“Ms. Larson, you’re dismissed,” I snapped.
She glanced at me, her mouth parting in protest, but I didn’t give her a chance to start complaining.
“Get out,” I growled, and anger flared in her eyes at my very unprofessional tone.
“Mr. Reynolds, I really think I can add value here if you’d just let me?—”
“Ms. Larson, if you are not out of this lab in the next thirty seconds, I will make sure you never set foot on this campus again. Get. Out.”
Like a toddler, she slammed the manipulator down on a tray next to the chair, and I didn’t miss the way Milo flinched at her poor treatment of the device.
“Fine,” she snapped, tossing her hair over her shoulder and stalking out of The Cave.
Milo stepped out of her way, giving her a wide berth, and I waited several moments for the elevator to take her up. Once she was gone, I turned to Milo next, softening my tone considerably before dismissing him as well.
“Milo, please take the rest of the day off.”
Shock flickered across his features, and his mouth dropped open in surprise.
“What? We need to keep working. We have the demonstration, and we’re not even close to having enough traction to?—”
“Do not make me say it again, Mr. Murphy. You are dismissed. Please return to your cube and wait for further instructions.” I used my corporate voice, and the flicker of hurt that welled in his impossibly large eyes made me want to throw myself off a building.
He didn’t say another word. He just turned on his heel and left, leaving me alone with Sebastian.
Seb slid his hands into the pockets of his suit and gave me a bored look.
“Well. What is it that thegreatJay Reynolds has to say?” he drawled, and I snarled at him, which only caused him to roll his eyes.
“You could have fuckingtoldme you were taking him to get implanted!” I roared, but he barely flinched.
“You know, for such a smart guy, you’re pretty fucking stupid sometimes, Jay.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped, and Seb scoffed.
“I told you what would happen if you got him involved, and you refused to listen to me. This is what you get for thinking with your dick, Jay. Now he’s just as trapped here as we are. Maybe worse. Who knows what upgrades that fucking doctor had installed in his chip? If they’re anything like mine, then the next few days are going to be a fucking nightmare.”
“What do you mean? You have the same chip as me.”
Seb looked like he wanted to literally hit me. “Do I, Jay? Please tell me you’re not that blind.”
I searched his face, thinking of all the times I’d seen him limping or moving stiffly. I’d assumed Luke had been physically hitting him… but what if it was something else?
“He’s using it to hurt you?”
Seb shrugged, refusing to meet my gaze. “I certainly haven’t been trying to fucking leave since the last time we tried. He injected an upgrade into me a week or so ago and… it’s much morerestrictive.The one he gave Milo is even more advanced. He winced when he touched my arm on the walk over here. I wouldn’t be surprised if dear old dad found a way to optimize it to enforce the physical touch rule.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I rasped, and he just leveled me with a hard look.
“Like you told me about your secret relationship with Milo? Fuck off, Jay. You can’t expect me to be open with you when you won’t extend the same courtesy to me. Besides, what power do you have to stop him? Luke is going to do whatever the fuck he wants. When are you going to get that through your head? And now, because of yourselfishness,he’s going to hurt Milo too. I hope you’re fucking happy.” And with that, he gave me a disgusted look and left me standing there, alone, angry, and fuckingterrifiedthat he was right.
Iwaited all day for Jay to come get me from my cube. My chest was a tight ball of anxiety, and I spent hours pacing and worrying that he was mad at me for pushing back earlier when he’d dismissed me.
By the time 9pm rolled around and I still hadn’t heard from him, I started to worry.
Had something bad happened?
“NOVA… have you heard from Jay at all?” I finally asked, and NOVA chirped back happily.
