Come Down Under

by Parker, Weston

  “Sure, but then you know how it works. If you’re looking for love, you’re in charge of the kind of content that even makes it to your device. Certain things are automatically blocked, but the rest is up to you.”

  She waved her hand in the direction of my window. Beyond it was another red-brick building covered in winding ivy that had probably been growing on it for centuries.

  It was an undergraduate student dorm. “Every one of the prudes within those walls can decide for themselves whether he or she is comfortable with the word ‘fuck.’ They can decide whether they’re okay with it so long as it’s not followed by the word ‘me’ or ‘yourself.’”

  “I know.”

  “They’ll also never know the comedic value to be found in an unsolicited dick pic of a frightfully unfortunate-looking dick.”

  “Anna,” I said, but she just lifted her eyebrows at me. “Yeah, okay. I know I’ve laughed with you. To be fair, it’s not like any of them are fortunate looking.”

  “No.” She shrugged. “But some are definitely worse than others.”

  “True.” It wasn’t like I could disagree with that. “But how does that make Jude Hudson a genius?”

  “Because he created an app that protects those virginal few from getting their retinas and minds scarred for life, while at the same time providing a safe zone for those who want that and nothing else.”

  “I guess.”

  “Those were also only the first two programs he wrote. There’s a ton more. His firm is into everything from education to weather to space tech.”

  I shrugged. “Sure, but does that qualify as being revolutionary?”

  “Yes,” she insisted. “If you don’t believe me, believe yourself. You once debated the merits of his strategy with me for a paper we had to write in Economic Strategy.”

  “Fuck. I was hoping you’d forgotten about that. In my defense, we finished an entire bottle of wine before we had that debate.”

  “We finished an entire bottle of wine together,” she said. “That’s like two glasses each. You were fine.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I mumbled. “I guess I’ve just been trying to find fault with him since I found out who my mentor was. Spending six months with someone I find attractive and admire for his brain isn’t going to be fun. Not even when the tabloids love him for the sensation he creates over there.”

  “Only a psychopath would be complaining about this situation.” Anna hopped off the bed and held the phone in my face again. “Look at him, Rose. Look at him. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you. I certainly don’t. Hell, I’m tempted to chop off your hair and make a wig out of it so I can pose as you and get all close to him. Do you think I could pull off an American accent?”

  “No,” I said firmly. “And remind me never to trust you with scissors.”

  Chapter 4

  JUDE

  Downtown Sydney was alive with activity this morning. Cars snaked down the streets, tourists were already getting in line for the attractions around the harbor, and pedestrians scurried to get to work on time.

  The sky was bright blue with only a few wisps of white clouds drifting here and there. We were technically at the beginning of autumn, but the weather was holding, and I had no doubt the beaches would be packed.

  Sitting in my office high above the city streets, I heard my people arriving and making chitchat through my closed door. I squinted at my computer, scanning the lines of code I’d gotten done since arriving a couple of hours ago.

  Something wasn’t quite working, but I couldn’t figure out what it was just yet. The cursor blinked in and out of existence as I scratched my chin, my eyes flying across the screen searching for the elusive mistake I must have made.

  A whoosh of my outer doors caught my attention. I thought it was Ted, my assistant, finally back from sick leave until the door opened to reveal my best friend.

  “Okay,” Shane said as he walked in. He held his tablet out in front of him and pulled the stylus out of the sleeve at the side. “Let’s go over your schedule for this fine Wednesday, shall we?”

  “Good morning, Shane. How are you?” I smirked as I sat back and folded my hands over my stomach.

  He looked up from the tablet to roll his eyes at me. “I’ve spoken to you twice this morning. You know how I am.”

  “But I haven’t seen you.” I opened my arms and motioned to him. “Don’t I get a hug?”

  “Nope.” He grinned and dropped into the seat across from me. “I’m not in the mood for your pranks this morning. I don’t know what you had planned, but I’m not falling for it.”

  “No prank,” I promised. “But I was just messing with you. Is Ted still out then?”

  “Well, I’m not in here playing assistant for the fun of it,” he joked before his expression grew somber. “I’m not sure when he’s going to be back. A few more days at least.”

  I frowned. “I thought the doctor said they’d fixed his arm right up?”

  “They did, but it was a bad break. There are some complications. He’ll be fine, but until then, you’re stuck with me for the daily schedule run-through.”

  “I could just check it out by myself on my calendar,” I said, not for the first time.

  Shane shook his head. “Without someone keeping you in the present, you’ll fall into a virtual rabbit hole until you’re done with whatever you’re busy with.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I closed my laptop so I wouldn’t be distracted by it, then folded my hands on top of my desk. “What’ve we got for today?”

  He pulled his glasses down to the tip of his nose, peering over them at the sleek computer in his hands. His brown curls were as unruly as ever, but he was dressed in a sharp suit I’d had my tailor design for him.

  Contrary to what most people who read those god-awful rags called tabloids believed, Shane was not my partner in crime. He was the partner trying to keep me out of it.

