Page 23 of Bad to the Bone
“Right.” She took a breath. “Alex, Ricky Lee doesn’t just work for Polynomial Software. HeisPolynomial Software.”
That didn’t make things any clearer. “What are you saying? That it’s a one-man business?”
Sam laughed. “Maybe in the beginning. I thought the company name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it until I ran a search on it. Have you heard of a program called GameFit?”
Alex shook his head. “No, but I was never much of a gamer.”
“It’s an exercise program that interfaces with all the popular gaming platforms. The more you work out, the more points or levels or skills it assigns to your game of choice. I remember reading about it because it was designed to reward gamers for getting off their asses and getting some exercise. A couple of years ago, one of the big software companies bought the rights for it from the programmer who developed it. Made the guy a millionaire overnight. His name didn’t register with me at the time, but when I looked up Polynomial Software at the station this morning, it jumped right out at me.” She caught Alex’s puzzled gaze. “The programmer’s name was R. L. Jennings.”
“You’re saying Ricky Lee—”
“Created GameFit and founded Polynomial Software, which is one of the hottest development houses in the country.” She shook her head. “Ricky Lee Jennings is worth millions.”
ALEXwalked back into the store in a state of shock.Why the hell didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he tell everybody?He stifled a pained laugh.Fuck, he would have won the prize for most successful alumnus hands down.
Alanna pounced on him as soon as he got inside. “What’s wrong, Xan? You look like somebody died.”
No, but he’s not the man I thought he was either.As much as he wanted to tell Alanna, Alex couldn’t explain until he got some answers. “It’s nothing bad. Can you cover for a little bit longer? I have to make a phone call.”
She didn’t look convinced but didn’t press him. “Sure, bro.”
It wasn’t until he got upstairs that Alex realized he didn’t know Ricky Lee’s phone number. After cursing to himself, he googled the all-suite hotel on his cell phone and called the front desk. “Can you connect me to Ricky Lee Jennings’s room, please?”
He counted eight rings before the hotel’s automated system advised him that the guest he wanted was unavailable and invited him to leave a message. He cursed again and disconnected the call.If he’s not in his own room….Ignoring the pulse beginning to pound in his temples, he pressed the button to redial the hotel’s number.
“Can you please connect me to Crae Adams’s room?”
It only took two rings before the call connected. “Hello?”
Crae’s voice. Alex swallowed. “This is Alex Morrison. I’m trying to get in touch with Ricky Lee.”
“He’s… not available at the moment.”Hell, I already knew that.“Can I take a message for him?”
“Tell him I’m interested in buying stock in Polynomial Software and wondered if he can give me some inside information.”
“You can’t buy stock. It’s a privately held company.” Crae was silent for a moment. “Look, Lee’s on a Skype call with the development team that’s probably going to last another couple of hours. Can we meet somewhere to talk? There are some things I think you should know.”
So you can tell me you have first dibs on “Lee”and I should back off?Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Crae had to say, but he was apparently more of a masochist than he thought. “The Danish Coffee Pot in fifteen minutes?”
“I’ll see you there.”
ITwas closer to twenty minutes later, and Alex had been seated with an untouched cup of coffee in front of him for ten of them, when Crae walked in. Alex raised a hand, and Crae slid into the booth across from him.
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
“I wanted him to tell you,” Crae said finally. “Hell, I wanted him to rub the whole damn town’s noses in it.”
“Then why didn’t he?”
“You’d have to ask him that, but if you know Lee at all, you know once his mind’s made up, there’s no way to convince him otherwise.”
“Apparently you know him a whole lot more intimately than I do,” Alex said bitterly.
Crae laughed. “You think we’ve been intimate? Sorry, but Lee’s way too alpha for my taste. I prefer my lovers to be a little more… yielding.”
Alex rubbed a hand over his forehead, trying to will the pain behind it away. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.” At least it allayed any remaining doubts about the nature of their relationship. “It seems so strange to hear you call him ‘Lee.’”
“As strange as it is for me to hear everyone calling him ‘Ricky Lee.’ He’s gone by R. L. or Lee as long as I’ve known him.” Crae shrugged. “Maybe it was a way of putting the past behind him.”
