AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterNine
Normally, Adam liked being alone at theHex or Hoax?sites throughout the night. He liked the silence, and since all of their locations had unique histories, he used the time to read up on all the stories they’d accumulated over the years.
But tonight, for the first time, he was enjoying the company. Bee’s company, to be specific.
Despite his wariness over her reaction, he was surprised that it hadn’t been difficult to tell her the sordid details of the accusations.
Though it had happened three years ago, and his role onHex or Hoax?now appeared at the top of any internet search of his name, the old story could still be found with a little digging. His family had tried to bury it, or at least ignore it, and he was grateful that no one in Hollywood cared much about his previous life. Still, the whole mess had never stopped dogging him.
But it wasn’t true.
Bee had said it as a statement, not a question. Like she just knew he wouldn’t have done something so stupid. Like she already believed in his integrity.
It was far more than he usually got from most people, even those he’d known for much—if not all—of his life. Maybe that was why it had been easy to tell her. They had different credos and belief systems, but he’d sensed that she wasn’t the type to make judgments without evidence.
Maybe they were more alike than he’d thought.
“So Bee Delaney.” He turned toward the conference room. “What about your deep dark secrets?”
“I don’t have any on the scale of yours.” She fell into step beside him. “I was a foster kid, so I never really had a family. Certainly not one I’d ever take that kind of a hit for.”
“What were you—?” Adam’s voice broke off as the sound of a cat’s yowl screeched through the air. Puffalump passed them in a surprisingly fast streak and darted behind the circulation desk.
“What’s his problem?” Adam asked.
“He’s easily spooked.” Bee hurried over to comfort the cat. “And of course he’s always been attuned to the presence of the ghost.”
“Did he tell you that?” Adam deadpanned.
“It’s a well-known fact that cats have extraordinary senses.” Bee shot him a mild glower as she bent to pick up Puffalump. “And there are theories that cats might even have the ability to see in the ultraviolet range, which would allow them to perceive things not visible to the human eye. Did you read at all as a kid?”
He followed the sharp left turn of her train of thought and said, “Sure. Why?”
“What did you read?”
“Mostly nonfiction. How things work, how stuff is built, history books.”
“Ah.” As if that explained something, she nodded and stroked her hand over the cat’s back. “NoArtemis FowlorAlice in WonderlandorChronicles of Narnia?”
He shook his head.
“Not evenWhere the Wild Things Are?” Bee asked.
“Probably not.” He scratched his temple, deflecting another vague worry about disappointing her with his lack of knowledge about fantasy fiction. “I think I read a JRR Tolkien novel in school, but I didn’t care that much about what happened next. I figured the good guy would win because that’s how all fiction ends.”
“Notall, but a lot of it, yes.” She rubbed Puffalump behind the ears. “And even when you were a kid, you thought the good guy winning was just a big lie?”
“Winning with the help of magic spells and wizards and time travel?” He shrugged. “Yeah. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like stories. I do like them, and I know they’re important for entertainment, to make people feel connected, to say something about the world and being human. But they’re not true.”
“What is truth to you?”
“Something that can be proven through a scientific method. Like the DNA helix.”
“What about love?”
Adam almost stepped back. His heart bumped oddly against his ribs. “Uh…what?”
“Suppose I tell someone I love them.” Bee smoothed her hand over Puffalump’s back. “I can’t prove it through a scientific method, so does that mean it’s not true?”
