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Shit.
“Thank you,” Jessica says, looking between her father and mine, “but it’s not just my project. The entire intern team worked really hard to make this a success.”
“Yes,” my father says, “but as the executive trainee, you led the hackathon to its success. You were invaluable, going well beyond what was expected of you.” To an ear untrained on the nuances of my father’s voice, he may seem to be giving a compliment. But to someone who has heard the inflections when he’s unimpressed, disappointed, even furious, all within the same words, I can tell he is not happy. To me, he sounds almost like he’s blaming Jessica for something.
He knows what’s been going on. Someone’s told him or he’s figured it out somehow. I look at my sister and although she masks her own freak-out with a shuttered expression, tension radiates off of her. There’s no way Hee-Jin told him—she would never betray me like this. But no one else knew Jessica and I switched places, so how could he have found out?
“Come, Jessica, show me around and introduce me to each of the participating teams. Tell me what this hackathon has managed to do for Haneul Corp,” he says, walking away with his hands clasped behind his back. Hee-Jin quickly joins him a step behind and Jessica does as well.
“Jessica...” I call out weakly.
“Jessica...” her father calls out at the same time.
Jessica doesn’t stop for either of us. We’re left staring after her, helpless.
“You said your name was Elijah? And you’re a friend of Jessica’s?” her dad asks me.
“Yes, um, I’m one of the interns who worked with her on this project,” I answer.
“Elijah, I’m a bit confused as to what is going on here, and Jessica doesn’t seem to be available to clarify for me right now.” His jaw is tight, his words clipped. I don’t know if he’s angrier at Jessica walking away from him, or the fact that she did so with my father.
This is not good.
Jessica and I have not discussed how we would handle it if we ever did actually get caught. We didn’t get our stories straight about how we might come clean about the choices we made for this summer.
“Sir, I don’t know if I’m the right person to give you those answers. I’m sorry. But I do know that Jessica has been working incredibly hard, taking advantage of any and every opportunity to succeed. And she’s done so in the hope of making you very proud. I have no doubt this will make it possible for her to get letters of recommendation she needs so she can actually apply for scholarships next year,” I say.
“I’m sorry. Did you say she needed letters of recommendation? So she could applynextyear? Meaning she didn’t apply for any scholarshipsthisyear?” he asks.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I forgot she hadn’t told him that. This is bad. But honestly, this isn’t my top priority right now. She’s in my dad’s crosshairs. I need to rescue her or something. If I don’t step up and take the hit, Jessica will be the one in the line of fire.
“Actually, I think I’m mistaken. That’s not what I meant. In any case, will you excuse me? I need to, um, settle things with the other interns.” I bow and turn and get myself the hell out of the waters I just muddied with Jessica’s dad.
Once I’m a safe distance away, I watch as my dad dotes over Jessica in a way I’ve never seen him do before, leading her around the room. My sister even seems totally taken aback by it. I wait for my opening, and finally the group of Haneul executives circles around to greet my father, leaving Jessica to congratulate the winning hackathon team.
I gently grab her by the arm. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?”
She looks up at me, eyes questioning, but nods and follows as I pull her off to the side.
“What did my dad say to you? Are you okay? Is he pissed? How did he find out?” I can’t stop the questions from pouring out of me.
“He didn’t ask me about any of that stuff. He just kept congratulating me and telling me how impressed he is with the work I’ve done.” Her smile lights up her face and her posture is straight, chin raised. But this isn’t the armor she puts on when she’s pretending. It’s real this time. “He’s taking me and the other executives to dinner.”
“What? Why?”
“To celebrate. And guess where we’re going? Nobu. Can you believe it? I finally get to try that five-hundred-dollar dinner.” Her grin widens, but I feel sick to my stomach. Nobu is where my dad goes when he’s in shark mode. And a month ago, she would have refused to eat at a place that costs that much money.
“I’m coming with you,” I say.
“Oh, um, okay. But can you just make sure that’s fine with your dad? I, uh, don’t know who’s all invited to this thing. Sorry.”
Hee-Jin comes up to the two of us. “Jessica, we’re leaving. You can ride with me to the restaurant.” She looks over at me, slightly frazzled. “Elijah, it’s a work dinner, just Dad’s exec team,” she says.
I open my mouth to protest, to insist I come along.
“Elijah, don’t worry, I’ll do my best to protect her,” Hee-Jin says.
