My eyes were so wide, I wondered if I would ever blink again. He gently extracted the bouquet from my clutches and placed it on the coffee table before sitting on the couch next to me.
“I bring you breakfast every day. I tried to kiss you that first night. I just kissed you again in the bar. I bought you flowers. I called youbabywhen I walked in here, Milo.”
He reached out and wrapped his long, warm fingers around the back of my neck, pulling me in so he could rest his forehead against mine. His shoulders rose and fell as he let out another frustrated sigh.
“Who hurt you so bad that you can’t see that you’re not the only one here with acrush?”
My heart was hammering in my chest at his words, and the memory of Dylan swam to the surface of my mind. He had convinced me that he was into me, only to humiliate me in front of an entire lecture hall at MIT in my first year.
It had been a bet.
He and his mean friends had made a bet to see how desperate I was and if I would believe that someone like him could actually want me. Then he’d snatched it all away afterweeksof spending time with me and being nice to me.
I’d almost dropped out from the shame.
“Milo, baby. I’m so fucking into you it isn’t even funny,” Jay breathed. “I’ve been into you before you even started here. Do you think it’s common practice for the CMTRO to lead orientation?”
“Uhm—”
“Of course it’s not. It’s usually the floor manager who runs it. I was leading that day because I wanted to meet you. I wanted to be the one to show you around.”
“What?” I rasped.
He pulled back and met my eyes, looking so serious and earnest, and my stomach erupted in butterflies at what he was telling me.
“Did you know I created NOVA?” he asked abruptly, and I shook my head in awe.
“In the early days, we had this 80/20 philosophy. My dad started it. 80 percent of your time was supposed to go to Neurovance projects, but the other 20 percent of your time was supposed to be spent on passion projects. NOVA was one of mine.
“It was right around when AI was becoming mainstream, and Luke wanted to implement one of the big tech models on campus to keep us competitive. Both my dad and I hated the idea, considering most of the early models were run on entirely stolen databases and completely ripped off work from artists and authors without their consent.
“Luke wouldn’t freaking drop it though, so I decided I wanted to build the world’s first ethically sourced AI. I crowd-sourced all the data she learned from people who volunteered to participate in the project, instead of stealing from creatives like all the other big tech companies do.”
“Holy shit… You built a whole AI?” I gasped, and he nodded.
“Yeah. I did.”
“He did!” NOVA chirped. “He won’t let me call him daddy, though.”
“Shut up, NOVA.” Jay sighed, though his lips twitched in amusement.
“Anyway. I asked NOVA a long time ago to send me applications of potential candidates she thought I might find interesting. Three weeks ago, she sent me yours.”
My pulse was thrumming in my ears. I couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“I’m the one who bumped your application to the top of Pathways and Growth’s list. I asked them to hire you.”
“Why?”I asked, completely floored.
Jay took my shaking hands in his and met my gaze. His eyes were strangely glassy, and I realizedhewas holding back tears.
“I read your application essay, and Milo… I don’t think you have any idea how brilliant you are.”
“I mean, I know I’m smart, but… nothing likethat,” I whispered, and that frustrated look flashed across his face again, and his hands tightened on mine.
“Milo—fuck.I hate how hard you are on yourself. You have no idea what your essay meant to me. I started crying when I read it. It was like my dad was still alive and I was reading one of his papers again for the first time. Your brain is fuckingamazing.The world quite literally isn’t ready for you. I’ve wanted to work with you since I read that essay. That day, I didn’t get any work done. Instead of experimenting with the NeuroManipulator, I hacked into MIT and read every single paper you’ve ever submitted for each of your classes.”
“What?”I rasped. The blood had drained from my face, and I was suddenly freezing cold. I’d been at MIT foryears.That would have taken… days, probably. Maybe weeks.
