What the fuck had that man been doing in Simon’s body? Was he insane? Was hetryingto kill himself?
As Simon looked up, ready with the credit card, the boy was gawking at him, a mild interest flashing in his lazy stare. “Hey, you look like the dead guy.”
“Excuse me?”
“The, uh—” The boy snapped his fingers. “They were talking about him on TV. Tech guy—Simon Montague! That’s him.”
Simon’s heartbeat doubled. “What?”
“Yeah, look.” The boy gazed up at the small TV mounted on the wall and changed the channel until it stopped on a close-up of a woman in business attire, explaining something to a sea of recorders and phones.
Martha Lewis. The PR representative for Aries Tech.
“What more can you tell us about Mr. Montague’s death?” a reporter said off-screen.
“What? No! I’m not dead!” Simon yelled toward the TV.
“I cannot disclose all the information yet,” Martha said. “But so far, we can confirm with absolute certainty that there was no foul play at work. A few years ago, Mr. Montague suffered a car crash …”
“Was the public ever notified of that?”
“At the time, we didn’t think it was necessary,” Martha responded in a calm, even voice. “Seeing as the injuries were only minor.”
“What do you mean, minor? I died,” Simon snapped.
“However, it is possible some injuries were overlooked, which led to a delayed reaction and Mr. Montague dying of natural causes.”
“Once again, I’m not dead!” Simon realized how stupid he was, arguing with a TV screen, and he looked back at the kid.
He was staring at him wide-eyed, mouth hanging open with a half-chewed gum.
Simon sighed, picked up a packet of Jolly Ranchers from the display at the counter, and put it on top of the clothes. “That’ll be all, thanks.”
***
Shanna was happily drumming her fingers on the steering wheel in time with Belinda Carlisle’sLeave A Light Onwhen the passenger door swiftly opened, and Simon plopped down on the seat. “They think I’m dead.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone in my company—and therefore, everyone in the world—thinks I’m dead.”
“Except for me,” she said, until the true meaning of the words caught up with her. “Wait, why?”
“I don’t know. It must be a mistake.” He fiddled with the packaging of his phone, then finally fished it out and turned it on. Aries’s logo came up on the screen above a loading bar. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“Should I drive us back home?” Shanna asked uncertainly.
“Yeah, yeah.” Simon waved in her general direction, eyes still glued to the phone screen. “When I’m back, we need to make the system load faster.”
Shanna decided to ignore his attitude. It was fine. He was stressed, and people didn’t behave as nicely when stressed. And after Simon’s recent ordeal, he had every right to be anxious. Especially if false news reports were spreading through the media.
By the time they got back to her house, the system on Simon’s phone had booted up. Shanna went to clear the dining table of her crafting stuff. Simon rapidly tapped a number into the phone and set it down on speaker while he dressed in a light blue shirt.
“Aries Tech, Everett speaking,” a male voice sounded out.
“Everett!” Simon grabbed the phone. “It’s me!”
“Excuse me, who is this?”
