Dawn pushed her way into the lab, then rushed through it and into the living quarters at the back. Entering her room, she swung around to confront Ladee as he followed after her.
“Oh no,” she said, gripping the door. “You can go sleep on the couch tonight.” She slammed the door, crossing her arms over her heaving chest.
“Technically, I don’t sleep,” she heard him mumble through the door. “I run a series of diagnostic tests that—”
“Fuck off, Ladee,” she yelled, then dropped onto the bed, her arms sliding down to cover her stomach. Moths were swooping around in there, like they did every time her anxiety flared to near-uncontrollable levels. She instantly regretted being mean to her robot, but she couldn’t stand to look at him right then.
“Little sneak,” she murmured. Dawn couldn’t believe he’d gone behind her back to solicit investors. She’d thought she could trust Ladee without reservation. The robotic fox was her best friend, her strongest advisor, and her roommate.
“He’s also a furry little asshole.” She sighed, standing up and unzipping the dress. It fell into a pile at her feet and she stepped out of it. Pulling out the pins that had kept her updo together, she felt her hair tumble around her shoulders.
Dawn glanced into the full-sized mirror on her closet door. It reflected a petite woman who was totally nude.Oh yeah, she thought. My panties are on the floor of Z’s fuck palace, ripped to shreds.
Wait, not totally nude.She reached up to remove the mask from her face. Even then, her thick-framed black glasses remained. She wore them always, except when she slept. Without them, the world was a formless blur.
Her body was average, she thought. Toned due to a fitness regime she enforced as strictly as the rest of her schedule. But average height, average weight, even average hair, a mousy brown that never attracted attention. Couple her average features with the glasses and her penchant for messy ponytails and lab coats, and at best, her look could be callednerd chic.
At worst, she was just a nerd.
Still, her companion for the night had seemed to enjoy it. Her skin felt like it had ignited wherever her looked at her, making her feel anything but average.
Then again, a male that perfect had to have plenty of partners. Maybe novelty was the only thing interesting about her, and maybe it had been enough to attract his attentions.
“Just stop,” she told herself wearily. Although her analytical skills worked wonders in the lab, being ultra-critical of her every move wore on her in her personal life. Dawn climbed into bed, not removing her glasses until her head rested on the pillow.
“Tomorrow is a new day, a day to redeem your focus. You’ve been the underdog before. Hell, you’re the quintessential underdog, fighting against those who underestimate you at their own peril.”
You against the world.That was what Ladee had told her. Was he right? Was her go-it-alone mentality to her own detriment?
No, she’d tried to work with a partner, one she’d finally trusted enough to share her patent with. And all it had gotten her was stabbed in the back and out millions of credits. As much as she might like someone who wanted to share the burden with her, it just didn’t seem to be in the cards. For now, “Trust No One” seemed a better motto than “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.”
Dawn concentrated on willing sleep to come, solving mindless equations to try to entice it to find her. Instead, images of an evening spent in the arms of that golden god distracted her, making her toss and turn until the wee hours.
When she finally did pass out, it was to the thought of how warm and comfortable those arms would be to sleep in.
