Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Bash,” Kenji began hesitantly. “Is it possible that Rowe wasn’t being truthful? Don’t give me that look, okay? He lied before.”
“Only because he thought he had to. I know when he was telling the truth,” I said with a confidence I rarely felt.
I remembered how his face looked when he talked about decorating a home, when he spoke of his sister, when he admitted he’d never had sex before. The precise texture of Rowe’s curls against my fingertips. The light in his eyes after I’d kissed him. The sound he made when he came. No, there were some things that couldn’t be faked.
“He definitely submitted his idea and requested a meeting,” I concluded. “He mentioned a ‘terse’ rejection letter from Austin, too.”
“Okay, so did he submit it under a different name? Maybe he’s put things under an LLC?”
“I don’t think he’s business savvy enough to open an LLC.” I pushed a hand through my hair. “Look, do me a favor? Get someone in IT to search the whole corporate file system for any mention of Project Daisy Chain. That’s Rowe’s name for the project.”
“Might as well,” Kenji agreed, getting to his feet. “That’s going to take at least half an hour to complete, though.”
“Fine. I’m not leaving town anytime soon.” And if I had anything to say about it, neither was Rowe.
“Or you could just ask Austin—” Kenji began.
“Hey, hey!” Austin’s familiar voice called, followed a second later by a knock on my open door. “Ask Austin what?”
Austin, who always dressed impeccably, had outdone himself today. He wore a charcoal three-piece suit and a smile brimming with excitement. Belatedly, I remembered that he was counting down to the big beta launch of his own project. It was nice that things were swimming along for someone around here.
“For an update on MRO,” I lied smoothly, deciding the man should be able to celebrate his victory for the day without distraction. “Come sit down and tell me how everything’s gone. Kenji, you can go get started on that… other thing.”
Kenji nodded and ducked out while Austin took the seat he’d vacated.
“Today’s the big day, right?” I prompted. “You got the approval from Legal? Beta’s about to launch?”
“Yup. Everything’s on track.” Austin relaxed back, propping his ankle on his knee and his elbows on the chair arms. “Lonnie had some interesting things to say, actually, about the prelaunch response from the testing sites…”
Austin updated me on the details of our next steps, and I quickly settled into the conversation, feeling my excitement build as I thought about the far-reaching implications of what we were doing. I knew in my bones that we were on the cusp of something amazing with this project, just like the brotherhood had been when we were developing our stoplight communication system, and when the clock on my wall chimed the hour, I was shocked to find that I’d spent thirty minutes talking without feeling the time pass.
This was precisely the kind of project I wanted to be working on. The kind that stretched me and challenged me in a way that felt right.
It was the same way I felt about Rowe.
“I’m continually impressed, Austin,” I told him. “Your team has managed this well, but the real brilliance was in the idea you had in the first place and the research you did on your own.”
Austin shrugged modestly. “It feels like this launch has been a long time coming, and I couldn’t have done it without Sterling Chase. I’m treating my team to a little celebration at lunchtime to thank them. You should come. It would mean a lot to everyone.”
“Sure. I’ll try to make it down if I’m free.”
“Great! Oh.” Austin snapped his fingers. “I forgot to mention there was one tiny, silly hiccup with Legal filing the provisional utility patents. Because the patents will be solely in my name, the company has an internal review. Normally, I just sign off on this stuff and that’s good enough for them, but they’re pushing back since the patent is in my name. Can’t sign off on my own patent.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Lawyers.”
I snorted. “Figures. What do they need?”
“Documentation from earlier in my development process. The initial brainstorming notes I made. Though why they want to see my chicken-scratch scribbles on notebook paper is anyone’s guess. If you want to do me a solid…” He gave me a shameless grin. “I’m thinking a quick email from someone on the board verifying the documentation exists would probably be good enough to settle their feathers. That would save me a bunch of time combing through my files so I can focus on all the other projects I’m supposed to be managing.”
I laughed. “I would if I could, friend, but Clarissa was the one you first brought the project to, so I never saw that documentation.” I hesitated for only a second before adding, “Speaking of your workload, though… I think I’m ready to step back into the fray. In the next few weeks, I’d like to start reviewing some proposals and being part of the selection team again. I’m not sure exactly what that process will look like, but you and I work well together, so I’m sure we’ll figure something out. And hopefully, that’ll free you up a bit.”