Page 65 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I
“What is it?” I ask.
“I didn’t know you and Lake were that close.”
I shrug. “I’m getting to know her. I like what she brings to my team.”
“And what’s that?”
“Creativity and enthusiasm.”
His frown deepens, and I wonder if he thinks I’m bs-ing him.
“No, really,” I say. “In meetings, she knows how to ask the right questions to get us closer to solutions.”
He grunts. “I know she’s good with logistics and people. She’s the one who pointed us in your direction. But she’s a horrible coder.”
“But I’m an expert coder, and so are Jonah and Nat. Lim understands structure. Harv, functionality. And Lake, she gets design. She’s an artist. Did you know that?”
Mason shifts uncomfortably in his chair. “Not until yesterday,” he mumbles. I don’t think he likes learning that Lake is an artist. “But I get what you’re saying. Everybody’s got their strengths and weaknesses. I’m impressed that you’ve learned the quality of your team so fast.”
“Thanks.”
“But don’t worry about Lake. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. Also, when you meet with Hercules, let him know how essential Lake is to your mission. He likes you. He’ll listen to you. If you say she has to stay, he’ll put an end to Lilith’s chopping away at our pod.”
The mention of Hercules makes my neck stiff, forcing me to stretch it from side to side.
“You don’t have to be intimidated by Hercules,” Mason says.
Not until I put my focus back on him do I realize he’s been observing me falling apart. I heave a sigh. “Yeah… he’s very intimidating.”
“He’s trying his best to keep us afloat. The company is in real trouble. But as I said, you’ve impressed him. He likes you.”
I picture myself asking,So when you say ‘like,’ do you mean, like,like? Like, he wants to make love to me? Or does he just like the way I work?I hope it’s the first meaning.
“Hey, are you okay?” Mason asks.
Damn it, I zoned out again.“Sorry, I was up late last night.”
“Yeah, with all due respect, you look it.”
Finally, it’s go time. “Listen, I have to show you something.”
“Show me what?” he asks.
“The reason why I only got five hours of sleep last night.” And I open my Compu-Book and show him what I did with GIT’s RLHI.
An Hour Later
Arms crossed, I’m grinning from ear to ear, proud of myself after showing Mason how the RLHI moves if VTI’s compression technology is applied to it.
He’s studying me dubiously.
“What is it?” I ask. I thought he’d be jumping up and down, celebrating.
“How the hell were you able to manipulate GIT’s code?”
I shrug. “Because I’m good at what I do.”
I know I’ve gone too far, but I don’t care. Also, breaking into my family’s software is nothing short of a good play on my part. My actions confirm Lark’s loyalty to VTI.
