Chapter 31 #2
“Dani,” Dr. Rodriguez said loudly, in an obvious attempt to draw her attention away from the spectacle. “About your article—”
But even she couldn’t pretend not to be listening to the argument anymore. “Oh, hell,” she said, and waved over a server carrying a platter of champagne flutes, taking two.
“Oh,” Dani said, “I’m okay, actually—”
But Dr. Rodriguez had already drained one of the flutes and started on the other.
“We need to have this conversation some other time, Lukas,” Mr. Gianakos said, likely realizing how much of an audience they were gaining. “I will listen to you, I swear it. But now is not the time.”
“No, Dad,” Kass said. “If you go up there and tell the world this product’s coming out next year, I’m going to go to the press. I’ll tell them just how fucked it is and how scared the public should be of it.”
Dani felt the breath go out of her. So he had read her letter.
And he’d taken her seriously. He’d come here to stand up to his father in a big way—to give him an ultimatum.
It was a monumental risk; his dad could disown him, could cut him off, could stop paying for his schooling.
Kass was putting everything on the line for this.
“Kass,” Dr. Rodriguez said, finally turning toward them. “You need to stop. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, I do,” Kass said. “And she does, too, doesn’t she?” He gestured to Dani, sending a shock wave through her body. It felt like the fourth wall had just been broken in a play she was watching. She had the urge to put her hands up in a don’t-shoot motion; she didn’t want to be brought into this.
“You two’ve met before?” Dr. Rodriguez glanced back and forth between her brother and Dani, her eyes taking on a frantic gleam.
“Yeah,” Kass said. “We have. And I know she’s writing an article about OneiroLabs, and this whole thing. I’m sure she’d be happy to take whatever scoop I give her, right?”
Miss Lionet, Silva said through the shell, what the hell is going on over there?
Dani took a few shuffling steps back from the table where she was standing with Dr. Rodriguez.
This evening had gone off the rails in a way she couldn’t have predicted, even in all her worst-case scenarios.
She wanted to hit the eject button, but she couldn’t seem to find it.
All three Gianakoses were staring at her, waiting for a response that she didn’t know how to give.
She met Kass’s eyes, their usually kind brownness filled with a fire she hadn’t seen before, and she opened her mouth, not knowing what was going to come out.
“I—” she said, and at that moment, someone dressed in all black with a clipboard and an earpiece came up to Dr. Rodriguez, a polite grimace on their face as they made a tentative approach.
“So sorry to interrupt, Dr. Rodriguez, but we need to get you set up and wired in the next couple of minutes. You’re scheduled to go on in ten.”
“Thank you,” Dr. Rodriguez said crisply. “We’ll be there shortly.”
The assistant scuttled off again, and Mr. Gianakos turned back to Kass, Dani’s brief moment in the spotlight blessedly forgotten.
“All right, son,” the CEO said, his voice controlled. “I hear you. And I want to have this discussion with you. But I’m not going to back out of giving this presentation. What I can promise you is that after this, we’ll sit down and have a civil conversation, see what we can come up with. Okay?”
Say yes, Dani willed to Kass. As noble as it was on his part, she didn’t want this scene to stretch out any longer—and, truth be told, she needed Dr. Rodriguez and their dad to get up on that stage so Katya, Wyatt, and Oliver could do what they needed to do at OneiroLabs.
Kass stared at his father for a long moment. Dani could practically hear the gears in his head turning. “Fine,” he said at last. “But I’m serious, Dad. If you let this go to market without fixing these issues—I’m not afraid to be a whistleblower.”
“I hear you,” Mr. Gianakos said again, but there was a twinge of sarcasm in it, like his son’s defiance was a cute but toothless threat.
“We’ll talk. Okay? But your sister and I need to go.
” He came over to the table where Dr. Rodriguez and Dani were still hovering and nodded to his daughter, who smiled weakly in return.
“Collect yourself,” he said to Dr. Rodriguez.
“They expect the best from us tonight. I still plan on delivering that.”
And then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd along with his bodyguard, leaving Dr. Rodriguez and her guard behind. Kass was watching them from his position a few tables over, recovering his composure.
“Okay,” Dr. Rodriguez said, tossing her hair. “Okay. I can do this.” She dug into her clutch and pulled out a compact mirror to check her makeup, drawing in a long, fortifying breath. She was patting some unseen blemish under her eye when a frown pulled at her lips. “What is she doing here?”
Dr. Rodriguez snapped the compact shut and turned to look over her shoulder.
Dani followed her line of sight, alarmed when she realized it was Silva at the receiving end.
The professor was posted up against a column nearby, sipping her drink and trying not to show how closely she was monitoring Dani and the Gianakos contingent.
“Wait,” Dani said. “You know her?”
“Of course I know her.” Dr. Rodriguez snorted. “That’s Beatrice Silva. She works for Somnio.”
A sickly gray coiled in Dani’s mind as this bit of information slipped from Dr. Rodriguez’s lips. “I’m sorry, what?” Dani said.
“Somnio Corp,” the woman repeated, like it was obvious. “Our biggest European competitor. They poached her from us when we were still in our start-up phase.”
“Professor Silva? She used to work for you? And now she’s at another dream pharmaceutical company?”
“Professor?” An indentation appeared in the center of Dr. Rodriguez’s forehead. “She’s not a professor.”
“Yes, she is,” Dani said. “She’s the one who set up our tour of OneiroLabs.”
“No,” Dr. Rodriguez said, her frown deepening, “that request came from the chair—”
“Dr. Rodriguez.” The gala assistant was back, the coat of apology layered even thicker on their tone. “I’m so sorry to rush you, but we really do need you now if you’re going to be on stage on time.”
“Yes, yes,” Dr. Rodriguez said, tucking her compact back into her clutch. “I’m coming.” She didn’t bother to say goodbye to Dani, or even her brother—but she threw another troubled look at Silva as the assistant guided her away.
Dani was watching Silva, too, her chest rising and falling as her breath quickened in her lungs. There had to be some kind of mistake. Silva couldn’t be an ex-OneiroLabs employee who’d jumped ship for their European competitor. This didn’t make any sense.
But no, Silva was working for an organization … she’d always been forthright about that. She’d just never said what the organization was. Was it possible that this whole time, she’d been—
Two minutes until go time, Silva announced via the shell.
I’m in position, McKenna said.
Good, Silva thought. Miss Lionet, I need to speak with you.
Dani didn’t know what to feel in that moment.
Confusion? Check. Betrayal? Check. Anger?
Check. All she knew for certain was that she needed to tell the others.
So she dropped a bucket deep into her well of concentration and drew up as much mental focus as she could before she sent a message to everyone but Silva through the shell tucked into her ear.
Guys, she said. We have a problem.