Gus: Yeah … ok
BREAKING NEWS: SILICON VALLEY AND SUPER YACHTS FOR SPICY APP DUO
It seems the duo behind the hyper successful adult content app Tickle are well and truly living the lives of the newly rich and famous.
Paul Prideaux III, who goes by the name Atlas in social circles, has been spotted schmoozing with tech giants in Silicon Valley. The son of mining mogul Paul Prideaux II has been dining with execs from tech giants Synappsee and Dataviz, fuelling rumours that the mystery investor behind the breakout app may have stakes in their companies too.
On home soil, coding genius behind the app, Henry Baxter, has been seen moving his belongings onto a high-spec super yacht. The yacht was temporarily berthed at Darling Harbour, just a five-minute walk from Tickle’s headquarters at Barangaroo, while the move was underway. It has since relocated to a permanent berth in Rushcutters Bay—one of the only private marinas in Sydney with capability to berth a super yacht. Sources close to the newly minted mogul have suggested that he has made the yacht—named theGirl on Fire—his permanent residence.
With the Appies (America’s annual app development awards night) coming up later this year, we at TechRaker HQ are already placing bets on how many awards Baxter and Prideaux will take out with their innovative social media meets Only Fans platform.
CHAPTER FOUR
Fool Me Twice
HENRY
“Those bastards!” Lucian growled, storming onto the foredeck and brandishing his phone at me. I put down my triangle of toast and pushed my glasses up my nose, noticing the TechRaker logo at the top of the screen.
“Why is it that everyone seems to be coming to me with complaints about TechRaker?” I sipped my coffee. “Don’t tell me they’ve misnamed Atlas again—thankfully it’s the middle of the night over there, so he won’t have seen it yet. Maybe we can get it rectified before he wakes up to it.”
“I couldn’t care less about that—just read it.” He thrust the phone under my nose. I scanned the article, and as I reached the end, my breakfast turned to lead in my stomach.
I’d known, in theory, that Tickle’s success—and our overnight billionaire status—would attract media attention. But this? There were people I needed to stay hidden from. People who’d use this to find me.
“Call Liv, please,” I said, hoping my voice sounded steady as panic twisted in my gut. “Ask her to get in touch with the legal team, see if they can apply some pressure to have that information removed from the article.”
“Hopefully it’s not too late,” Lucian muttered, his expression dark. My father instantly sprung to mind.
“Hopefully,” I agreed thinly, and Lucian looked down at his phone just as Captain Gillies approached, a frown wrinkling her forehead.
“There’s a woman, Mr Baxter, waiting at the gate. Says she knows you from uni?”
Lucian’s eyes snapped back to mine. “It begins,” he muttered darkly before turning away, his phone to his ear. “Uh … hi, Liv.”
I pushed away my half-eaten toast, my appetite gone.
“Mr Baxter?—”
“It’s just Henry,” I muttered, turning in the direction of Captain Gillies.
She smiled tentatively. “Well, I’m just Josie, then. And what do you want us to do about the woman?”
I blew out a breath. “Bring her onboard.”
I was almost positive I knew who it was going to be, and my suspicions were confirmed. Cadence followed Captain Gillies—Josie—up onto the foredeck. Her hazel eyes were wide, and her platinum hair wafted across her face in the Sydney Harbour breeze.
I stood, heart rate spiking, adrenaline flooding me, preparing for battle.
It had been years since we’d last seen each other, and yet she still looked like that fresh-faced student who had crushed my sentimental heart under her heel.
“Hen!” she exclaimed, rushing up to me and throwing her arms around my neck. I stiffened, and she shrank back, biting her lip.
“Sorry. I always forget how much you hate being touched.”
I grunted, taking a seat, needing the table between me and her. It wasn't that I didn’t like being touched, it was just sudden. And she wasn’t someone I wanted touching me anymore. She’d lost that right a long time ago.
“This is incredible!” She pasted on a smile, gesturing around at theGirl on Fire. “You’ve made it, Hen. I knew you would.”