  The man was like a brother to me. The older, bigger brother without whom I’d probably have been ruined by now.

  To the outside world, I was a level of asshole unattainable by most others who lived on this planet. But Shane was family, and family stuck together.

  The tapping sound of the stylus stopped, and he cleared his throat. “At eight, you’ve got a meeting to fill investors in on the advancements we’ve made with Ride the Wave.”

  A genuine grin spread on my lips as my pulse spiked. “That’s going to change our fucking lives when it’s done.”

  “Why?” He frowned, scratching his temple as he wrinkled his nose. “Which one is Ride the Wave again?”

  “Which one is Ride the Wave again?” I clasped my hands over my heart and pretended like he’d shot me. “How could you even ask me that question?”

  “How could I not?” He hooked his ankle over his knees. “You’re always busy with a million different projects. They’re all in different industries, but they all have similar names. I learn what I need to about the ones we’re ready to launch. Then I move on.”

  “Ride the Wave is the surfing software,” I said, turning around in my rolling chair to face the wall of windows behind me.

  The view from up here was incredible. Even though I saw it every day, I never stopped being impressed by it. I could see it all, the gleaming deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, the iconic Sydney opera house, Harbor Bridge.

  The view didn’t come cheap, but it was worth every cent I’d paid for it.

  Two years ago when the two dating apps I’d developed turned me into a billionaire in the space of a few months, one of the first things I’d done was secure this space. My apps were based on a simple concept. You wanted what you wanted and nothing else.

  All I’d done was to give people what they wanted. I’d read about entire galleries the world over which had been filled with exhibits consisting of unsolicited inappropriate content that had been sent to recipients. The problem had been glaring and obvious, so I figured I’d try to fix it.

  My apps weren’t only dat
ing apps. They also operated a bit like social media and a little like old-school chat sites. They were a mash-up of old and new, and it worked.

  It had taken a long time for us to gain traction and users, but once it started happening, we never looked back. I’d launched both sites on the same day. Then I’d watched as each made its way into its designated target market.

  It’d been really cool watching the bubbles on both sides of the spectrum grow in terms of user numbers and then to observe the jumps between the two as people’s desires changed. Although the concept was deceptively simple, there had been a lot of glitches, perception issues, and reputational risk to be dealt with.

  As the user numbers and public attention had grown, so had the size of my workforce. Little by little, I’d appointed people in positions I needed help with.

  My people had started out working from home, and I was pretty flexible about their working hours to this day. Workers didn’t need an office to get their work done. They just needed the dedication to do it without having someone looking over their shoulders or feeling like they needed to be micromanaged.

  Luckily for them, I hated micromanaging. I never had the fucking time.

  However, for those who preferred a structured working environment—like myself—I wanted them to have a place we could all enjoy going to. When people had a view like this from their offices, they were bound to enjoy being in the building.

  Today, I ignored everything about the spectacular view except for the sparkling blue water and the swells in the distance. “We’re making Ride the Wave with our machine-learning tech. It’s specialized new software that will predict ideal weather conditions for surfing off the Australian coast.”

  Shane sat up straighter, recognition lighting up his eyes. “Oh yeah. I remember you told me about that one. How are we doing with it? Anything to report to the investors? I’m told they’re expecting some big news today.”

  “We’ve made leaps and bounds of progress.” I smirked, opening my arms up wide and holding them out to my sides. “I’m ready for those guys. They’re all like us, man. They grew up alternating between surfing and tackling each other on the field. I’ve got this.”

  “Great, because you don’t have a lot of time before it’s scheduled to start.” His gaze darted down to his watch, then back up to mine. “After that, we have an interview with the people at EsTech. Once we’re done with them, you’re giving a talk at the Thinkers of Tomorrow conference.”

  “Thinkers of Tomorrow?” I massaged my temples. “Fuck, I thought that was only happening later this week. You’ll have to get me out of there before the director tries to sink those red talons of hers into my ass again.”

  Shane shot me a grin. “I’ve got your back. Directly after your speech, we have a lunch meeting with Johnny about the updates to All for Love.”

  “Excellent.” I sat back in my chair and opened my laptop up so I’d be ready to get a few more minutes of work done before I had to get going. “Good thinking to schedule a meeting just after the talking slot. What’s after lunch?”

  “A few more conference calls,” he said. “I’ve also set aside two hours for you to work on the code for whatever new idea you’re playing with. Last but not least, you have a video call with the head of the Business Department at Oxford University.”

  Shane stood up while he was reading the last item on the agenda. Busy shutting off the tablet, he didn’t see my head jerk back as I looked up from my computer. “Oxford University? What the fuck do they want with me?”

  My friend’s gaze snapped back to mine, seemingly uncertain about whether to worry or if I was just fucking with him. “They want to discuss the final details about your new intern?”

  “Intern?” I frowned at Shane, racking my brain for what he could possibly be talking about. “What do you mean, intern?”

