Shades of Submission: Fifty by Fifty #1: Billionaire Romance Boxed Set

by Hunter, Adriana

  There were more than he thought. He did find a Klaus Hildegard. The Klaus Hildegard. The man who single-handedly revolutionized wind energy. Then...nothing. He was content with using that wealth to destroy the economies of small countries. It was a fluke of brilliance.

  It seemed odd to Tesla that Joesphine's grandfather would be Klaus Hildegard. But, he was born in Munich in 2220. Widowed. Three children. Sophia, Anton, and Augustus. Ten years later, he was remarried with another child. Selene. Mexico's files weren't updated with Anton's death, but Klaus had been dead for several years. It also showed that Selene was missing and had been for several decades.

  Tesla was almost positive this was her adoptive father's family, but he didn't know what purpose it could serve. Unless it did help jog her memory a bit. He felt it could plant false memories, but she didn't have much at all. So, maybe it wouldn't be burdensome.

  He did a little more digging to see if he could find out more specific information, but it was mostly about Sophia and Augustus, and they still worked for the business their father had created, but it seemed they were investing their fortune into Mexico's infrastructure.

  __

  Ms. Hildegard,

  I may have some answers about your father's family. I found a man named Klaus Hidegard. He had four children: Sophie, Anton, Augustus, and Selene. Sophie and Augustus seem to be accounted for, though it is a bit out of date. The dates for Anton's birth are the same as the dates I originally found, so I believe this is your adoptive father's family. It does not seem to give us many clues to where you are from or who your biological parents might be. Did you have any other information?

  Regards,

  Dr. Tesla Sorelle

  __

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  I was told that my mother died minutes after my birth, and nothing about my father. I was always under the impression that it was my father they were protecting me from. Is there any further information on Selene?

  Thanks,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  I apologize for my lack of manners. I appreciate you taking the time to research this. Forgive me for making demands of your generosity.

  Thanks again,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Ms. Hildegard,

  Think nothing of it. I enjoy a good mystery. I'll let you know what else I find. The only real lead we have is the missing Selene. I don't know the age of your biological mother, but Selene was nearly twenty when you were born. But, I'm not finding a record of her anywhere.

  Regards,

  Dr. Tesla Sorelle

  __

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  There was a woman at Father's funeral. She was with a man. I believe his name was similar to 'Ray'. I don't know who she was, or her name. But, they looked at me a lot. They both seemed to be around my father's age. I don't know how reliable this information is since I was trying to induce lucid dreaming on my own.

  Thanks,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Ms. Hildegard,

  If the woman was Sophie or Selene Hildegard (I'm seeing no proof that either married, but I will try to find more information), and one of them was your mother, then your father likely had a different name. Which would make things difficult. I do not think it would be Sophie as information on her seems readily available. Which brings us back to Selene. I'm attaching screenshots of images for Klaus and Sophie, along with her contact information.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  Thank you so much. Sophie was definitely the woman at my father's funeral. Anytime I searched, I couldn't find a thing, but then when I searched for the Hildegard's in Mexico, I got a lot of hits. And the translator on my browser was temperamental and antiquated, so it was frustrating. But, she's exactly the woman I dreamed about.

  Thanks again,

  Josephine

  __

  Tesla forgot that his browser automatically translated foreign languages, and that explained why the colors were a bit off as he was searching. The grammar was always mangled with automatic browser translations, but he was usually able to handle it easily enough.

  He couldn't find anything on Selene, and he used a few more obsolete engines. There was a Missing Persons Report in Mexico City, but nothing else. It was looking more and more like Selene was a person of interest.

  Josephine read back over their emails. She wasn't sure if it was wise to be so interested in contacting Sophie. She assumed Sophie would have introduced herself at her father's funeral, or at the very least contacted her after her mother passed.

  Josephine wasn't sure what she was worried about more: Sophie's disinterest, or a secret she was better off not knowing.

  She was far too curious about the latter. She would use the first contact that Dr. Sorelle listed, then wait. If she didn't get an answer, she would use the other emails associated with Sophie Hildegard. The first one appeared to be her work one, as it specified E-Gard Global.

