‘Look, Zola. It’s not that I don’t want you here. I don’t care. But I like to know who I’m working with and what their capabilities are. Then I can work out what I can talk to them about.’
Zola turned to Ethan, utterly confused, holding up the soggy, coffee-drenched tissues. ‘What?’
‘I asked for your IQ, but you still haven’t given it. I want to know on what level I can discuss things with you. Until I know what you can understand, how am I supposed to know what to talk about?’ He was fully serious, not a smirk or glimmer of humour in sight.
‘It’s a hundred and twenty-nine,’ Zola mumbled under her breath. ‘I did do it when you asked, but I didn’t send it over because I didn’t quite reach Mensa level.’
Ethan stood up, his chair scraping across the floor. ‘You’re the fifth highest in the company, Zola,’ he said, looking impressed.
‘I am?’ She let out a confused laugh, sussing out his change in energy. ‘Fifth highest, though – that doesn’t seem too impressive.’
‘That’s four higher than Darren.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘And, now that I know who I’m dealing with, I can show you real coding and how it performs at a much higher level than what you’re doing now.’
Zola laughed, nodding, but feeling completely confused by the shift. She didn’t trust easily, but there was an innocence and straightforwardness in Ethan that she felt she could believe in. ‘That all sounds great, but .?.?. I don’t suppose you know anything about hacking?’ she asked. ‘It’s always interested me. I just can’t seem to get past the firewall.’
Ethan’s eyes squinted mischievously. ‘Because I built it.’ He grinned. ‘You know, a straightforward hack is pretty insulting. I’m capable of a lot more.’
Zola tilted her head. ‘Oh yeah? Prove it.’
‘Who do you want to hack and why?’ Ethan was curious, and quite rightly so.
Zola felt her cheeks go warm as she tried to think on the spot. ‘There’s a woman in PR, who Katy heard on the phone; she seemed suss. Katy thought she might be sabotaging the app. Maybe working with another app company or something?’ Zola could hear her voice squeak at the end, which made her wonder if she was trying to convince herself or Ethan of the fake reasoning.
‘Britney!’ He scurried back to his desk, looking pleased to be joining forces. By his quick actions, Zola knew he had no alliances with her.
‘And you’re really not going to say it’s breaching the policies or breaking the rules?’ Zola turned to him, watching him hit the keys like Elton John at his Glastonbury appearance.
‘As if those dumbasses will know a thing about it,’ he said, his brain almost beaming with sheer logical intelligence. ‘That’s why your friend Katy came here the other week?’ he asked, surprising her.
‘Yeah,’ she said, remembering that Ethan had left the tech room for them to speak. Zola pushed her chair up beside him.
‘Watch it,’ Ethan warned as she came closer. ‘Physical touch is a major no-go for me.’
‘Of course,’ Zola agreed, shuffling her chair back. ‘Got it.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ella
After a morning of serious shagging, Jimmy eventually left to attend a meeting with his investors. I decided to take a walk along the Hudson with my laptop under my arm, heading to a local coffee shop to get some work done. We had been in New York for just over a month now, and the weather had shifted from late summer into fall, which was always my favourite time of year, with fashion at its peak. Today I opted for a long trench coat, leggings, and a long-sleeved plain top, paired with my UGG Mini Classics.
Since pushing Britney as far away from the PR side of Stars and Swipes as possible, I had been handling the launch events on my own, spending most of my time chasing or enquiring about vendors. As I entered the bustling open-plan coffee shop, I set down my laptop, then ordered a latte at the counter, constantly checking that my computer hadn’t been lifted before returning to the table with my drink.
Ahead of me was a morning of back-and-forth emails with companies about potential set-ups for the investor party. I needed it to be perfect – to match that classy, sophisticated New York vibe I was going for. Back in Glasgow, I had endless connections for events of every kind, but over here, I knew no one. I wasn’t going to ask Britney for any of her contacts and risk possible sabotage from that fucking crank, so I checked every review on each retailer, making sure they were not only reliable and available, but also the best in the city.
It was just past noon when a text from Zola popped up in the group chat on my laptop. I lifted my phone to read along.
Zola:I hacked Britney’s emails, nothing incriminating.
Katy:Nothing? What’s she emailing about?
Ella:That’s annoying!
Katy:Where are you, Ella? Just stopped by the office x
Ella:Came to the wee coffee shop beside the apartment to work on the events x
Zola:Well, while you’re doing Britney’s job, she’s spent the morning sending Fee details of new office furniture she wants x
