Page 4 of Starrily (Perks of Being #2)

Chapter 4

H ow on Earth was he still here?

It had been a week since Callie’s first meeting with Simon and Jessica. Luckily for her, Jessica intended to only come by once or twice a week since Callie’s work progressed slowly. So Simon didn’t have to be here every day, either.

Surely, he’d get bored after the first day and leave. Mr. Forbes’ 30 under 30 List had to have something better to do.

Apparently not. Because here they were, meeting number three, and Simon still nodded along as Callie was explaining how much progress she’d made since the previous week.

“These are the latest pictures of the galaxies I’m researching.” She pulled up grainy pictures of gray blobs. “I’ll need to process them to clear out the details we don’t want in there and leave what’s more useful to me. I’ll adjust some code I’d already written for another project.”

“A code?” Jessica asked. “Like in programming? I didn’t know you guys did that.”

“Every astrophysicist has to. There are way too many things to study and sort and compare to do it by hand, and by being able to do it ourselves, we don’t need to bother programmers.”

From the corner of her eye, she caught Simon shifting in his seat, and he glanced away. Was he uncomfortable?

“Cool,” Jessica said. “So you’re, like, an astronomer and a hacker.”

“Well, I can code … decently. I’m making my own software, but I don’t hack,” Callie said, feeling her cheeks grow warm.

Simon coughed as if clearing an itchy throat. “Software, huh? You have time at work to do that?”

Was he implying she was a slouch or the opposite? She hated how she could never figure out his tone. “Sometimes,” she said. “But since it’s not something I was specifically hired to do, I also work on it in my free time.”

“Okay, back to hack—coding,” Jessica said, eyes glittering. “Can I watch you do it? This is gonna be awesome for the article.”

“I don’t—” Callie paused, biting her lip. She’d enjoyed explaining parts of her work and was rather pleased when Jessica followed up with more questions or thought something was “cool” or “awesome.” But then there was the other side: having to deal with people, people other than her coworkers, being in her office, her personal space, the whole day long. Especially Simon. From the moment he stepped into her office, he was able to shrink it down, focus the whole space on him alone, like he was a black hole, sucking in everything around him. Jessica certainly gravitated toward him.

Callie just wanted to sit down, put on some music, and run tests without someone looking over her shoulder. But she didn’t want to be rude to Jessica. “Sure.”

Jessica wiggled in her seat. “How old are these galaxies?” She pointed at the screen.

“A little less than thirteen billion years, which is good, but we could find older,” Callie said. “I’d like to find ones as close as possible to the beginning of the Universe.”

“Wouldn’t those be gone already? Or do galaxies live forever?”

“Nothing lives forever. Although, in a sense, nothing dies, either. It transforms. When a star dies, it turns into something else—a smaller star, a neutron star, or even a black hole. It doesn’t simply die; it explodes into a supernova, forming a cloud of particles and elements, which are then included in the forming of new celestial bodies. Essentially, everything we see here on Earth, and everything we are, comes from the stars.”

Jessica formed an admiring O with her mouth.

Simon got up and pried the blinds on her window an inch apart. “If you wish to study the oldest galaxies, why don’t you get pictures of those?”

“Because it’s hard. You need the right spectrum of light, the infrared, and a superb telescope. Even then, the Earth will block some light, which is why telescopes outside of the Earth’s orbit are so valuable to us, and if we got one on the Moon … well, it could completely change our field.”

Callie took a deep breath after that explanation. Maybe she could talk to him like a normal person. And maybe he was even slightly interested—

“I guess I’ll go check out that telescope when I’m up there,” he said, the corner of his lips creeping into a smile.

Or maybe he was just a spoiled rich man.

Callie explained more things to Jessica. Ten, fifteen minutes passed, and she was deep into analyzing a graph when a blaring rendition of Hot Stuff almost jolted her off her chair.

