Ethan called Brooke as he walked back to the office. He explained everything that happened in the meeting and told her that Jack was on his way home to move out. He expected her to be as shocked as he was. She and Jack were close. They had spent a lot of time together, especially when Ethan put in insane hours at work. But she didn’t comment on Jack’s departure at all.
“You can’t upload the Face Match Mode,” she said, “it’s not ready.”
“We have to.”
“When?”
“Now. This afternoon.”
“What?”
“Did you hear the other part that I just told you? Jack is moving out. Today!”
“I heard you,” she said in a wispy voice.
Did she already know? Did he tell her he was leaving before he told me?
Brooke switched the subject back to the face recognition issue. “You said that feature was several months from working correctly.”
“Why are you so concerned about that—?”
“I do want to see Jack,” she interrupted. “I’ll be home in a little while.”
“I figured you would.”
“Will you be there?”
“I think he wants some space, and to be honest, I don’t want to get into it with him again.”
“I get it,” she said. “You should take some time after work. Blow off steam. Do what you have to do to process this.” She paused and then said wistfully, “I’m sorry, Ethan. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
Odd way to put it.
“I think he’ll regret this,” Ethan said, “but this is what he wants and I can’t change his mind. We just don’t see eye to eye anymore.”
“You and your brother are as different as chalk and cheese,” she said, “but that’s not what I meant…”
Unlike Bailey, whose British accent and colloquialisms sounded amusing, hers came off as profound, and her insights about people were usually spot on. “Go on,” he prompted. “What did you mean?”
“I know you always feel responsible, but sometimes there are other factors you don’t know about and there’s nothing you can do.”
“What other factors?”
“Point is,” she continued, “the world has been kinder to you and you feel guilty about it sometimes. But don’t. Your brother likes exactly who he is, and he should. Let him be happy. It’s his time.”
A bit overdramatic, he thought.
And then she whispered, “I love you.”
Ethan could feel her heavy heart through the phone. And when she hung up, he’d never felt a deeper void.
—
The Face Match Mode feature took a few hours for the Stalker team to upload. Ethan configured a warning banner to explain the possible hiccups users may encounter, and then he wrote and distributed a press release announcing its launch.
Bailey dipped into his office and asked, “Are we good to go?”
“Good to go.” Ethan confirmed.
“It’s the right thing to do, Gov.”
Ethan forced a smile. “I know.”
Ethan liked and trusted Bailey because there were no pretenses and he was as committed to Stalker’s success as he was. Ethan was also well aware that Stalker never would have been launched without the seed money Bailey brought to the table. Two years prior, Bailey had approached Ethan at Pitchfest, a convention like Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs practice their ideas on venture capitalists searching for a diamond in the rough. Ethan had been pitching his concept for Stalker all day. Bailey came along and told him he was searching for a tracking app for an angel investor in London. It was a perfect match. Only after contracts were signed did Ethan learn that Bailey didn’t even know his well-heeled angel’s real name, only his shell company—Highpoint Corporation—and his rules: the angel would only communicate through Bailey, only when necessary, and always on his terms. At first Ethan didn’t mind the arrangement. He knew that venture capitalists often required discretion for the same reasons tech companies don’t want competitors to know how they were funded. But now they were heading toward a desperate turning point; their angel was a ghost, and they were completely dependent on this phantom.
Bailey headed out to deposit the Highpoint Corp check before the bank closed, and the Stalker staff left early. Ethan grabbed the extra surfboard he kept in his office and hit the beach.
—
Ethan rode the waves just north of the Santa Monica Pier until sunset and realized that Brooke was right, he really did need some time alone to process what his brother’s departure would mean—to Stalker, to him, and to their relationship.
His first reaction, like Brooke had said it would be, was to feel responsible, and his mind raced with questions:
Did I shut Jack out when Brooke came into my life? Was I too preoccupied by her and Stalker?
Then he started to think about what life would be like without his brother. Jack had been his reflector, shadow, sounding board, advocate, and devil’s advocate. When Ethan and Jack were at their best, they mastered the bait and switch, knew each other’s thoughts, and even spoke for each other. They got twice as much done, could be in two places at the same time, and always knew the other had their back. Can you imagine how much you could get done in a day if you could clone yourself? It had always been them against the world, simpatico, two sides of the same coin.
But Jack had also been a perpetual thorn in Ethan’s side. All siblings deal with favoritism, jealousies, and entitlements, but twins have to deal with a unique set of rules. There are expectations to live up to: expectations for each other and expectations from others. Ethan always felt that there were too many expectations.
He didn’t feel that way with Brooke.
Brooke was about to become his new life partner, the one he chose. And somehow she understood the twin dilemma better than anyone. She once told Ethan that having a counterpoint in life was a gift because it allowed him to make sense of the world, but it also could distort the truth.
She understood. Somehow, she knew.
Ethan rinsed off at the public beach showers, threw on a change of dry clothes he kept in the trunk of his car, watched the sun dip below the horizon, and came to the conclusion that the timing of Jack’s departure was a blessing, for all of them. He and Brooke could start their life together. He and Jack wouldn’t bicker over the details of the business anymore, and they could be brothers again. Jack could get a life, his own life, and do it his way.
Let him be happy. It’s his time.
Ethan figured another hour or two should be enough time for Jack to have cleared out of the bungalow, so headed over to James Beach, an upscale hangout on Market Street in Venice, to kill some time.
He grabbed a stool at the bar and ordered a beer. He didn’t want to be alone but he didn’t want to talk to anyone either. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a place he could be a fly on the wall.
A gorgeous redhead sat on the stool beside him.
“Do I know you?” she asked him, her emerald eyes impossible to ignore.
“I don’t think so.”
“I’m Julie.”
“Ethan.”
“Are you meeting someone?”
“No.”
She moved closer. “Would you like some company?”
He reached for his wallet and waved for a check. “I actually have to get going.”
She put her hand on his. “I just broke up with someone. I could use a little company.” Then she whispered, “No strings attached.”
“I’m flattered,” he told her. “But I couldn’t do that to my girlfriend.”
The redhead didn’t relent. “Did you hear the part about ‘no strings attached’? I have a place just up the street.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Because of her?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Because of her.”
The redhead pulled back. “She must be something special.”
“She is.”
“Lucky girl.”
“I’m a lucky guy.”
“Now I feel like a creep,” the redhead said. “I got so used to dealing with jerks, I’ve become one. Where can I find a guy like you?”
“I’d introduce you to my twin brother but he just left town.”
She laughed.
He wished he were joking.
—
Ethan left James Beach and headed home under a dim waning crescent moon, looking forward to seeing Brooke’s warm smile and spending their first night on their own. Hill Street was just a five-minute drive and he found a parking space right in front. Maybe his luck was about to change, he thought as he approached the cozy bungalow. How great it would be to have the run of the place—just him and Brooke—and not have to close doors for privacy anymore.
When one door closes, another door…
Unfortunately, when he went inside, another door was about to slam in his face.