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“I am saying it is not the matter at hand.”
He squints. “So you do find her attractive?”
I pause, choosing my words carefully. “Not the point.”
“Hm.” He leans back in his chair and stretches like a hibernating bear. “Why are you showing me a video of a college student teaching Niko to play piano?”
“Because of this.” I play the video again, pausing at the part where Dejonae places the headphones on my daughter’s stomach.
The sleep clears from Adam’s eyes and he sits straight up in the chair. Mouth falling open, he whistles. “Did she just…”
“Use vibrations of the chest to improve Niko’s timing? Yes.” I tap my fingers on the café’s smooth mahogany table, unable to restrain the nervous energy. “She modified her headphones to concentrate rhythmic energy. Somehow, the device was able to become a link between the music and the body.”
“That’s genius.” He shakes his head. The wheels are turning rapidly in his brilliant mind. “How did she come up with that?”
“I believe this is the key we have been looking for.”
He picks up the phone and starts the video over. This time, he studies it intently.
“Where did you find her?”
“In an alley.” I pause. “But I first met her at the Belle’s Beauty gala.”
The phone almost drops out of his hands. “She’s the girl who played your piano without asking?”
I nod.
“Will she want to work with you? I heard you laid into her pretty hard.”
Rather than answer, I pick up the cup of tea that’s still steaming and sip it. The matcha flavor hits my tongue, a mild version of the drink I enjoyed back in Japan.
Adam slides his elbow over the table and lowers his voice. “Be honest. Do you think you can get her to work with us?”
“I am certain of it.”
He quirks a brow. “How certain?”
My eyes dart away from his. “About fifty percent.”
“Not great odds.”
“If all else fails, we can work around her. Reverse-engineer the idea.”
“If she modified those headphones on her own, with no resources or access to our technology, imagine what she can do if she joins our team.” Adam narrows his eyes. “Don’t let your issue with her get in the way of business, Sazuki. There’s a bigger picture here.”
“I am aware,” I growl. I have worked like a madman to get the foundation this far. I will not stand in the way of our mission.
His lips curl up in a smirk. “So you have a plan to convince the girl?”
“Ask nicely.” I drum my fingers on the table again.
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Ask… less nicely.” My tone is dry.
His smile gets bigger. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when that conversation happens.”
“Yes, well, knowing you, you’d build that fly and send the surveillance footage back to your horse farm.”