Simon reacted quickly, reaching for the phone in his pocket, and canceled the call. “Sorry, forgot to mute.” Even with the word sorry in there, it felt like he was mocking her. “Don’t want to inject fun into your daily routine.”

Callie lifted an eyebrow. “Actually, I like listening to music while I work.”

“Really?” Jessica perked up. “That’s awesome. We should get a playlist done.”

Simon leaned on the window, challenging her.

Callie’s first instinct was to break eye contact with him—those twinkling eyes practically dared her to give up—but she clenched her fists and straightened her spine. This was her office, even if he seemed to make it his own. “Fine. But no disco.”

“K-pop?” Jessica asked.

Oh, dear.

“I think Calliope would prefer something along the notes of Mozart. Chopin. Debussy?” Simon said.

“Van Halen will do.” Callie thought she saw a flash of surprise on Simon’s face before she refocused on her work, and a current of elation ran through her as if she’d won a competition between them.

A minute went by with no one talking. Two minutes. Three—surely, at this point, Jessica was bursting to—

“By the way,” the journalist said, “we should go grab lunch outside today. Together.”

“What’s wrong with our cafeteria?” It was never too crowded, had plenty of room, so she didn’t have to be in everyone’s face, and she knew what to expect with the food. Plus, Callie knew most people here, so even if someone sat next to her, it wasn’t that awkward.

“You’ve already done that the past two times. It’s getting a bit stale.”

“There’s a great Japanese restaurant around the corner,” Simon said. “Just opened.”

“Perfect!” Jessica shot up. “I can take some pictures of you two.”

“Us—wh—why do you need to take pictures of us at a restaurant?”

“Because writing that you’re sitting inside all day, studying graphs, isn’t very appealing,” Jessica said. “People need to see you doing regular human things.”

“Such as feeding,” Simon said.

“It’ll be perfect,” Jessica continued, unfazed. “ When she’s done coding for the day, Dr. Guidry likes to grab a bite at the hip new restaurant around the corner … ”

“I’m not done for the day, though—”

“ As even she admits, a good meal is not only the way to a man’s heart— ”

“That has zero relevance.”

“ —but also to many new ideas, which help her at work. ” Jessica smiled and picked up her bag. “Come on.” And she was through the door before anyone could stop her.

“Journalists, am I right?” Simon grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulder. He stopped at the open door. “Well, Phoenix? Your new ideas await.”

Callie had expected one of those sitting-at-bar places, but the restaurant was unexpectedly warm and cozy, with wood-paneled walls and matching tables. They’d beaten the lunch rush, so it was also pleasantly quiet, the murmuring of a few guests serving almost as white noise. It only needed a touch of twilight and some candles, and the ambiance would be very romantic.

Good thing they were here for lunch.

Jessica looked around, then pointed at a table positioned in front of a three-piece painting of a serene hilly landscape. “You two go sit over there. Great background.”

“You’re not sitting with us?” Callie asked.

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t intervene in your discussions. I’ll sit here and eavesdrop.”

“You—uh—” Stunned, Callie finally followed Simon to the designated table. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Talk, I believe. Although I wouldn’t mind a good meal, either.”

They sat down and a waiter promptly appeared; Callie didn’t want to be stuck in decision hell and went for the chef’s recommended, while Simon opted for a fugu karaage.

And they waited.

“Talk,” Jessica said in a half-whisper.

“Well, I’m not starting,” Simon said.

“What?”

“Every time I attempt a conversation with you, you shoot me down.”

“You did just start it again, though,” she muttered.

“Wow.” A corner of his mouth quirked up. “If that came from anyone but you, I’d accept it as a joke.”

“You think I don’t recognize jokes?”

“Not think , I know.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Which brings us back to you shooting down my openers.”

“Well, maybe”—she waved her hand around—“you need to think of better openers. ‘Let’s pretend we’re spies on a secret mission .’ Really?”

“I’ll have you know, everyone loves my openers.”

“Good thing I’m not everyone, then.”

