It is widely believed that bad blood has been running between Prideaux and the brain behind the Tickle brand, Henry Baxter, for weeks, although it isn’t clear what exactly the pair locked horns over.
Tickle continues to break app records for subscribers, profits and general popularity, even with this recent slew of scandals. The Appies are less than six months away now—will Baxter, a notorious recluse, attend the awards? Or will the world finally get a glimpse at the mysterious silent partner who rocketed him into the billionaire club?
BREAKING NEWS: SYNAPPSEE’S CATASTROPHIC SYSTEM FAILURE
The SynAPPsee platform isn’t as infallible as the app-hosting company claims, after a virus managed to wipe out over ninety percent of the data on their servers in the last twenty-four hours. The virus has thrown over a dozen popular apps into complete chaos, and stakeholders are demanding answers.
The tech giant—whose primary business is hosting third-party apps—hasyet to make an official statement about the disaster. The company has reached out to stakeholders with reassurances that they are working hard to minimise potential leaks, but the loss of so much data is in itself a disaster.
TechRaker will bring you more on this developing story as it evolves—keep an eye on our live stream to stay abreast of this situation.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
It’s Mutual
HENRY
Iglanced across the hospital room at a slumbering Ri, only half listening to Lucian on the other end of the phone. Moonlight spilled through the pitiful excuse for blinds, casting a silvery sheen over her skin.
She’d been so focused on the positives since she woke, but I kept waiting for the penny to drop, for her to break down. She had yet to process everything that had happened to her. Abduction, assault, being held at gunpoint, thinking, however briefly, that she was going to be dragged back to Romania by that brute, Calin.
Finding out she was pregnant.
She was a master at compartmentalising, my wife. But eventually she would need to let it all out, to work through it. To grieve her past, to process her trauma. And I would be there for her, through all of it.
My wife. My pregnant wife, who loved me.
“Bax? Are you listening?”
I blinked, turning away from Ri to peer out the window at the much less aesthetic view of the carpark.
“Sorry. My mind was elsewhere.”
Lucian snorted. “Three guesses where, and I’ll forfeit the first two. But this is important, Bax. Atlas’s resignation is public news now. He’snot happy about it, but with some … encouragement … he’s seen the value of keeping a low profile for a few months and keeping his mouth shut.”
It was my turn to snort. “Anything he tries to leak to the media about my involvement in the SynAPPsee crash will only open doors to his own actions in the lead-up. His reputation is too important to him to have the truth spilled across TechRaker.” I had to hope this was true. Ri’s traumatic experience becoming media fodder was unthinkable.
“He wants a face to face with you. To ‘clear the air’.” Lucian’s tone made no pretence of how he felt about that.
This was the man who held a gun to Ri’s head—to mine—and acted like it was just another day in the office.
“He has no right to ask anything of me,” I snarled, then pressed my lips tight when Ri stirred. When she settled back into sleep, I lowered my voice and continued. “You can tell him that if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay as far from me, and from Ri, as humanly possible.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I’ll manage him. You’ve got enough on your plate with Ri … how is she, by the way?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. She’s been so cheerful since she woke, but I don’t think she’s let it sink in.” I hadn’t told Lucian about the pregnancy, and I wouldn’t until she was ready for other people to know.
“She’s a tough woman, Bax. I know I haven’t been all that welcoming of her, but she might surprise you with her resilience.”
I nodded. She’d survived her traumatic childhood through sheer force of will. Maybe her abduction felt like another thing she had to endure. I hated that she’d conditioned herself to survive these experiences, but at the same time felt a surge of hope that she would get through this.
“You might be right,” I conceded. “But I’ll still worry.”
“Because you love her.” His words were soft, like he wasn’t sure I was ready to hear them.
“Because I love her,” I agreed.
“And Ri?” he pressed.
