17. Quentin
After my date with Rei, I didn’t know where to go. Home felt too empty. The hospital where Simon lay was just another reminder of sand falling through the hourglass. My parents were out of town at a Dallas Diamonds game to watch my brother play.
So I just kept driving down the road and voice commanded my phone to call Bryce, the only person who knew what it felt like to talk about the marriage clause. I just prayed he would answer. Between visiting Simon and taking care of his wife and newborn, his plate was more than full.
Luckily, after a few rings, he said, “Hello?”
“I told her.” My voice sounded hollow, even to me. A car behind me honked, letting me know the light had changed from red to green.
“Are you driving?” Bryce asked worriedly. “Pull over.”
“Okay, hold on.” It wasn’t a good idea for me to be driving anyway.
I parked in a loading zone, knowing someone would probably yell at me, but I didn’t give a shit.
They could tow me. I could afford it. “Done,” I finally said.
Even so, my hands stayed gripped on the steering wheel.
My chest was so tight that each breath was hard won.
“It didn’t go well,” Bryce said. It wasn’t a question, more of a prompt.
I looked down at the little pebbled lines of the steering wheel, tracing them while I tried to control my breathing. “The date was amazing until...” Until I saw the spark fade from her eyes as she realized what I was asking of her. “Until I told her.”
“Did she slap you?” Bryce asked. “She seems like she has it in her.”
Despite myself, a dry chuckle scraped out my throat. “She said she’d think about it.”
“That’s good,” Bryce encouraged. “The best you could ask for, really. It would be odd if she said yes right away.”
I frowned, finally letting my hands fall to my lap. “There’s no winning here.”
If she agreed to marry me, it still wouldn’t feel like a victory. Not when I wanted so much more than a marriage of convenience with her. No matter how crazy it sounded to say, I wanted something real.
I wanted to take her to mini golf and wine and dine her at the best restaurants in Dallas.
I could show her the best time in the owner’s suite at a Dallas Diamonds game.
The thought of her meeting my mom brought a genuine smile to my face.
Mom would love her. My brother, Tyrone, would be jealous as hell.
Even Pop would soften for her; I just knew it.
But Simon had taken that all away, leaving me only a handful of months to walk down the aisle.
Bryce said, “You don’t know that. Arranged marriages have the same success rate as love matches.”
“You sound like Simon now,” I muttered.
“Those are fighting words,” he retorted.
I shook my head, lips twitching, but they quickly fell. “Avoiding a divorce wasn’t supposed to be the goal. Not with her.”
The silence between us felt heavy instead of comfortable. After a long sigh, Bryce spoke. “All I can say is don’t give up hope yet. See what she says.”
“And what do I do until then? Sit around and wait?” Just the thought of it made my skin crawl.
“You remember when we were trying to get venture capital to launch MyHome, before Simon invested?” Bryce asked.
I nodded, cringing at the memory. We’d taken calls and meetings all over the country and pitched, only to be told “We’ll get back to you soon.” “This is worse,” I said to Bryce.
“I know, but that was pretty bad too. We couldn’t just sit on our hands while we waited for someone to change our lives. It would have driven us crazy. We had to do something to keep us occupied while we waited for answers.”
My jaw clenched, knowing he was right but not liking it at all.
“Go to the office and get some work done today,” he said. “Tomorrow, go see your mom and dad and let them distract you for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Coretta could talk anyone’s ear off.”
I softened a bit at the mention of my mom. He was right.
“You could come over here and help with the baby too. That would keep you plenty busy,” Bryce teased.
“If you need help, I’m there,” I said.
“You’re always welcome to come by,” Bryce said. Then he added, “I think this part is supposed to be hard. You’re not doing anything wrong.”
“I think that’s true for both of us,” I muttered. “Thanks, Bryce.”
“You got it, Q. If you need me, just call, okay?”
Shaking my head, I put the car back in drive and went to The Tower like Bryce suggested. There was always more work to be done, and I could certainly use the distraction.
But when I got up to the office and sat at my desk, my eyes landed on the picture Rei had examined just the day before. My family and I smiled back at me, joy frozen in our eyes. And just like when I was a kid trying to overcome my stutter, I practiced the conversation with the photo.
“Hey, Mom,” I muttered. I walked over to the frame, picked it up, and covered up Pops’s and Tyrone’s faces. We never talked about “girl stuff.” Pops said Mom was better at that.
“Our date was amazing...” I said to the photo, but what more was there to say? I set the picture back down, but my finger brushed something on the frame...
I turned it over and examined the small black cylinder.
Holy shit.
I stared at it in disbelief, trying to figure out what to do next. I continued talking like I hadn’t noticed, being far more careful of my words. “I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s a great woman.”
Hoping that was good enough, I set the photo back down. My mind spun just as fast as my feet as I hurried out of my office like the carpet was burning. Once the door was shut and I was several feet down the hallway, I stopped, chest heaving.
My fingers shook as I opened the co-founders group text.
Quentin: Someone bugged my office.
The thread immediately exploded with each person’s initials beside text bubbles. Jude’s reply came first.
Jude: How do you know?
All the other text bubbles disappeared, leaving Jude’s question waiting for my response.
Quentin: I found it on a picture frame.
Jude: I’m sending in a special security team to sweep the building and your home immediately and review footage.
Aaric, have HR send out an announcement that all non-essential employees are to take off until New Year’s.
All essential employees who can work remotely should.
Cruz, have your people submit a press release on MyHome rewarding the employees’ hard work this year with additional time off for the holidays.
Include a quote from Quentin to get the financial perspective in there so it doesn’t look like we’re flailing.
Jude: We don’t know what has been bugged or traced, so minimize all communication by phone until our retreat.
Cruz: This is bad.
Jude: I’m assuming it’s an amateur to put it on an object like that.
Aaric: Amateur? How?
Jude: The placement of it. A picture frame on his bookshelf wouldn’t pick up much. You want to get it closer than that.
My shoulders relaxed, only slightly. It was a small blessing.
Bryce: Seems like you know a lot about espionage, Jude.
My shoulders tensed again.
Aaric: Let us know the security team’s findings as soon as they come through. Have them start with a sweep of Bryce’s office to see if they’ve gotten any intel on the new app. We may need to pivot in the release depending on what they know.
Jude:
The thread went silent, but I was sure the others were reeling as much as I was.
I’d only felt this betrayed once before, and I didn’t like to think of it. Shaking my head, I left my office. Could my house be under surveillance as well? All I did was sleep or work out there, but maybe that didn’t matter to whoever placed this recorder.
I got out my phone and sent a text to Mom.
Quentin: Is it okay if I stay at your place tonight?
Mom: We’re not there.
She sent a photo of the football field from their front row seats. I could see the back of Tyrone’s white-and-purple jersey as he stood on the sideline, waiting for the defense’s turn to take the field.
Mom: But of course you’re welcome. There’s leftover barbecue mac in the fridge. Your favorite. We won’t be back ’til tomorrow but you’ll probably be at work. Boo.
I chuckled despite myself.
She always had all the words I seemed to be missing, even by text message. But I sent her the most important three.
Quentin: I love you.