I’m so drained that I can hardly keep my eyes open. The subway transports me back to Midtown in record time. The snow and haze haven’t let up, though. By the time I make it to my apartment, my coat is damp again. I’m shivering uncontrollably, but I’m not sure if I’m trembling because of the cold or the emotional breakdown that I’m in the midst of.
With my back pressed against the front door, I inhale so deeply that my lungs feel as if they’re going to burst. Hercules’s scent is in the air. On the ride home, I planned my next steps. But the smell of the man I love is giving me doubts.
First, I’ll delete Lark Davenport’s footprint from the face of the earth. Next, I need to create a new fake identity no one will be able to track and make her a bank account and an electronic debit card. Then go to a luxury resort and sleep a bunch of days away. Essentially, I was going to do what I’ve become very good at thanks to Max—hideout and isolate.
But is that what you really want, Paisley? a small voice asks in my head.
Do I want to be free, or not? Do I want to be brave, or not?
The answer to those questions makes me take heavy steps toward the credenza. I take out my real cell phone and make one difficult phone call. To make a different future, I have to address the past.
The phone rings.
“Paisley, sweetheart? It’s early. Is everything okay?” My mom sounds tired, but I can also hear the slight panic in her voice. She knows I would never call her this early in the morning unless something was wrong.
“No, Mom. Everything isn’t okay.” Then I ask if I can stay with them for a while.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Something happened today… Something freaking-fantastic.
I was stuck in a rut after arriving at my parents’ Greenwich, Connecticut, estate three weeks ago. Mostly, I was sleeping the days away. My body and soul needed to recover from all of that lying I did while working at VTI. Occasionally, in the mornings, my mom or dad would peek in on me and ask if I need anything. I would sit up, flash a fake smile, and just say, “Only more rest.”
On several occasions, my mom asked what I was going to do that day. I perfected my fake smile and told her I was working on new software and that I would give her a demo when I was done. That answer always excited her. She always responded with some version of “I can’t wait.”
However, yesterday, it occurred to me that as far as my parents are concerned, I’m A-okay. Isolating myself in my room, doing brilliant shit, must remind them of old times.
But my mom doesn’t know that after she left me alone again, my happy Paisley mask came off, and I flopped back down on my mattress then stared at the ceiling until I fell asleep.
I didn’t care that I lied to my mom. I didn’t care about anything anymore. And so my parents gave me my space because they thought I was working on the latest and greatest software that GIT could steal from me and slap one of their engineer’s name on. I’d been thinking of how no one would ever know that I had developed TRANSPORT and Killer Firewall.
My parents also gave me space because that’s what they’ve been doing since I was a kid—tending to their business and giving me space to do what I “love.”
I also did tons of soul-searching while staring out the window or walking the grounds, bundled up to stay warm from the snow. Have I ever loved coding? I’m good at it, but I wasn’t sure that would have been my first choice if there weren’t so many emotional strings attached to it. Coding was how I connected with grandfather. It was how I made my parents happy. I think Max would’ve banished me to a place where little sisters are forgotten forever if I were of no value to him. So, I’ve been wondering: am I brilliant at coding because I needed to be in order to feel loved? And the funny thing is now that I’m an adult, my brilliant, famous, and extremely wealthy parents still spend more hours away from home than they do at home and together.
But this morning when I woke up, I had my answer. Yes, I love coding. Even though a lot of people got value out of my creations, I’ve always done it for me. It had been a huge epiphany, one I can feel deep down in my bones. And so, when I rose to my feet, I made a vow to myself. Today, I’ll live differently at my parents’ house. Then tomorrow, I will pack what little I have and leave.
Instead of languishing in bed, waiting for breakfast to arrive, I go for a swim. After stripping out of my jeans and T-shirt, I dive naked into the eighty-five-degree aqua-blue water of the indoor swimming pool. My arms stroke the silky water, as I try to figure out my next major life decision. I could get another job like the one I had at VTI. Better yet, I could start my own company and work as a contractor.
Then I let myself think about Max. I’m glad he’s chosen to keep his distance. Maybe he’s sensed that I needed space. Or maybe he doesn’t trust me anymore. A time existed when the thought of losing his confidence would’ve caused a dull ache in my belly. But not anymore. I glide from one side of the swimming pool to the other, feeling as light as a feather.
