Page 146 of Faux Real
“He confirmed last night,” Max says, lowering her voice as we approach the interview. “Oh, and your brother’s already here. He’s helping the caterers right now.”
I raise a brow. “Freddie’s...helping?”
“He’s doing it for, and I quote,the lovely Kennedy,” Max smirks. “Think he’s got a little crush on your girl.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s fifteen and she’s a total babe, I can’t blame him.”
“True.” Max throws a light elbow into my side. “So... You going to ask today?”
“No,” I say, clearing my throat, the diamond in my pocket suddenly heavier than a minute ago. “It’s her graduation party. I’ll wait until the weekend or something.”
Max sighs. “Dude, you’ve been postponing it for weeks. Just ask her.”
“I will... soon,” I whisper as the reporter starts the interview. Saved by the media. I catch Maxine proudly smiling at Clifford as he winces from the studio lights. “He looks nervous.”
“No,” Max gushes, unlocking her phone at taking photos. “He looks perfect.” She conceals a giggle. “He’s even wearing the socks... look.”
I glance down at Clifford’s bouncing foot, mentally face-palming. “That’s your face on his socks.”
“It’s my new business idea,” she whispers. “Sock it, bitches. It’s going to be huge.”
“What happened to the candles?” I ask, not at all shocked by yet another ludicrous business venture.
Max cringes. “Nothing.”
“She set the kitchen on fire.” Kennedy’s soft voice calls from behind us. She crosses her arms, glaring at the phone in Maxine’s hand. “Huh.”
“Found it,” Max says with a sheepish smile. “Sorry!” Before Ken can say a word, Maxine shushes her, pointing at Clifford and the reporter. “No more talking!”
“Dickhead,” Kennedy whispers, pursing her lips as she sidles up next to me.
“So, Clifford,” the reporter says, checking her notes. “In the last year, you’ve gone from a little Silicon Valley startup with a couple of apps to a multimillion-dollar corporation...”
“Yeah,” Cliff chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “It uh— it definitely all happened very fast.” He glances at Maxine who gives him a reassuring nod. “I’ve been blessed to work with an amazing team of programmers and designers.” He motions around the modern office. “I didn’t do it alone.”
“Still... It’s very impressive,” the reporter hums. “When you were at MIT, did you ever envision that one of your assignments would end up being installed on over fifty million smartphones across the country?”
“No, definitely not,” Clifford laughs. “Truthfully, I’m still in shock. I really didn’t thinkCourt of Questswould ever be played by anyone outside my program but here we are...”
The reporter smiles, moving onto the next question. He’s doing rather well, I think. “IsCourt of Queststhe first app you’ve ever coded?”
“Actually no,” Clifford muses. “The first app I launched was back in high school.”
“Oh, really?” The reporter perks up. “What was it?”
I feel Kennedy stiffen beside me, and I catch on quickly. No fucking way. We turn our heads toward Maxine who’s wincing. Clifford’s eyes widen when he glances toward us.
“Nothing worth mentioning,” he stammers, adjusting his tie. “Next question, please.”
“Let’s go,” Kennedy whispers harshly under her breath, yanking Maxine by the elbow and dragging her to the coffee lounge. I follow closely behind, shaking my head. Someone’s in for a world of pain. Kennedy stops abruptly, crossing her arms as she glares at Max. “Talk.”
Max blinks, acting aloof. “What?”
“Seriously?” Kennedy narrows her eyes. “Maxine...”
“What?” Maxine drags out, guilt written all over her face.
“Cliff ran Hilton Hears?” Kennedy exclaims. “You knew?”
