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The one server in the pod came over and offered to pour us each a glass of wine. “Thank you,” I said, with a tight smile. Perhaps a glass of wine would unwind me enough.
Faith leaned over, placing her lips mere inches from my ear. “Relax.”
That little bit of reassurance grounded me enough to ask Harrison and Sophie how they met.
Harrison’s face lit up. “It’s a great story. You see, we were in Milan. I was there to check in on my latest venture, Sophie was there for fashion week, and we ran into each other.”
“Literally. On the street,” Sophie jumped in, beaming as well. I watched as she slid her hand into Harrison’s, the little gesture full of warmth and love.
Despite the age difference and my initial impressions, the pair had genuine, undeniable affection for one another.
Faith asked at least a half dozen follow-up questions, all of which Harrison and Sophie gladly answered. I chimed in here and there but was thankful Faith took the lead.
The tone grew serious as Harrison slid his arm behind the headrest of his wife’s chair. “Tell me, Sebastian. Who are you?”
Finally, we were getting to business. Business I could handle.
“I became interested in cyber security when I was young. I taught myself everything there is to know about computers and coding and knew internet security would have to be all-encompassing. Affecting every industry, every interaction. And I wanted in.”
“How did you teach yourself?”
I leaned forward, forearms on the table. “My mom’s hotel was my guinea pig.”
His eyes lit up. “Your mom has a hotel? Which one? Maybe I’ve stayed there.”
I shook my head. “I misspoke. She worked at a motel. A small one in my hometown. She worked the front desk, cleaned rooms. Whatever they needed done. Mom practically ran the place, although you wouldn’t know it based on what they paid her,” I digressed. “Someone was stealing from the petty cash and the owner accused my mom of doing it. So I rigged a camera and created an alert that went directly to the owner’s phone whenever the petty cash drawer was opened. I obviously had to build a makeshift sensor, but I managed that with some spare parts from my school’s science and robotics club. The teacher liked me and always encouraged me to experiment. Anyway, I got what I needed and the day after my mom came home crying I begged her boss to give her a second chance. He agreed after I gave an extensive description of the new security measures I installed—free of charge.”
“Then what happened?” Sophie asked with rapt attention.
I shrugged. “The alarm went off in the middle of the night—not during my mom’s shift. Turns out his daughter was stealing the petty cash to pay for cigarettes. Thanks to my little device, he learned a lot about his family. He apologized to my mom and even gave her a fifty cent an hour raise.”
Harrison looked appalled. “Fifty cents?”
“It felt like a huge win at the time.”
“Interesting,” Harrison commented before taking a sip of his wine. It had mostly stayed untouched, and I tried to mirror him, drinking only occasionally. “How old were you when this happened?”
That was the kicker. “Twelve.”
Harrison ran a hand through his scruff. “You mean to tell me that you rigged a security system from scratch before you were even a teenager?”
“I have a mind for it. That helps.”
Faith scoffed. “You also worked very hard. Let’s not forget that part.”
My chest swelled. “That’s true too.”
She nudged me playfully, her eyes big as she regaled them with some story my mom must have shared with her.
I dared a glance at Harrison and found his face cryptically neutral.
“Why is a young guy like yourself the best person to manage my security portfolio?”
I didn’t dare look away. Didn’t give him that satisfaction. This was a game of chess, and I wasn’t about to lose.
“Having started in security at the age of twelve, it’s hardly a surprise that I became an expert in my field at a young age. I’ve slowly dominated multiple fields, taking on prestigious clients with unique needs. It’s not just about the client, it’s about the challenge for me and making sure I set up a security system that’s unique to its user. That is what sets me apart from my competition. Cyber security isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. It should be tailored to the client.”
The man dragged a thumb across his bottom lip. “How exactly do you do that?”
