Page 65 of Amethyst Flame
“Mo. Hey. This might be hard for you to believe, but I can take no for an answer.” He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “We’re good, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I peered up at him through my lashes.
“Go to bed,” he said. “I’ve got some work left to do so we’ll have a plan for you dealing with Ruskin tomorrow.”
“That’s good,” I muttered. Power, a plan, personal growth, all the Pepperidge Farm I could devour. Look at me getting it together.
So why did I feel like I was still just a pawn in everyone else’s games?
CHAPTERTWELVE
On my drive toBantaMatrix the next morning, the radio’s playlist was an upbeat ode to seizing your dreams, making the most of the moment, and daring to be great. I ground my teeth, resenting the bopping thought manipulation suggesting any of that was remotely up to me. They just wanted listeners to stay tuned for their commercials.
Mom, if we were on speaking terms, would say that I was being cynical. And because she had a long history of being right, I would’ve believed that about myself, embraced my bad mood, and let it smoke anyone who got too close.
But a long, sleepless night had taught me that those happy songs—and my mom—were wrong. Not everything was up to me. My choices would only get me so far before they bumped into someone else’s. Jacob’s. Dane’s.
Ruskin’s. Her warm welcome and enthusiasm could easily be a scam a la Mr. Chocolate Chip Cookies Alling. It probably was. I was proof ofhersuccess. The culmination ofhermany years of questionable research and investment.
And yet, she’d let me walk out those sliding glass doors yesterday.
I could’ve run. I should’ve run?
Nope. Our Lady of Nanotech was wise.
She’d let me go…so that I would come back. And that’s exactly what I was doing.
And fuck if my knee wasn’t bouncing. Was it the shitty music? Anxiety? Or the extra tall coffee mixing with my hemoglobin?
I turned into the parking lot, circled in the hopes of finding a spot under one of the few trees—nope, all taken—and settled for a slab of concrete sure to attract every single ray from the sun.
Dane had made me promise to check in at specified times throughout the day. Check-in or he’d “extract” me. Sounded like a threat, but I think he was trying to be protective. Hard to tell with him.
After I killed the engine, I texted Jacob.Don’t forget to put the laundry in the dryer dumbass
Which meantI’m here at BantaMatrix. Thedumbasswas a flourish.
Yes mom,he replied.
I was just getting out of the car when I spotted William on rapid approach. I put a travel mug—courtesy of the rental house—on the roof while I locked my piece of shit. As if anyone would want to steal it. “Bug up your butt, Will?”
He returned a breathless, “I wanted to catch you. Did you get axed or something from the internship?”
Ha. Hardly. But I went with a milder, “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”
“Your desk is cleaned out. Your cube is empty. And you’re not on the rotation for today’s training.”
“Is that so?” I shouldered my bag and started for the doors. Obviously, changes had been made after I left last night. My own lab, Ruskin promised, though it wasn’t exactly the future I wanted for myself. Lab rat, but a highly paid one? Something didn’t jibe there, and it made me queasy.
Will kept pace with me. “Yeah. What’s going on?”
“No idea.” It wasn’t really a lie. “It probably has something to do with the fact that during the fire alarm yesterday, I got stuck with Ms. Ruskin, and we got to talking about things.” To say the least. “At one point, shedidmention something about me not belonging in the internship program.”
My explanation had been timed to take us to the shallow steps that led to the sliding doors, but Will grabbed hold of my arm. “Listen, I have to talk to you.”
“Uh…” I aimed a pointed look at his hand on my arm, and when he let go, I followed up with, “…okay?”
He craned down to me. “Not here. After work.”
