Chapter 2 #3
A quick search of his name gave her more results than she could have imagined. And it wasn’t just social media links; it was…a lot.
“Holy crap,” she murmured as she continued to scroll. “Just who the heck are you?”
Clicking on a link for Forbes magazine, she was shocked to see him at the top of the list for “Forbes 30 Under 30: Tech Innovators.” The article was from two years ago, but it seemed like a good place to start.
Milo Keene, Founder & CEO, Armor Wave.
From the quiet suburbs of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Milo Keene taught himself to code before he learned to drive.
At 14, he was reverse-engineering chat encryption protocols “just to see if he could.” By 19, he’d dropped out of MIT after one semester, frustrated by what he called “the lag between classroom theory and real-world security needs.”
Six years later, Keene launched Armor Wave, a communications-security startup that now powers encrypted infrastructure for over 300 Fortune 500 companies.
Known for its minimalist interface and quantum-resistant encryption core, the AegisLink system has become a silent backbone of corporate communication networks—the kind of system you never notice until it stops working.
Investors describe Keene as “brilliant, elusive, and allergic to small talk.” He rarely gives interviews, preferring late-night debugging sessions over keynote stages. Colleagues say he speaks in “API metaphors and half-sentences,” but when he talks, people listen.
Despite his $700 million valuation, Keene still drives the same old hybrid he used in college and has been known to answer customer support tickets himself “because that’s where the truth is.” His next goal? Making privacy a human right, not a premium feature.
“Everyone says communication connects the world,” Keene says. “They forget that connection only matters if it’s safe.”
Letting out a long breath, Nora had to admit that she was kind of impressed.
She read a few more articles about him, and they all described a brilliant, yet quiet man who didn’t enjoy being in the spotlight.
Then came the pictures. They ranged from the typical corporate CEO portrait with a suit and tie to Milo being hands-on in some kind of computer lab or factory.
If she hadn’t met him, she wouldn’t have pegged him as the mega-wealthy type.
From her standpoint, he was just a regular guy living in a tiny cabin for the next few months while he installed computer and safety systems around the resort.
Putting her phone down, she had to wonder why. Why do it himself when he could clearly afford to hire people to do it? And why, when it seemed like he could own the whole damn resort himself?
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t being a perv that day with the drone. She could concede that.
Not that she could afford to replace the drone, so maybe she’d just let that one go.
She was so lost in thought that she never noticed Milo’s approach.
“Hey, Nora,” he said stiffly.
Looking up, she started to smile and then froze.
Oh. My. God.
He looked like he had just stepped off the pages of an LL Bean catalog.
Or like he was trying to be the summer version of Indiana Jones.
Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she took in his outfit.
A lightweight canvas utility vest—tags definitely just removed.
A breathable khaki button-down, sleeves rolled to the exact midpoint of his forearms, like he googled how men roll sleeves.
Cargo shorts with so many pockets it looks like he was prepared to smuggle gear for an entire expedition.
Brand-new trail sneakers that have never seen an actual trail.
A pair of aviator sunglasses he clearly bought just for this flight.
And, bless him, a beanie. In July. At a lake.
Already sliding off his forehead because it’s too warm to justify wearing one.
He was trying so hard to pretend this was his normal summer look, but she could see that he was sweating under the vest and trying not to show it.
But the best part was when he casually shifted like he was trying to play it cool, hands shoved in his pockets like this was his everyday look.
As she continued to glance at him, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Rough morning on the tundra, huh?”
Looking mildly offended, he stared down at his outfit. “What? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
Milo stood there like a catalog model for “Beginner Wilderness Explorer,” chin lifted, hands tucked in the useless pockets of a brand-new canvas vest. The beanie—the beanie —was the last surviving soldier in his heroic battle to look rugged, and it was hanging on for dear life.
The A/C was on full blast in the restaurant, and it still wasn’t cold enough for that thing.
She was pretty sure she was about to draw blood from biting her lip, because laughing would be mean… but it was getting harder and harder by the second not to laugh.
Clearly oblivious to her amusement, he said, “Figured I should, uh, look the part.”
“You look…um…” Pausing, she pretended to assess his gear like she would a preflight checklist. “…prepared.”
“For what?” he asked warily.
She pointed to the beanie. “A sudden blizzard?”
His ears turned pink as he tugged the beanie off and shoved it into a vest pocket, his dark hair completely askew. “Okay, yeah, that one was a mistake.”
“No,” she said, gentler now, smiling despite herself. “It was… earnest.”
“Yeah, right.” Glancing around, Nora could tell he was ready to bolt.
He’s one of your bosses. Play nice.
“I hear we’re going on a flight together tonight,” she said before motioning to the seat opposite her. “And we’re having dinner first.”
It took a moment, but he visibly relaxed—not much, but enough that she could see the nervous tension ease in his shoulders. But as soon as he sat down, he was back to looking uncomfortable.
“We have a small window of time for you to see the property before the sun goes down. I know it’s a little like an early bird dinner, but I’ve had a long day and don’t want to eat pizza at ten o’clock at night.
But if you’re not into this and flying with me, you won’t hurt my feelings.
I know you were expecting to go with Slater, so… ”
“It’s nothing against you,” he quickly interrupted. “I just figured you weren’t into doing this with me either, especially after the way you looked at me just now.”
“Well, you have to admit you went a little overboard. I mean, have you seen anyone around the resort dressed like that?”
“Um…”
“Exactly. And we’re not getting off the plane and exploring anything. We’re going to take a thirty-minute flight so you can see the entire resort from the air. And catch the sunset too. It’s really a cool thing to see from the plane.”
“Oh.”
He looked awkward and uncomfortable, and she suddenly felt bad for teasing him.
“Look, who am I to judge, right? You were just trying to be prepared, and it’s nice that you put in the effort. Slater said you’ve never gone up in the seaplane before, and you were making sure you had everything you could possibly need.”
“Like a beanie?” Shaking his head, he muttered a curse. “When he mentioned the possibility of the flight the other day, I went online and researched, and it looked like a lot of people were dressed like this. I didn’t want to show up on the dock and be the only one dressed casually.”
“Milo, you never dress casually. Not really. Most days you walk around like your clothes are all freshly pressed. It’s okay to be comfortable sometimes.”
“But I am comfortable.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe this was a bad idea. I’ll talk to Slater tomorrow and…”
“Don’t,” she said quickly, reaching out to stop him from getting up. “Don’t go. We can totally do this.”
Just then, their server walked over to tell them about the dinner specials. Once she gave her spiel about the barbecue platters, Nora looked over at Milo and smiled.
“So? Are we doing this?”
He hesitated long enough to make her squirm, but finally he relented. “Okay. Let’s do this.”