Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Efa
The hotel doesn’t need me today, so I’m making the most of my time off by catching up on missed sleep. I don’t know what time Bennett left this morning, but he left an apple on the pillow for my breakfast, so I didn’t even need to get out of bed.
I take a bite and my phone goes. It’s my sister and thank god it’s not a video call.
“Hey,” I say as I answer.
“You’re not working,” she says.
“They don’t need me. Apparently the vomiting bug has passed. And the weather got really hot. I don’t think they’re as busy as they expected.”
“Good for you, I guess. Any luck getting an interview at Fort?”
I wish I’d never told her that I’d made some progress. I’d just been so shocked to have stumbled upon Ben Fort, I had to tell somebody something .
“No. Fort by name and fort by nature,” I say. “They wouldn’t even admit that Fort was in the building when I asked at reception.”
“What, they pretended they were the FBI or something?” she asks.
“It’s a mixed-use building. They just said that they don’t have any record of Fort in the building.”
“Wow, so they just lie?”
“I guess.” My gut churns a little. I set my apple down on the bedside table and sit up so I’m against the headboard.
“And how’s this Bennett guy? Are you still seeing him?”
“Yes,” I say, in the best fake-breezy tone I can muster. “I mean, obviously it’s casual.”
“Didn’t you just go away for a weekend?”
“Yeah, to the Catskills. It was beautiful. Completely in the middle of nowhere.”
“That doesn’t sound casual to me. Tell me about him.”
I snuggle back down the bed, catching Ben’s scent in the pillow next to me. “He’s kind,” I say. “And tall. Like, he’s at least as tall as Dax. He’s a little grumpy. Not to me, but he’s not a big people person.”
“Right. Sounds delightful.”
“He is,” I say. “Well, maybe delightful isn’t the word I’d use exactly, but… I have fun with him and he makes me laugh.” I don’t want her to hate him, even though on first impressions he might not come off as the pussycat my sister might want for me.
“What does he do for a living? He does have a job, doesn’t he?”
I groan inwardly at the thought of having to lie to Eira. What am I meant to say? Make up a story for my sister? I want to tell her every single detail about Bennett. “He’s in tech,” I say.
“Wow, that’s a coincidence,” she says.
“Not really. He’s into the hardware. Processers and stuff, you know?”
She laughs. “No, not really. What’s his surname? I’ll Google him. See who we’re dealing with.”
I wince. What am I going to say? I shouldn’t have to lie to my sister. Or even half-lie.
“Oh, he’s not on the internet. He’s really… private.”
“What do you mean, he’s not on the internet. Is that even a thing?”
It is if you’re Bennett Fordham , I don’t say.
“He just doesn’t like people knowing his business.”
“Eddie!” she gasps. “Is he a criminal?”
“Of course he’s not a criminal,” I say.
“Then tell me his name.”
My brain is clunking in my head, trying to figure out how I can stop my sister thinking Bennett is a mob boss while not betraying him.
But why would talking to my sister about the man I’m sleeping with be a betrayal? It’s ludicrous that I can’t talk to her about him. I talk to her about everything.
“I can’t,” I say. “I’m sorry, Eira.”
Silence echoes on the other end of the line.
“It’s fine,” she says finally. But I know it’s not, and I hate the fact that she’s pretending to be okay. Because it’s not okay. We don’t have secrets between us. Bennett shouldn’t be the first. “Does this mystery tech man at least know someone at Fort who could get you in?”
“No. Apparently, Ben Fort makes all recruitment decisions himself, and he handpicks from a pool of candidates recommended by people who already work there. I don’t have much chance. But there are plenty of tech companies in the US. I just need to cast my net a little wider.”
I feel like such a liar.
“Sounds like you just need to find someone who works at Fort and get a recommendation.”
And not sleep with Ben Fort, thus rendering yourself ineligible for a position . But the truth is, I don’t regret sleeping with him and giving up on my dream to work for Fort Inc. How can I?
“Yeah, it’s not so easy. People aren’t allowed to disclose they work for Fort.”
“What? Like they’re spies or something?”
I laugh. It’s as ridiculous as she’s making it sound. I don’t have any defense on Bennett’s behalf.
“I think I’m just going to get over my Fort obsession and find a different horse to ride. I’m sure I’d learn a lot if I worked at Google or Microsoft or somewhere.”
“I thought the entire point of going to Fort is that it’s small enough that you’d be able to try lots of different things.”
I sigh. “That was an advantage, but I have to accept that it’s not going to happen for me.”
“You want me to get Vincent to ask around for you?”
“Eira, you’ve promised you’re going to try and not be so interfering.”
“I’m just trying to help. The Coves are a well-connected, successful family. And they’re our family now. There’s nothing wrong with asking family for help.”
“But none of them are in tech.”
“I think Vincent has a tech company.”
I sigh. “I don’t want to get a job because of who I know. I want to deserve the job and get it because of that.”
The silence from the other end of the phone tells me Eira doesn’t agree with me. But there’s a reason Bennett doesn’t employ people he sleeps with. It’s no coincidence that he’s called the man with the Midas touch. He makes decisions based on data, not friendships and favors.
Although it hasn’t helped him catch his hacker. “Oh, actually maybe the Cove mafia might be able to help me with something,” I say. “Do any of them know someone who could help with tech security?”
“You’re looking for some work experience or something?”
“Maybe,” I say. “I’ve just gotten a little more into it. It’s a growth area I might want to explore.”
“Hang on a minute.”
The phone goes dead—she’s muted me, which is a sure sign she’s either having a conversation with her soon-to-be husband or she’s peeing.
“I knew it,” she says a few seconds later. “You know Sutton’s best friend, Parker?”
I try to think. “Sutton is Jacob’s wife, right? Brother-in-law number one?”
“Right. Her best friend is married to a hacker. Is that right, Dax?” she calls out. “Yes, Dax says he’s some kind of famous hacker. Can hack anything. Has worked on all sorts of stuff for governments.”
He sounds like the exact person I need to help me figure out what’s going on at Fort—the exact person Bennett would use if he trusted anyone outside his business.
“I’m not sure he’s got an office you could do work experience at, but maybe he knows someone.”
“Can you introduce me?” I ask. “By email. I’d like to talk to him ASAP if possible.”
“He might know someone at Fort,” she suggests.
“Maybe,” I say. “It would be great to speak to him. Thanks, Eira.”
“Now who’s interfering?” she asks.
“It’s not interfering if I ask for help.”
She sighs. “Whatever. I’ll get Dax to do the intro since I don’t know the guy very well. Only met him once or twice.”
“That would be great, thanks. And for the record, you’re so much better at not interfering now than you used to be.”
“Putting that on a t-shirt. ‘Not as interfering as I used to be.’”
“Christmas present sorted.”
She laughs. It’s a sound I always cherish. Eira had it tough after my parents died. Seeing her so happy now, makes me so happy.
“Next time you call, you think we’ll get to see this Bennett of yours?” she asks.
My stomach twists, because I know Bennett’s never going to want to appear on a video call with my sister. He wouldn’t want to risk it. The last few weeks, I’ve enjoyed our bubble, just the two of us hiding out from the world. But if we can’t manage lunch at Shake Shack, or a video call with my sister, it doesn’t say much for the possibility that he and I might exist for more than a New York minute. And if being with him means I have to live a life where I’m lying to my sister… that doesn’t work for me.
I didn’t come here to find anyone. And even though Bennett definitely feels like the kind of someone I’d like to find, the man who will ultimately take up space in my life can’t force me to hide from the world—or even just my sister. Sooner or later, the bubble is going to burst.