Chapter 15
Lydia
Mr. Mason seemed to think that I was scared of motorcycles—at least, that’s what I assumed he thought based on how worried he looked.
I was a little uncomfortable holding on to my boss like that, but the gloves and the thick jacket helped.
I tried to lean back whenever I could. It felt nice being on a bike again.
I hadn’t been on one for two years since I dated a biker, who was an unpleasant dick, but his bike was nice.
When I started at Mason Corp, I considered getting one myself instead of using the bus, but I couldn’t afford it.
Maybe I could revisit that idea with my new salary.
It’s not that high of a raise.
Mr. Mason rode into a building’s underground parking lot.
As soon as he stopped, I got off and put the pegs back before taking off my helmet, jacket, and gloves.
I held the helmet in front of me and looked at my reflection, frowning at the way my hair looked.
I tried to brush the stray strands back with my nails as much as possible, fixed the misplaced stick, and looked up at Mr. Mason, surprised to see him still wearing his helmet, facing me.
I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just stared back.
After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and started walking away, taking his gear off while I followed a few steps behind him.
There were four elevators, with one further off and separate from the others. It had a palm scanner and number pad, which he used before we walked in.
“You’ve been on a bike before?” he asked, after a few seconds of silence.
“Yes,” I answered without looking at him. We stood side by side, facing the elevator doors.
“I thought… You seemed scared of it last time. I just thought you’d never been on one before.”
I shrugged. What could I possibly say to that? That I was scared of the proximity? Of him?
When we got off on the fifteenth floor, he opened another door with a key and a palm scan, and I followed him inside, keeping a fair distance between us.
I took a deep breath when I saw the open space we walked into. There was a large kitchen with an island and stools on my left, and in front of me, where Mr. Mason kept walking, was a huge living room with a gorgeous view of the city. Beyond that, I could only see a hallway.
I figured it was okay to sit without his invitation to do so and sat on the edge of the large couch, slightly amused at how this man made sure to buy large furniture for his height and size. Just like in his office, my feet barely touched the ground. I’d look like a child if I sat further back.
The front door flew open, and Rebecca stalked in. Her eyes flashed to me for a second before looking at her brother, clearly confused and worried. He went to a bar in the corner and poured two glasses of whiskey, giving one to me and one to her.
Rebecca took a big gulp. “You’re scaring me, Daniel. What’s going on?”
He poured another glass for himself, downed it with a hiss, and put it back down on the bar. I stayed seated, watching them both standing in front of each other.
“Your big deal. How quiet have you been keeping it?” he asked.
“It’s not a secret, but we haven’t issued a statement or anything. We’ll do that after the first shipment is out, so months from now. What’s going on?”
“Do you already have the shipping planned out?”
“Yes. I mean, we have time with the design and manufacturing first but… yeah, sort of. We got a few quotes from several shipping and logistics companies and decided who to go with. We haven’t told them yet so it’s not official.”
I frowned and looked at Rebecca, “is it Decklers?”
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “How could you possibly know that?”
I turned to Mr. Mason. “It’s the only shipping company in the area listed as a client on the telematics company’s website.”
“Fuck. I need to make a call. Lydia, tell her everything you told me.” He put his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder and walked into the hallway.