Blue stands up, his face neutral, his thoughts clearly already elsewhere as he picks up his tablet.
"I have a meeting in a few minutes. It usually happens every other day, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."
"With upper management?"
"Yes."
"Is it at least as interesting as higher mathematics?" I ask somewhat melancholically.
Blue lets out an amused huff.
"Debatable. We review reports from the lab and the research department, go through brief presentations of results, project progress, and alerts about issues in research or production. It’ll take about two to three hours, but," he makes a small, casual gesture with his hand, "if you get bored standing by the door, you can come inside and listen."
I get up as well and ask hesitantly, "Aren’t those some kind of internal confidential matters?"
"They are internal confidential matters, but I have a strange feeling you’re not an industrial spy," he says, his tone almost roguish.
I make a face. "I’ll just put on my headphones and connect to my classes anyway. It’s assembly language programming today, I won’t be eavesdropping."
Blue nods and we head out together.
On the way, I pull on my black mesh mask, and we go down two floors. When we’re alone in the elevator, I catch a brief glance from him, and I get the sense that something subtle shifted after our little math clash.
I think he notices my sour mood because he suddenly speaks.
"Gabriel, what you did was very impressive. You have an exceptional talent for mathematics. I wouldn’t want you to walk away from this thinking you performed poorly. None of my math professors could have handled that. You’re a natural prodigy, and that’s rare."
I swallow hard, my throat suddenly dry. I wasn’t expecting that kind of summary of my performance. I thought I had comeoff as a bit of a vain show-off in his eyes, and he punctured that inflated balloon of my ego.
"Thanks," I murmur. "It’s hard to stand out… next to you."
"You stood out regardless, Gabriel," he insists, his tone so amazingly certain, and my cheeks flush.
It makes me feel strangely warm, but I firmly resist and shake off the faint pink cloud settling over me.
When we step out of the elevator, I don’t see any of Blue’s bodyguards, and the security office lights are off, which surprises me.
"Where are the other guards?"
Blue stops by the conference room door.
"I sent them on leave. I want to see how you handle things on your own. So far, so good."
He says it so calmly, so lightly, that I almost can’t process it.
"Seriously? But why? All of them, and now it’s just me?"
"Yes. All the permanent ones."
"???? ????![6] You’ve completely lost your mind!"
A faintly ironic expression crosses Blue’s face. "I have confidence in your abilities."
"Mr. Lowen! You’re overestimating me. This is insane! Five seconds, that’s all I can do! What if we end up in a situation where an action takes longer than that?"
He lets out a small, impatient huff.
"I had four guards employed full-time and another four on a rapid contract from an external firm. I let go only the permanent ones, but I still have access to those from the external firm if needed. I think I can put the money they were making to better use. For example, allocate it to you. All their salaries."
