“Doesn’t that eat into your profits?”
“Yes, but on the flip side, it helps us commercially. We build smaller data centres, like three or four megawatts, and we get permission to build them where others can’t because we provide those community benefits. I mean, who wants a giant, resource-hungry humming box plunked in the middle of their county without any positives to balance out the negatives? Not public officials who are looking to get reelected. We use the carrot approach, and our competitors have to bribe assholes coming to the end of their term.”
“Bribery is cheaper?”
Another nod. “But I didn’t set up Astela to get rich.”
“You just wanted the servers to use for yourself?”
She chewed on her lip, and Nolan didn’t like that. It meant she was deciding whether to tell him something.
“I won’t be mad,” he promised. “Not unless you set out to murder puppies, anyway.”
“We had to move an animal shelter once,” she confessed. “But we built them a better place a few miles away, and one of my friends even adopted a dog from there.” Alexa shuddered. “She’s a Belgian Malinois, and I don’t like her teeth either.”
“But you do like changing the subject.”
She gave Nolan a glare. “Fine. My other goal when we started Astela was to put my father out of business. Did you know I learned to code because I thought it might make him love me?”
“Damn, Alexa.” Then curiosity got the better of him. “Did you do it? Put him out of business?”
“Two years ago, I bought his company out of bankruptcy and fired him. Okay, so I didn’t do it personally, I sent Jay, but he streamed it live for me, and it was still the best day of my life.”
Only Alexa would start a whole-ass company out of spite, but having learned more about her childhood, Nolan mentally applauded her.
“Why buy it? Why not just let it go under?”
“It still had some useful assets, and Dad had tried to prop it up with personal loans. We structured the deal with the liquidator to make sure all that debt stayed with him. Plus…” At this rate, she wasn’t going to have much skin left on those lips. “Plus he’d trademarked the name, and I wanted it.”
“Because it was also your name?” Nolan guessed.
A quick nod.
Brax had already spilled the beans about that, but he wanted her to tell him. “Stone?”
“My name is Alexandria Rockwell,” she whispered. “The company was Rockwell Systems, and I took it. Fuck him. You said you wouldn’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad; I’m proud.” Nolan reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I’m so damn proud of you.”
The server brought a jug of water and a basket of bread, and Nolan cleared his throat before she could leave.
“Any chance we could get a bottle of club soda?”
“Uh, sure.” She pasted on a bright, fake smile. “Right away.”
“I think she’s out of her depth with that big table,” Nolan muttered as the girl scurried away.
Alexa cut her gaze sideways. “Figures. Five bucks says the douche in the blue golf shirt owns that yellow car in the parking lot.”
She hadn’t pulled her hand away, which both surprised Nolan and pleased him.
“I’m not taking that bet.”
“Is this a date?” she asked suddenly. Those whiplash-inducing changes in direction were another Alexa-ism he’d forgotten about, and what the hell was he supposed to say? No, and risk offending her? Or yes, and risk scaring her off?
Finally, he tried, “Do you want it to be?”
“I don’t know.” Then, more softly, “I’ve never been on a date before.”
