Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Luke: I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too. You’re always on my mind.
Sera: Other than that. I’ve been spending time with Ellie.
Luke: How is she doing?
Sera: She’s happy to be getting some treatment. Graham is staying stoic, but I can see how worried he is underneath it all.
I swallow, not wanting to lead the conversation where I know it has to go.
Luke: Is it affecting the other people in your department? How many are there in your department, by the way?
Sera: It’s a small subsection of TechGuard. There are only seven of us.
Dammit. I was hoping she would say it was more than that.
Luke: Are you still working on your AI project?
Sera: I’ve been tinkering with it. I’m more concerned with intent – if we can call an algorithm that for ease of conversation – rather than it sounding friendly at this stage. I’m training it to recognize empathy without going the whole ‘sacrifice one to save a million’ route. It’s a fascinating series of problems.
I can feel her passion through the phone, my memory going back to when she gave the speech, her enthusiasm imbuing each sentence with excited energy.
Sera: How is the hunt for the saboteur going?
I almost don’t want to tell her, but I can’t lie.
Luke: We’ve narrowed it down to TechGuard, as a matter of fact.
Sera: WHAT!?
Luke: My co-lead just told me. He wanted to go nuclear, but I told him I’d try to get more information. I need to know, Sera, that you had nothing to do with this.
Sera: Are you fucking kidding me?
Luke: You didn’t know me before the conference. You had no reason to be loyal to me.
Sera: Newsflash, Luke. I would never sabotage any product we were working on, not because you rocked my world and shattered my heart, but because I’m a PROFESSIONAL. I care about my work. I care about the future of AI. I care about this department. Graham has worked so hard trying to make it mean something to corporate. It’s his pride and joy.
Luke: I’m sorry, Sera. I had to ask. I had to be sure.
Sera: It’s fine.
She says she’s fine, but I doubt it after what I just told her.
Luke: It’s not. It’s messed up. But thanks.
Sera: I’m going to find out what’s going on.
Luke: What? How?
Sera: I don’t know yet, but if somebody thinks they can ruin everything you and Graham have worked for, they’re about to get a rude awakening. Who the hell do they think they are? I care about you. I care about Graham. I’m not just going to sit here and let them get away with it.
I smile, my pride for her expanding even more, something I wouldn’t have thought conceivable until it slams right into me.
Luke: You don’t have to.
I type out the message, but she sends another message before I click send it.
Sera: Don’t tell me not to do this, Luke, because it isn’t your choice. If somebody has been sneaking around behind our backs, sabotaging not only you, but us too, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I’m going to help you with this whether you like it or not.
My smile grows wider.
Luke: Be careful, angel. I don’t want you to get in trouble.
Sera: It’s not me you need to worry about.
Luke:
I send a series of flexing emojis, then get back to work. I’d prefer to spend the rest of my day talking with her, preferably not via text, but she was right when she said long distance would be difficult for us. There’s too much work, an endless ocean of it, going on and on and on…
After several hours, I grab a quick break to check my phone. She hasn’t texted me again, but I’ve got a missed call from Victor. I walk out onto the balcony adjoined to my office, giving me a view of the LA cityscape and a healthy lungful of fresh air.
“You called?” I say, skipping a greeting.
Victor chuckles. “It’s that bad, is it? I was going to ask if you want to go for dinner one night this week, but from the way you answered the phone, clearly you think there’s a big, important business deal about to go down.”
I laugh darkly. “It’s been nonstop,” I admit.
“Any update on the sabotage?”
Why did he have to ask me this? If he didn’t, I would’ve remained quiet about it. But I can’t lie to Victor, the closest person to a father figure I’ve ever had.
“It was TechGuard,” I say with a tired sigh. “But before you offer any theories, I’ve spoken to Sera. She had nothing to do with it.”
“You told her,” he says flatly.
“I trust her,” I snap. “Go on, tell me I’m being an idiot.”
“Oh, Luke.” He sighs. “I don’t think you’re being an idiot. I just want you to think about this. I know you’re smitten, but—”