Call Lake, I think. Maybe she can brainstorm with me and help me figure out what to do with myself in the pivotal next phase of my life.
Back and forth I go. With each stroke of my arms and release of breath, I expel pent-up nervous energy, forgiving myself for what I did to Hercules and my team at VTI. I swim faster, hoping that by the time I reach physical burnout, I’ll be ready to make the biggest pledge yet. I’ll find Hercules, apologize, and wish him a happy life without me.
But who am I kidding? I could never be that gracious in his presence. Instead, I want to fall on my knees and beg him to take me back.
I’m not even close to muscle failure when I spot a pair of immaculately polished black loafers standing at the edge of the pool. I stop swimming and tread water, breathing heavily. Max, wearing an immaculate gray suit, folds his arms and says, “It’s time we talk.”
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I dried off. I agreed to meet Max at the east facing sunroom so we could converse over a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee means he isn’t planning to stay long, and I was sort of happy about that.
I enter the sunroom to find a silver cart holding one porcelain coffee cup, a pitcher of coffee, a carafe of cream, and a bowl of sugar on top placed next to Max, at the edge of the table.
His face is buried in a newspaper. The skin between his eyes is pinched, as if he doesn’t like whatever he’s reading. He doesn’t even acknowledge me as I pour myself a cup of coffee, add a tiny bit of cream, and sit across from.
“It’s that gripping, huh?” I remark.
Finally, he lowers the newspaper and begins to fold it. “You look well.”
I shrug indifferently. “So do you. So… Here I am.” The edge in my voice surprises me because I’m more nervous than I sound.
He casually stuffs the folded newspaper into a pocket inside of his suit jacket. “Why didn’t you tell me you left VTI?”
Don’t show weakness. I repeated that in my head as his gaze holds mine. “What do you mean?”
He laughs bitterly as he adjusts his seat. “I mean, you’re here and not at work.”
I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. I want to ask if he’s messing with me. I’ve been here for three weeks. Didn’t he know? Then it dawns on me that I never told my parents what happened on that fateful night when Hercules caught me hacking the brain. I assumed once VTI marked Lark Davenport as fired that would trigger a notification and Max would learn I was no longer with them. I wonder if that means Hercules never fired me.
“What’s going on, Paisley? Why aren’t you at work?”
“I quit,” I say. I want to lie and say I took a vacation, but no more lies. I decided whatever I do next will be built on nothing but the truth.
He frowns. “Then you found the code.”
“I didn’t.”
His right eye narrows in the way it does whenever he’s angry. “Don’t play games with me, Paisley. You were not supposed to quit until you found that goddamn code.”
I casually take a sip of my coffee. “Well, I didn’t find it.”
“You looked?”
“Yes. I did. And it’s not there.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
I drop my cup of coffee on the table, narrowly avoiding spilling anyway. “Because I figured, since you track me like a tagged animal in the wild, you would’ve found out that I quit.”
Our stare-off is epic. But I can tell he’s thinking it through, putting the pieces together.
I set my jaw in act of defiance. “By the way, I no longer work for VTI or GIT. I’m done, Max.” I swipe my palms together. “I am done.”
After a moment of remaining perfect still, Max snorts facetiously. “I figured you wrong then.”
Frowning intensely, I ask, “What do you mean by that?”
“I’ll admit that I made an error when I didn’t confirm Hercules Valentine’s whereabouts. But I hadn’t expected you to become too distracted by him to finish what you started. I thought you had Grandfather’s best interest at heart and not your own.”
Fuming that he had the audacity to bring grandfather into his selfish motives, I say, “Grandfather is no longer with us. So how about we stop using him as an excuse?”
“An excuse for what?” Max bites back.
“Your ambition.”
His eyes narrow to slits as he studies me.
“Why, Max?” I ask since I have him on the ropes.
“Why what?” His voice is as cold as ice.
“Is the code the reason why our families don’t like each other?”
He continues peering at me as if trying to read my thoughts.
“Because I’ve been thinking,” I continue. “The feud between our families can’t pertain to business. Other companies have done worse to us than the Valentines have. Stealing code is nothing compared to sending worms through our system to destroy parts of our infrastructure. Remember that attack from—”
“Okay,” Max says, cutting me off. “You want out. You’re out.”
