Page 125 of Time Stops With You

“It’s just a question.”

“It’s a threat assessment. You’d cart me off to the hospital now if you had a right to.”

“I’m your emergency contact. I have some rights.”

“I’m fine.”

“You seem,” Sullivan taps his chin, “I don’t know. Something’s changed.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“I need examples,” I grumble.

“Come on, Cullen. You’re standing in an example.”

“What do you mean?”

“Youhatedthe thought of working in an office with your employees. For years, Cullen Tech was completely virtual. Hell, our first two negotiation rounds were online. That’s unheard of.”

I shrug.First time for everything.

“Now,” Sullivan gestures to the conference room, “you opened up a physical location. Your technicians work in the same building. You see your team in person, talk to them in person every day.”

“Virtual is still a more efficient way to work. We’re only doing this because we’re battling a crisis.”

Sullivan leans forward, his eyes narrowed. “Did talking to Darrel help?”

“This isn’t because of Darrel.”

“Then?”

I glance off to the side.

Sullivan covers his mouth with a hand. The ring on his finger catches my eye and I glance at my own finger, noticing how empty it looks without a wedding band.

Nardi deserves a rock the size of a continent, but she’d prefer something small. Something that won’t get in her way while she’s cooking.

“You met someone, didn’t you?” Sullivan guesses.

I look up.

He must read something in my expression because he grins so hard his cheeks will probably hurt tomorrow. “Who is she? What does she do? Does she work with you?” He pauses and braces himself. “She’s not a robot, is she?”

I recall the taste of Nardi’s lips. The warmth of her skin. The desperate cadence of her heartbeat. “Do I seem that delusional to you?”

“AI is making serious strides in being human-like. Given your personality and your thing with germs…”

“Since you’re talking nonsense, can I assume the meeting is over?” I rise to my feet.

“You’ll let me meet her?”

I grunt.

Sullivan smirks. “Now I’m curious.”

That’s not good. Sullivan has all the time and the resources in the world to track Nardi down. He’s got Clay Bolton in his billionaire circle. I run into Bolton at a few cyber security conferences during the year. Former military, the guy is renowned for his success rate and doesn’t know the term ‘give up’.

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