Page 77 of Conspiracies and Chemistry

We call it the Great Reset. An international governing power—not a governmentbut one of those conglomerates like the UN—will create a global disruption, such as a war or pandemic. After that, the power will take away individual ownership and autonomy, looking like they’re doing us a favor the whole time. And they’ll end up with total control over the population.

TESSA

Outside the window, the sky was ink-blue, the way it never was in San Francisco or Silicon Valley. Stars glittered over the rolling hills that surrounded the resort and were obscured at the horizon by the distant mountains. The only sound was Oliver’s deep breathing as he slept. The arm that had pinned me to him was still flung over my side of the bed.

I wished there was a balcony where I could slip outside and hear the yips of the coyotes or a great horned owl or even an obnoxious mockingbird, but Oliver never would have chosen a room with a balcony. It wasn’t safe. He even slept on the side of the bed closest to the door, thinking he could protect me from anything that came in.

What I needed protection from was already in the room. It was him and thebabythat had slipped past his lips, the dangerous feelings that kept me from correcting him.

He knew, but he didn’t understand how I used to sleep outdoors next to a campfire all the time with nothing but my sleeping bag and Dad’s shotgun protecting me from any critters that might slither or stalk past. He didn’t know what it felt like to face threats far more terrifying later: tech bro culture, a backstabbing partner, disgruntled employees who threatened retribution. I pulled the fluffy robe up to my neck.

He thought together, we’d be safe. It was why he’d whispered, “I love you,” into my skin like the Litany Against Fear fromDune.He thought his love could offer me safety, but I knew love was anything but safe.

I’d learned that from my dad.

Seeing Harry yesterday was a shocking but timely reminder. I’d loved him too, desperately, naïvely. I’d trusted him to look out for our—my—best interests, to advise me, to comfort me, and to love me back. He hadn’t. He’d used me for profit, and after he got his payout, he walked away.

And now, like a fool, I’d tangled myself up with Oliver, someone I worked with, someone who needed something from me, someone who didn’t understand my need to protect myself and my secrets. He’d told Carly and Lucie about my dad like it was no big deal. But exposing that shameful truth was a very big deal to me.

And what else would he reveal about me, and to whom? I liked living my secluded, private life. All it would take was one leak for the media circus to blow up again. For some nosy reporter to find my home and write me up as that eccentric woman who used to be famous. No one would work with me again, not even my favorite charities. I’d have destroyed the glass-brittle legacy I’d worked so hard to reconstruct.

I was older and wiser than I’d been with Harry. I couldn’tlet myself fall for it again. I’d fight to keep my independence, and I wouldn’t get hurt.

Oliver shifted in the bed, tucked one of my pillows against his chest, and buried his face in it. My icy heart melted a little. He was so goddamned adorable, like a kitten. Maybe he actually thought he loved me. But as soon as I let my guard down, he’d ruin everything I’d worked so hard for, the way Hedy had shredded my curtains.

I couldn’t let him do that to my heart.

31

Phosphate-Buffered Saline

Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).A solution used in biological research to maintain a constant pH.

OLIVER

Iwished we were in my car. Then I’d feel more in control of the argument I was about to ignite.

It was a win that Tessa had agreed to drive to work together. Up until now, she’d insisted on driving separately although we started and ended our days at her place. But her environmentalist, tree-hugging, electric vehicle–loving heart finally caved to my suggestion that we carpool.

So I gripped the armrest instead of the steering wheel and said, “I think we should go public.”

“What are you talking about?” She glanced at me from the driver’s seat. “You’ve got plenty of funding. There’s no reason to do an IPO right now. Believe me. Been there, done that, got the crappy T-shirt and fourteen years of nothing but bad press.”

“I’m not talking about the company. I’m talking about us. You and me.”

“Go…public? With our relationship? That sounds like something a pop star would do. I don’t even use ClickClackGo.”

“All I’m asking is for us to walk into the office together. Do our jobs. Eat lunch in the cafeteria at the same time. Then walk out together. Nothing major. I promise, I won’t kiss you at work.”

“You mean you won’t kiss me at workagain.”She smirked. “We’ve already crossed that line.”

“Definitely not again. Now that we’re officially together.”

She shifted her hands on the wheel, and they made a sticky, sucking sound against the leather. “I don’t know. It was kind of terrible when I dated a colleague before. The smug looks, the assumptions…”

The last thing I wanted to think about right now was douchebag Harry. “Everyone would support us. Think about it. You don’t have to decide today.” I couldn’t let her make a snap decision to stay secret. It would make it that much easier for her to walk away.

She glanced at me as she slowed to turn into the parking lot. “I’ll consider it.”

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