My mouth falls open as I try to control my overloaded senses. What is Max keeping from me? And I think he also validated that our feud with the Valentines wasn’t about business. Then what was it about?
Max downs the rest of his coffee then shoots to his feet. “I heard you gave the Valentines a gift, though.”
I frown, confused. “A gift?”
“Their compression technology. You withheld it from me.”
Oh that. “How can I withhold something that doesn’t belong to you?”
His smirk is slight, and if I didn’t know Max, then I would have missed it and the meaning behind it.
Trepidation grips my heart. “What did you do, Max?”
He winked at me. “You want out. You’re out. But that doesn’t stop what has to happen.”
I stand up, ready to warn him against stealing VTI’s technology, then Orion Valentine’s face comes to mind, although I can’t pinpoint what led me to think of him.
Max stops beside me and kisses me on the forehead, which catches me even more off guard.
“As your brother, I’m always here for you, but remember who our enemies are and what side you’re on.”
My heart and stomach tie themselves into knots as I watch Max stroll out of the sunroom. I want to call him back to explain his thinly veiled threat. Instead, I whisper, “Orion,” to the empty room.
I picture the only man my cousin ever truly loved glaring at me during that one meeting he attended. I remember how he hung on my every word. Then I remember portions of a conversation I had with Treasure the night of Lake’s art gallery show. She said Orion had figured out my real identity. I ignored her because I didn’t care that he knew who I truly was. Deep down, I wanted Orion to expose me. I’d been long ready to come clean to Hercules, Lake, and my entire team. Then I think for the third time… Orion!
I gasp and run as fast as I can back to my bedroom. All this time, Orion Valentine has been several steps ahead of me.
As day fades into night, I rub my tired eyes. I’ve hacked all the computer devices that Orion owns, and I haven’t been able to find a thing.
But something feels terribly wrong. The problem is not the fact that I can’t find the code. The problem is that Orion’s personal and work computers and his cell phones are too clean. Suddenly, I’m struck by illumination. He knew I would soon put one and one together and go searching through his electronic devices to find that code. Orion’s the one who wants to manufacture flying cars. His ambitions are grand. I’m certain that if that code populated in VTI’s brain, then he’s responsible for it. Also, because the code was uploaded to a computer system, then I will eventually find it. Orion must be aware of my reputation, which is why he asked me all of those questions during that meeting. Dang it. He was feeling me out. That day, I not only gave him solid recommendations regarding his flying car idea, but also confirmed I am indeed the Grove daughter. And more than likely, shortly thereafter, he scrubbed Grandfather’s code from the brain. But he’s smart enough to keep it off any of his computer devices.
Ding… Score one for you, Orion Valentine.
But VTI installed Killer Firewall throughout their infrastructure, including the brain. My grandfather used to say, “Don’t give up everything. Keep some for yourself.” If the software were to fail—which I doubt it ever will—I have a memory plug-in that can rebuild any data that has ever been safeguarded by Killer Firewall.
Orion probably panicked once he realized who I was. He probably saved it on several devices before saving a more secure paper copy.
I fire up the software that I call The Ghost and rebuild every version of the brain, starting two days after the meeting Orion attended.
Then I inhale sharply as the symbols and formula fill my screen. Bingo. It’s just as I thought. Only hours after that meeting, the code disappeared from the brain. But Max was right. It was stored in VTI’s system, buried in a secured sector, all along.
My cell phone rings, and I jump. My big discovery has made me jumpy. Releasing the tension from my body, I sigh and answer the phone, thinking it can only be my one of my parents. Or maybe it’s Max calling to smooth things over with me. The thought makes me feel more generous toward him. If it’s him and he apologizes for being a jerk, I’ll let him know what I found, but not how I found it.
“Hi,” I say.
“You’re still alive!”
I sit up straight, smiling as brightly as the sun. “Lake? What a pleasant surprise.”
“Are you busy?”
“Nope. Your ears must have been itching. I was going to call you.”
“I wanted to wait until you called me—give you space and all—but I have a proposition for you that could go away in a blink of an eye if you wait too long to say yes.”