But James understood this isn’t about trust. It’s about establishing motivation. James added,That would be bad for business.
James glances up from his device to the man approaching them from across the bar. A woman follows him. When she spots them, she stiffens, but the man puts his hand on the small of her back and guides her forward. She must be hisowner, though they really should come up with a better word for the future people who accidentally end up with reincarnates.
Considering he’s bringing her, he must be ready to make a purchase. Finally, a fucking win. Time to start stacking them up.
“Lucas,” he says, reaching to the reincarnate. “Good to see you again.”
Lucas takes his hand, then Oro1’s, before introducing the woman. “This is Astra. The woman who found me and offered me refuge.” He takes her hand and kisses it. Then he looks lovingly into her blue eyes. “And so much more.”
She blushes furiously before awkwardly mimicking the handshake. “A pleasure.”
“So you aren’t his owner?” Oro1 asks.
Astra taps the tip of her nose with a red polished fingertip. “No. That is an unfortunate story.”
“My owner, as you say, kicked me out when he realized I was one of GROW’s mistakes. It took a considerable amount of begging to convince him not to turn me in. I wandered the halls in A Quadrant, hiding wherever I could until Astra found me two days later. She suspected I was a reincarnate, so she took me in. Gave me food and water. Now here we are,” Lucas says, entwining their fingers.
James eyes the movement, noting the clear transference happening, but who is he to judge? He can’t keep Kate off his mind, so it’s not like he’s much better.
Astra beams. “Getting to know Lucas has been quite the adventure for me.”
How long would it last until she became tired of him and tossed him to the side in favor of something new? Not James’s problem.
But out of curiosity, he asks, “What happened with his lease?”
Astra chuckles. “His owner was being investigated by collectors from GROW from what I gather. He finally managed to convince them Lucas ran away and he hasn’t seen him since. It’s been quite the drama in our tower. That is one of the reasons I agreed to get Lucas a PalmPrint. We have to be very careful. We have an appointment next week to have his facial structure altered. Wouldn’t his eyebrowslook better if they were raised slightly? And his nose could be a little smaller.”
James has to take a drink to keep from cringing. Waking up to Kate in the future was a huge blessing.
“Just enough change that I won’t be recognizable,” Lucas chimes in.
“Of course,” she says, patting his hand.
They complete the transaction, and they show the couple how to use the prints and maintain them. When they leave, James turns to Oro1, feeling accomplished.
The latter orders another cocktail to celebrate.
“They gave me an idea while they were talking. Do you think we could create some type of contact lens that could trick the retina scanners?” James asks when Oro1 gets back to the table.
Oro1 pats him on the back, chuckling. “Your mind doesn’t ever quit, does it?”
“No,” he says. “I guess not.” For once in this unfamiliar future, he’s feeling unashamed about his drive. With the funds having already landed in the IdenTECH account, relief slowly starts to wash over him. Knowing Kate, even if she’s still upset with him over their conversation, she will use her funds to help him. It’s one of the things he admires about her.
“We can tackle that once we get IdenTECH’s identity replacement division officially launched. For now, we celebrate our first sale.” Oro1 raises his glass in cheers like James taught him.
They clink glasses, and James can’t help but allow the warmth of the liquid and his first success to flow through him. Meeting that couple was the reminder he needed about his luck. “How about that story?” he muses.
It was a wild story, which made his and Kate’s feel much less tenuous. He can’t wait to tell her about it. He takes out his device to send her a quick message that he’d like to talk when he gets back, but finds a message from her already waiting for him.
Going out tonight. Don’t wait up.
37 – A Quick Fix
K8
Earlier the same day.
K8 bolts upright in bed, suddenly wide awake. After wasting three days stewing, clarity strikes her. Why did her realization take so long? There’s only four days left. But all isn’t lost. Well, the opportunity to have a relationship with James is lost, and therefore so is her sanity, but she can still do what she promised. She lied. She got lost in denial. She accused him of—internally, she groans. Clearly, he wasn’t trying to dominate her or whatever story she grasped onto to avoid her own faults. How embarrassing. No wonder he wants nothing to do with her.
