“Thanks.”
“Now you’re not at Harris’ beck and call, you can come and see me, yes?”
“I will. Bye, Dad.”
As the call ended, he heard Joe sigh.
You didn’t run. You gave me a sandwich. Not cake.
“You waved at me.”And now I can’t run.
Joe sighed again.
After he’d eaten, Kaden worked again on the day-in-the-life article.
I’m sorry.
“I know. You don’t need to keep saying it.”
Kaden kept typing. He really didn’t want to write anything about Harris. He wanted to forget he’d ever met the guy, forget he’d been stupid enough not to dump him the first time things had turned bad. But the article was promised, so he had to come up with something. At the moment, there was no energy in what he’d written.
What did Harris eat for breakfast?
“Why does that matter?”
It’s a day in his life, right?
Kaden thought about that, thought about the way Harris had been disgusted by Kaden’s Crunchy Nut Flakes, and even more by his Coco Pops, partly because—sugar! Think of your teeth!—and partly because Kaden was prone to taking handfuls out to eat at random times—unhygienic!—and also because Harris was always going on about the importance of balancing gut health, protein and fibre.Don’t pollute yourself with rubbish like this!He smiled and wrote a new opening paragraph, including Harris’ concern that a kitchen work surface was a metropolis of bacteria just waiting for the right conditions to start multiplying.
That’s good.
Thank you, Joe.
He added little snippets about Harris happily spending hours waiting for microbes to grow but refusing to join queues in shops. Harris used to spend more time trying to find what he wanted elsewhere than if he’d waited in line at the first shop. He also droned on about how everything was trying to eat everything else. A microbiologist was the only person who knew how to turn spoiled food into a scientific breakthrough.
Maybe a good last line would beMake sure you wash your hands before you touch a microbiologist.He wished he could putespecially if they’re called Harris.But he couldn’t.
Now the words flowed. The article had the life he’d been looking for.
When he’d done, he stood up and stretched. “Think I’ve gone too far?”
Not far enough.
“They won’t accept a vindictive piece but one that gently pokes fun? Hopefully. And I’ve been clear about the good work the company do.”
Well, he’d go over it again later. Harris had wanted to read it before submission.Tough.That wasn’t going to happen. Kaden was not working for him or Lixian. This wasn’t a public relations exercise. And there was nothing technical in it that needed checking. He’d made it clear there were no animals in the building apart from employees. The one lie he’d told. Aliens were animals, right?
Then he went through the box he’d brought from Alistair’s. Again, Joe helped him to speed read and Kaden had to admit it was useful. He found an envelope halfway down filled with US dollars.
“Wow, that’s a lot of money. I don’t think Alistair remembered that was in here.”
Money?
“Currency used in America. Dollars.”
We only use digital credits to pay for everything.
“People are using money less and less. Oh God, look at this.”
