AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She searches my eyes, as though determining the level of trust she can place in me. I force myself to bear her scrutiny, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible.
“So you’re saying you are really good at landing too?”
“Batting one thousand so far,” I shrug.
She is obviously still nervous, but she does seem to accept my answers. She takes a deep breath and nods slowly.
“This is all so crazy today,” she says as though she is confiding something in me. “I never would’ve thought that this morning, I would be finishing the day in a private jet on my way to a private island, especially not with Calvin Galloway…”
“Cal,” I correct her gently, squeezing her hand.
She squeezes me back with a smile.
“Okay. That is a surprise too! You’re nice. Today is just crazy.”
“What’s crazy about it? Isn’t this your job?”
She glances around. “This? Nooooo. I’m just… I mean, I’m an intern?”
I settle into the seat, resting my other arm against the back of the banquette. I don’t know why, but I want to hear more of her story. There is something about her that is very charming, very magnetic. I could pull away—I probablyshouldpull away—but it just feels right to be close to her.
“What does an intern in my brother’s company do?”
“Oh! You know, research, meetings, a bit of, um… I mean, whatever. I mean I do whatever they want. I mean…”
Her eyes narrow as she searches my face.
“Honestly?” she continues in a rush as though letting me in on a terrible secret. “I haven’t done enough. Everybody there is so smart. Everybody is so accomplished, and I just got out of college a couple of years ago.”
“Why does that make a difference? College?”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “Have you met some of these people? Everybody is like some kind of Einstein or something. Everybody has ideas. And then we basically magic up a new thing, create it out of thin air.”
“Don’t you have ideas?”
Her expression darkens. “No. I mean yes. I mean Ihavehad ideas. But nothing like the other team members. Nothing like Irving or—”
“You know Irving never finished college, right?” I interrupt.
Her eyebrows shoot up, and her face freezes that way for a good thirty seconds. I can’t help but smile.
“He would kill me if he knew I told you that,” I laugh.
“Are you kidding me? He’s a genius!”
“College doesn’t have anything to do with being a genius,” I shrug. “Irving is smart enough to surround himself with really smart people. That’s part of his talent. He sees the value in his team members. So tell me, Opal, what did he see in you?”
“What did he see in me?” she repeats vaguely.
I feel her flinch slightly, as though she wants to pull her hand away, but I don’t want her to. I want to know. Ineedto know the answer to this question.
Who is she?
Her expression shifts slightly as she considers the question. I can see her running through a list of options, possibilities of things that Irving might have seen in her. Maybe even some that she fears to say aloud.
“You know, the simplest answer is that you are very bright. Could that be it?” I suggest gently.
“I had some… I mean, I had some ideas about powering drones in Honduras.”
