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Squinting, I lengthen my stride and catch up to Nova. She’s halfway to her car. Steve is waiting for her, dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks.
I don’t travel with a chauffeur because I don’t need anyone in my driver’s seat, but I made sure that Nova had a driver. When she’s on company business, she represents Vision Tech, the best in the industry. And thus, she deserves the best too.
Nova hears me coming and stops. Turning slowly, she pins those sultry brown eyes on me. I can’t remember the last time I saw her looking this withdrawn.
Something’s going on.
“If it’s too much, we don’t have to do anything at home this weekend,” I tell her. “How about we take a trip instead? We can go to the Maldives or to Paris. Step away from the company and the inventions for a bit and get back to basics.”
She shakes her head. “We don’t have time to go on a trip. The board meeting is coming up soon and your kinetic batteries are on the line for patent approval.”
“Yes, but—”
“Also, you agreed to receive the Inventor of the Year award and that requires an interview.”
I scowl because I really do hate interviews.
“No cameras,” Nova says. “I made sure they wouldn’t take your pictures. They went out of their way to work with us, so we have to honor it.”
I inhale a deep breath and agree because I’ve never gone wrong listening to her. Nova’s got smarts and spunk. It’s an easy next step to assume that she’s the owner of Vision Tech, and with all the decisions she makes on the day-to-day running of the company, she might as well be.
Nova turns to get into the car.
I chase after her and hold the door open. “Hey.”
She glances up from the back seat, her phone already out and her tablet on her lap, turned to a fancy spreadsheet. There’s someone from the company ringing her phone, as usual. There’s never a moment where she has any peace.
“Thank you,” I say.
Her face is carefully blank. “For what?”
“Holding things down at the company. Planning something for my birthday dinner. All of it.”
“Of course. It’s my job.” She glances down, scrolling through the tablet.
All-business. All the time. It’s a challenge to keep myself from smiling. “You can tell the Inventor of the Year people to come over around one next Tuesday. I’ll meet them in the office.”
“I’ll do that.”
“And I’ll cook on Saturday. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“It’s your birthday, Adam. I can’t let you cook.”
“I got it.” I wink.
Her fingers freeze on the tablet. “Adam…”
“What?”
She clears her throat. “On Saturday, I have something important to tell you.”
“O…kay.”
I think about Nova’s words long after she leaves. What the heck does she have to tell me on Saturday?
* * *
Sazuki placeshis hand on his girlfriend Dejonae’s knee. The two are sitting close together in the couch after clearing their plates. Now, they’re watching me open the presents Nova got me.