“Indeed.” He leaned back and crossed his arms under his chest as Callie tried to figure out if that was a compliment or the opposite of one.

Why would she want it to be a compliment, anyway? He was insufferable. He couldn’t stay serious for a single minute.

She leaned back as well, unintentionally mimicking his pose.

I hope you’re enjoying your eavesdropping, Jessica.

The food arrived: a still-steaming bowl of miso soup, its salty-sweet smell making Callie’s mouth water, and a plate of golden-fried fish pieces with fresh lemon slices and sides for Simon. He dug in with vigor and gave a happy nod.

“Hold on,” she said. “Isn’t that pufferfish?”

“Delicious, too,” he said after swallowing.

“But it can be deadly poisonous if not prepared right.”

“ If .” He continued eating.

“Do you have a death wish?”

“None whatsoever.”

Now the zero-gravity flight made sense. And didn’t Jessica say he loved adrenaline-filled hobbies? “You do.”

“So now you want to talk.”

“Do you have no regard for your own life?”

He laughed. “A life is meant to be lived. What’s the point if I don’t make the most of it?”

“You’re not going to live very long like this.”

Simon waved the piece of pufferfish between his chopsticks. “If this fish wants to kill me, so be it. I’ll assume this is how I was always meant to go.”

Callie could only stutter. The man was absolutely insane.

“Honestly, you could use some adventure in your life,” he said.

She huffed. “If I wanted adventure, I’d have become an astronaut.”

“Come, now. You’re not gonna say you were born cautious and scared to live.”

“I’m not afraid to live! I’m normal .”

“You were a kid once. And if I know anything about kids, it’s that they have no sense of self-preservation.” He leaned in. “Or are you going to say little Calliope was also stuck in an office all day, doing homework?”

No. She wasn’t. He was probably an adventurous kid—and if he was, she’d been just like him. All the long days she spent outside, running around, climbing up trees, playing explorers in the bayou, heedless of any dangers. She and Mila—

Her throat closed up, and her quickened heartbeat begged her to swerve off the topic.

“Phoenix?” Simon was looking at her, head tilted, eyes soft and free of any mockery.

She helped herself to her drink. “Whatever I used to do, it doesn’t matter. We’re adults now. We know better. Well, I do. As for you …”

Simon put down the chopsticks and, for a few seconds, stared into a corner behind her, lost in thoughts.

“I had an accident three years ago,” he finally spoke. “A car crash. A terrible one.” He subconsciously scratched the back of his head.

“How—what happened?” She asked, quickly admonishing herself—that was probably not the right thing to say.

But Simon didn’t seem to mind; he only shrugged. “I don’t remember. They found my car off the road, squished like an overly curious kitchen bug. And me in it, of course. I was severely injured. Near-death kind of severely.”

She was too stunned to say something possibly inappropriate this time.

“But I didn’t die.” He frowned as if he himself was questioning it. “Whatever is directing all of this, it didn’t want me dead yet.”

She didn’t think there was any great force directing their lives. But it didn’t feel right to say it.

A bright flash made her blink.

“Perfect.” Jessica put down her phone and sat. “You two looked deep in thought. ‘Was the new Nobel Prize born at this moment? We don’t know yet, but one thing is for sure—under the combined forces of business genius Simon Montague and the incredibly talented Dr. Guidry’ —”

“Jessie, please,” Simon said, casting a quick glance at Callie.

Jessica stopped, and Callie let out a breath. Simon could’ve quipped and teased and mocked, but in this one case, he didn’t, and she was grateful he intervened.

“I should get back to work,” she said.

“Absolutely.” Jessica stood. “Meet again on Friday?”

Callie and Simon nodded.

“Perfect. I’ll bring my real camera, and we’ll get some photos. It’ll be fun!” She waved and bounced off.

“I suppose that’s my cue to leave,” Simon said. “Friday, Phoenix.” He put down the money for the meal, winked at her, and left.