I can almost see it. The man Robbie fell for.
Robbie…
Shit. I need to tell him I have to stay late, but there’s no way I can text him or call him since my phone is outfitted with Sloane’stech now. I know he said I was protected, but part of me worries he’ll somehow still see who I’m texting or calling…
Which means… I have to figure out some other way to get a hold of him. Technically, my job doesn’t have regular hours, but Robbie assured me most nights I’d be done by dinner time since Sloane himself doesn’t like to stay in the office late.
But if I am to get this list taken care of… I’ll need more time, and I don’t exactly want to bring my workhomewith me. It’s dangerous enough that I’m still seeing Robbie, period. The last thing I need is to blow my cover before I’ve had a chance to do anything.
“Thirty minutes,” I say. “Is that alright?”
He doesn’t look at me, instead, he gazes at his screen, his long eyelashes standing out in the LED light.
“Yes, that’s fine,” he says with a grunt.
I stay frozen, watching him like a weirdo. I can’t take my eyes off of him.
“Go grab yourself an espresso, Oliver,” he says almost softly. “I think you’ve earned it.”
“Thank you, Sir,” I say as I take two steps back.
And only when I get into the hallway can I finally breathe.
I have a feeling I’m going to need a lot more than espresso if I want to get through Sloane Pierce.
Chapter Seven
Sloane
When Oliver leaves, I feel like I can relax a little. I’m not sure what it is that has me feeling so on edge today. Maybe Chickadee is right, and I need to get out more. Though Oliver is attractive and exudes an air of obedience that speaks to me, it’s nothimthat has me all out of sorts. Not entirely, anyway.
I click through my most recent report on the prototypes forPhantom, the system I’ve been working on for the last six months to integrate with Veil. When I discovered the glitch that gave me the Veil, I knew I had something special. Though my ex insisted the glitch needed to be fixed, because glitches were not reputable. They were too temperamental and could destroy the product and render it useless. Though Robert Stratford’sdefinition of useless and mine seem to differ, seeing as he only deems what he can exploit as useful.
I comb through the reports, hoping for something I can use, some sort of tangible piece of evidence that we’re moving in the right direction, but…
Nothing.
Seven test prototypes, and each one failed to synchronize with the Veil. It’s almost as if somehow, some way, Robert is still mocking me; taunting me that my “little glitch” will never be anything more than a virus that can not be contained.
My gaze settles on the words, but I don’t read them. They are blurred letters, save for a few that stand out.Crash. Inconclusive. Full shutdown.
Not viable.
The last one hits harder than it should. I stare at the designs, so sleek and slender and beautiful. Like pieces of artwork, designed for functionality and modernity, but alas…
They are just junk.
Fucking pieces of quartz and bio-degradable parts that can’t amount to what I need.
I click out of the email, growling in frustration. And to add insult to injury, I see the email fromGlobal Skies,the tech firm out in California who bought into the Veil as one of its early key investors. The company who also gets their hands washed by several undercover agencies, who I’ve been told need to remain nameless due to National Security. The very company who’s given me the funds to infuse the creation of Phantom in the first place.
I don’t have to look at the email to know what it says. It’s the same every time.
Where are our prototypes? How much longer until we have something to show the shareholders?
I need to figure out what’s causing this assimilation issue. I know it can’t be the algorithm itself. My ex might have been a selfish prick, but he was no neanderthal. The plan was always for Veil to be a functioning security system all on its own, capable of expanding with downloadable upgrades and technical mods. We’d only gotten through two prototypes that worked, and that’s when I discovered the glitch. The product didn’t coincide with other available systems like it should have. Itenhancedthem.
Robert said I should have sent the whole thing to the scrap pile, but I knew Veil was my way into the tech market. And all we needed was a foot in the door.