  “We spoke about this in September,” he said, groaning and tilting his head back. “Please, please tell me you haven’t forgotten.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. You’ll just need to remind me. September was six months ago. What. Fucking. Intern?”

  He sighed and took a seat again. “Oxford is sending their top student in their doctoral program to us for the semester. She’ll work at the firm as an intern and you will mentor her.”

  Ah, fuck. The whole intern thing rang a bell now. “Her?”

  “Yes.” Shane narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion.

  I arched an eyebrow, moving my gaze back to my computer. Perhaps there was an email on there about this intern. If it was a her, that would certainly make things more interesting. “Where’s she from?”

  “She’s American,” Shane said, the corners of his lips rising in a smile.

  “Oh, well, that’s just great,” I grumbled. “That’s just what I need right now. A well to-do cocky American woman with—”

  “You’re making a lot of assumptions.” He held up his hands and suppressed his smile. “And who are you to reprimand someone for being cocky anyway?”

  “I’m the boss,” I reminded him. “I’m allowed to be cocky.”

  Shane chuckled but gave me a look I knew meant business. “Just be nice when she gets here, all right? It’s a good program. And the PR will be—”

  “I get it,” I said. “It’ll help my reputation.”

  “Exactly.” He switched the tablet back on. “I’ll send you the information Oxford’s sent to me. She’s supposed to be really smart. The university only sends their students to a certain number of people for these mentorship opportunities. There’s also only one top student, and she’s coming here. It’s huge for them to have chosen you for this, Jude. Don’t fuck it up.”

  “I won’t.” A smirk curved on my lips as I cocked my head. “I assume that means I can’t have sex with her?”

  “Jude,” he warned.

  “Just asking.” I smiled like an innocent little flower, wondering what this intern looked like. Fucking her might not look good for my reputation, but that was only if anyone found out.

  If they didn’t? Well, then I’d have no problem.

  It was definitely worth keeping in mind—even if Americans weren’t exactly my favorite bunch to be around.

  Shane was right, though. I could handle a little cockiness.

  As long as she could handle mine.

  Chapter 5

  ROSE

  Three hours into my flight and I had only scribbled down one note so far.

  Jude Hudson is a bastard billionaire alpha male with a big ego and a devil may care attitude.

  It didn’t exactly endear him to me, but after having flipped through more than half of a biography written on him while on the plane, it was the only conclusion that had definitively jumped out at me.

  I rested my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, letting the Indie-pop music flowing through my earphones calm my racing heart. There were approximately seventeen hours left before this flying tube hurtling me toward the other side of the world touched down.

  In that time, I had to come up with a game plan. If the biography about him was at all accurate, and I suspected it was, Jude and I were not going to get along.

  The book had only been written at the end of last year, so the information in it was only about four months old, meaning it wasn’t some outdated research about a man who had changed his ways in the meantime.

  A soft sigh left me as I thumbed the pages of the paperback I’d picked up at duty-free. Books had always had a way of calming me. Just holding one in my hands was usually enough to ground me but not this time.

  It was like the subject of this book had somehow electrified the paper the words were written on and I received tiny jolts of that electricity just by touching the pages. Sighing as I opened my eyes, I used my finger to mark my place and turned the book over to read the excerpt on the back again.

  Jude Hudson skyrocketed to fame after he developed two mobile applications that have gained global popularity. Hudson Technologies has since rocked our world
numerous times, and its founder is more prominent now than ever before.

  His business savvy and somewhat ruthless approach have made him into an international sensation. It’s not uncommon for his face to be plastered on the covers of magazines or for him to appear on talk shows.

  We got to sit down with the man himself and got to know him like you’ve never seen him before. Whether you want to learn about Jude, learn the lessons he lives his life by, or get a never-before-seen look inside the mind that created Australia’s favorite tech company, this is the book for you.

  I had to admit that so far, I didn’t feel like I’d gotten inside his mind at all. In fact, there seemed to be very little information about his thoughts or his so-called business savvy.

  The book presented him as the stereotypical cool-cat bachelor. There were tons of pictures, but in all of them, he looked like an asshole with a chip the size of the city he lived in on his shoulder.

  Seriously.

  He wore flashy watches and seemed to have more of them than I had pairs of underwear. They were all large, gaudy timepieces that he seemed to have purchased to have one in each precious metal.

  The glossy photo page the book was opened to right then was just a picture of his hands and wrists. It looked like he’d been posed to sit on a couch with his fingers entwined, and the photographer had made a point of capturing the ostentatious golden monstrosity sitting on Jude’s thick wrist.

  The man had nice hands. I had to give him that. Long, tanned fingers with just a hint of that tattoo creeping out from below his sleeve made for a pretty cool picture.

  But that was beside the point.

  If it was supposed to be a book about the man behind the playboy image of a self-indulgent billionaire, it fell miserably short. Aside from the flashy watches, it also spoke to a nauseating extent about a man who seemed to live for charming beautiful women and driving luxury sports cars.