Chapter Eighteen #2
“Sure,” Lily said, and the sarcasm in her tone was amaryllis red. “Fingers crossed.” She seemed to realize how that had sounded and looked over at them contritely. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sure you’ll have a great experience as interns.”
“I hope so,” Dani said. She paused, then added, “I get the sense that things have been a little stressed in the department recently, though.”
“Not just in the department. The whole company.” The red intensified, but Lily caught herself quickly. “There’s just a lot going on lately. Growing pains are common for any company in this stage, nothing to worry about.”
“Of course. It’s a weird time, with the new product and everything.”
“You need another drink?” Katya cut in. “I’m going to grab one.”
“I’m good,” Dani said, indicating her still-full beer.
“I’ll take another vodka tonic, if you don’t mind,” Lily said.
“No problem.” Katya rose, leaving the two of them alone as Frank and his friend continued to talk quietly to each other.
She’d clearly arranged this moment to give Dani’s ability the opportunity to really work on Lily.
Dani made a show of taking a sip of her beer, this time really doing it and having to fight back her automatic grimace at the taste.
“I thought it would be exciting to come on when there was a new product about to launch,” Dani said casually. “But it seems like it’s just a big headache.”
When she said the word headache, she imagined it like a bruise, pressing into Lily’s skin.
She realized she was getting used to her power, developing an instinctive sense for how to bend it in the right direction.
Though it still made her feel gross, she’d be lying if it wasn’t the tiniest bit exhilarating.
“A huge one,” Lily said, and another red bloom answered Dani’s pressure. “They’re super uptight about it, which I can’t blame them for, obviously. But it’s really a pain in the ass for the rest of us when only three people know anything about what’s going on.”
“Three people? That’s it?”
“Yeah. The CEO, the security lead, and the Head of Research. Speak of the devil,” Lily said, and Dani followed her gaze toward the door. Her blood ran cold when she saw who had just stepped inside—none other than Dr. Phoebe Rodriguez herself.
“Shit,” Dani said under her breath.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked.
“Oh, um. Nothing.” Dani slanted herself away from the door, putting one hand up to shield her face. If Dr. Rodriguez saw her, the whole night would be over. Her anxiety rose to an eight out of ten. “She’s just kind of intimidating, that’s all.”
“Who, Dr. Rodriguez?” Lily scoffed. “She’s all bark and no bite, to be honest with you. Incredibly smart, but too up her own ass for her own good, in my opinion.” This last admission was underscored by a mental swoop of silver.
“But she’s the one who made the new product, right? Up in the hydroponics lab?”
“Yep.”
“I’ve never been up there,” Dani said, and she pressed in on that imaginary bruise again.
“Well, you wouldn’t, would you? Dr. Rodriguez is unbelievably anal about who she lets in there.
It’s just those three who have access to it.
She doesn’t even have an assistant. Which is why she basically never sleeps.
Ah, thank you.” Lily reached out to receive the drink a returning Katya offered her.
“Only three people can get in that room?” Dani said as Katya scooted back in. “But what if something goes wrong?”
“Like if all three of them get trapped inside and can’t communicate with anyone? It’s unlikely, but we have a last-resort override on security if that happens. Though we’d get fired for using it unless we absolutely had to.”
“That’s intense,” Katya said. She tapped Dani lightly on the thigh, as if to ask whether they’d gotten the information they needed.
Dani scooted slightly toward her, hoping that was enough confirmation.
They now knew that if they wanted to get into the hydroponics lab and find the formula, they would need one of those three badges—or to hit that override button, which she imagined would come with its own set of complications.
But that was a conundrum for Silva to solve. Her job here was done.
As much as Dani wanted to, though, they couldn’t just dip out now without being obvious, or without running into Dr. Rodriguez. She leaned close to Katya’s ear and whispered, “Dr. Rodriguez is here.”
Katya stiffened, acknowledged this news with a dip of her chin, then turned back to the conversation, which had expanded as the others came back to the booth.
They didn’t try to broach the topic of security again, Katya instead sharing some details, when prompted, on her classes—Dani nodding along, pretending to know what she was talking about—until Katya finished her drink and said, “Well, we’d better get back to campus. We’ve both got early classes tomorrow.”
“But thank you soooo much for letting us hang out,” Dani said. “It was great to meet you all, and Lily, hopefully we’ll see you soon.”
“Absolutely,” Lily said, though her smile wasn’t as enthusiastic as her word choice would have them believe.
Of course, she wouldn’t be seeing them soon.
A sudden fear occurred to Dani—would Lily realize something was weird when Dani and Katya didn’t appear at OneiroLabs, or would she just think their internships had been canceled?
She hoped Silva had a contingency plan for that kind of outcome.
They bid farewell to the group, thanking Frank profusely for his generosity in sneaking them in, then hooked arms once again and made their way to the exit.
Dani kept her head down, eyes trained on the floor, and her anxiety dropped a few notches once they’d stepped out into the cold night, the door dampening the noise behind them.
“Well, that was fruitful,” Katya said. “Oh—”
Dani looked up at the change in Katya’s voice, and straight into the surprised face of Dr. Phoebe Rodriguez, who’d apparently stepped outside for a cigarette under the awning.
“Hello,” Dr. Rodriguez said, immediately tucking her surprise underneath a smooth, controlled tone. “Dani, wasn’t it?”
“Um,” Dani said. Her arm tightened through Katya’s, her bones vibrating with trepidation.
“Such unique hair. Hard to forget,” Dr. Rodriguez said, hitting her cigarette. Dani wouldn’t have pegged her for a smoker—but everyone needed an outlet, she supposed. “What exactly are you doing here?”
Dani resisted the powerful urge to close her eyes until it was all over. “Interviewing,” she said, unable to think of a better answer.
“You didn’t get enough for your profile the other day?” Dr. Rodriguez asked sharply. Smoke billowed between them, burning Dani’s throat.
“I’m, um, just trying to be thorough.”
“Of course. So important, for a school paper.” Dr. Rodriguez tossed the cigarette to the sidewalk and ground it into the concrete with the toe of her wedge heel. “I trust that this is the last I’ll see of you before your article’s published.”
“Yeah,” Dani said. The night was almost freezing, but she could swear she felt sweat on the back of her neck. “Yeah, I think I’m all done.”
Dr. Rodriguez met her eyes suddenly, her gaze searching. “Make sure that you are,” she said finally, then pushed past Dani and into The Sand Bar.
Dani stood paralyzed for a moment, barely breathing. So close, she thought. We were so close to getting out without her noticing.
“Dani?” Katya said. “You good? Because I think we should go.”
“Yeah,” she said, blinking herself back to life. “Yes, please. Let’s get out of here.”
They didn’t have to keep their arms linked anymore, but neither of them broke away as they hastened down the sidewalk.
A reassuring warmth wrapped around Dani, cutting through the anxiety from the encounter with Dr. Rodriguez, and she realized Kass’s umbrella shield was still up, expanding to absorb Katya into its sphere.
It was like Kass was still with her, protecting her.
Their date felt like it had happened days ago, but the memory of the kiss they’d shared came to her like a love letter, corny and precious.
Despite everything, Dani felt a smile steal across her face as she and Katya made their way toward Fox’s Leap, away from the specter of OneiroLabs.