn’t bother him nearly as much as the fact that he made her cry, and if he didn’t fix it, he’d lose her.

He had to do something. At least try. He clenched his fists and walked into the main room.

“Callie.”

She didn’t react; only kept stuffing her bag with the clothes she’d picked off the floor. Fine; she didn’t have to say anything, but she could listen.

“It was true,” he continued. “You were right. I could’ve said no, and I should have. I’ve made many mistakes, but you have to know …” He gulped. “It may have started with me doing this for the company or, to be frank, to keep living the way I was. But that’s no longer true. It hasn’t been for a while. Because you … you made me realize there’s more to my life. Helping with your talks, the body art project, the observatory—I did it for you. Because I wanted to see you happy. Smile. God, when you smiled at me …”

She still didn’t say anything, and he went around the bed until he was only a few feet behind her. “I don’t know how you did it. How you made me remember, how you reignited the joy for the things I used to hold dear and had abandoned. But I know that I love you. And I’m sorry I hurt you.” His eyes stung, but strangely, he felt no tears coming. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. And as much as I hate Everett for his business schemes, I’m grateful for one thing—putting you in my path. You can leave now and never talk to me again, but I wanted you to know.”

Callie finished stuffing her bag and stared at the wall, thinking. Was she not going to say anything? Even shouting at him would’ve been preferable.

“Callie,” he tried one last time and reached for her shoulder.

His hand passed through.

Not this thing again. Not now. He reached for her with his other hand—straight through.

Callie shuddered and swatted at her shoulder.

Simon lifted his hands in front of his face and wiggled his fingers. Okay, two hands simultaneously—things were getting worse, but at least he wasn’t sinking into the floor yet.

Callie finally turned and walked straight through him.

He caught his breath from the sheer shock but, in a second, realized—he didn’t need to hold it. He didn’t need to breathe.

He touched his chest; through; his middle; through, he kicked one leg with the other—all through. And that’s when he saw it: he was no longer standing on the floor. He was floating an inch off it.

Callie wasn’t ignoring him—she couldn’t see or hear him.

Panic gripped his chest. He walked—or floated, or however he moved now—out, passing through a part of the doorway. He paused in front of the cabin, eyes darting around, trying to find a solution in his surroundings. “Help,” he said, not sure who he was addressing.

Was this it? The end? His throat closed up, and his pulse rose—was that still his pulse, or a memory of one, like a feeling of a phantom limb? Was he trapped in some in-between world now, cursed to watch people walk by and not see him, to see everyone he cared about leave and forget him? To only observe life?

And the worst thing was—he’d left Callie like this. Angry at him. Disappointed.

A little meow came from below. Theia had snuck out of the cabin and, tail raised, rubbed against his legs. She still passed through, but the way she moved around his legs, doing a figure eight, there was no chance she didn’t know he was there.

“You can see me?” He kneeled and offered her his hand; she licked it, or at least tried to. “Theia,” he breathed. “You know I’m here. You know!”

Suddenly, something heavy landed on his chest. His legs felt like lead. Theia raised her paw—and it touched the skin of his palm.

Simon grabbed his chest and took a deep breath as if he’d been drowning for the last minute. He collapsed onto his knees, touching the ground, relief flooding him. How wonderful it felt—the breeze ruffling his hair, the sharp pebbles under his fingertips, the air filling his lungs.

Callie ran out of the cabin. “Theia!” She grabbed the cat and only gave Simon a cursory glance—but it was enough he knew she could see him. “Are you ready to go?” she said in a flat voice.

He got back onto his feet and stared at his hands again. “I … I phased.”

“What do you mean?”

“I turned immaterial. All of me. For a few minutes.”

Callie’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything, so they simply stood there in silence. What were they to do now? He had no right to ask her to continue helping him.

But he was so, so scared.

“Simon!” A woman’s voice called. Callie and Simon turned their heads in sync, to the parking lot down the way. A young woman in colorful clothes was running toward them, her ash blonde hair flying in the wind. Before either of them could react, she flung herself at Simon, squeezing him into a tight embrace that made him regret he wasn’t immaterial anymore.

“Thank god I finally found you.” She let the hug go but held onto his arms and looked up at him. Her wide smile reached all the way up to her pale, gray-blue eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Uh, excuse me? I’m pretty sure you can’t run up to strangers and start hugging them,” Callie said, voicing Simon’s feelings exactly.

“It’s okay,” the woman said, barely glancing at Callie before she looked back at Simon with a way-too-adoring gaze. “He’s my husband.”