  __

  Ms. Sophia Hildegard,

  Hello. My name is Josephine Hildegard and I'm looking for information regarding my adoptive and biological families. Both my adoptive parents have passed and I know next to nothing about either family. My research has lead me to you, as I believe you are my aunt. If you have any information, I would greatly appreciate it.

  Thank you,

  Josephine Hildegard

  __

  All Josephine could do was wait.

  Chapter Six

  Josephine was notified during the week from Dr. Sorelle's team that in this session, they would be altering her dreamscape to see how she would adapt. She was disappointed that Dr. Sorelle didn't contact her personally, but she knew he must be busy. She was thankful he took the time out to help her with her family issues.

  She was meant to set it up exactly how she had been, and once she was under, she was pulled in by the smells and sounds of her imagined scene. She laid out a towel and sat down on the white sand and watched the sun set.

  When the sun was just a sliver on the horizon, stars began to create unknown constellations, and Josephine was captivated.

  The sky darkened to purple, and slowly, a massive waning planet stole the sky. It was the most beautiful thing Josephine had ever seen, and she hoped her tears only manifested in her dream.

  “It was amazing...just the most amazing thing,” Josephine praised.

  “Dr. Sorelle doesn't disappoint.”

  “Is he here?” Josephine asked, a little more eagerly than she'd wanted to.

  A long silence. “He's unavailable right now.”

  Josephine stepped into the elevator. Her night had been restless because having her dream altered kept her brain stimulated. Then dealing with the disappointment of not meeting Dr. Sorelle. She didn't notice the man until she was forced to back into him when several people rolled some sort of incubation table into the elevator.

  Josephine was mortified as his hands came up to steady her hips.

  She fucking glowed. He'd watched her through the camera when she slept to see if he could make any sense of her. He'd been too afraid to see her, even though he'd meant to, but the camera had been enough.

  Now he was touching her and smelling her and he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

  Josephine craned her head around. “Sorry,” she said with an awkward smile.

  “Don't worry about it. Not your fault.” Tesla realized he was two seconds away from finding bare skin with his thumbs. He dropped them.

  One minute later, the elevator opened and everyone left. It took Josephine ten stories up before she could catch her breath. It was embarrassing how that man could affect her.

  Tesla nearly ran to the ensuite in his office. He closed the door eliminating all light.

  Except his
hands. His hands had been on her and they were shooting sparks. He quickly freed his penis and stroked himself until the sparks went away.

  Chapter Seven

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  I wanted to contact you to let you know how beautiful I found my dream. Your team let me know that it was your idea, and I wanted to thank you, but they let me know that you were unavailable.

  Again. Thank you,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Ms. Hildegard,

  You're very welcome. It's a bit more complicated than me being unavailable. I have Synesthesia and while I mostly have it managed, you particularly have thrown me a curveball. You seem to overwhelm me. Next time you're in, I'd be pleased to meet with you.

  Regards,

  Dr. Tesla Sorelle

  __

  Josephine knew a bit about Synesthesia. There were a couple of students she had experience with, but it manifested so unobtrusively, she often didn't think about it. If she caused Dr. Sorelle stress, she felt terrible about it.

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  I've had students over the years who were Synesthetes. Is there anything I can do to make it less distressing? I'm happy to converse electronically if it's significantly easier.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  Yours.

  __

  Ms. Hildegard,

  Not at all. I confess I did see you, and I think with a little acclimating, I will be able to manage. It was only a few minutes, but I was on my way to filtering you, for lack of a better phrase at the moment.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  Josephine thought back to the Institute. It took her a few moments, but then she remembered the elevator. That man. And how mortified she was. He looked more like a CEO than a researcher, but she knew that Synesthetes had multiple sensory issues and a suit might be a comfort with its clean lines and tailored fit. He'd been cute, with his light brown closely cropped cut. She didn't see his eyes as he'd kept them closed.

  He seemed a little uncomfortable, but then that would make sense. She had assumed originally that he might observe her when she was asleep, so she wasn't quite sure. She wanted the man in the elevator to be Tesla because she wanted a face for him.

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  The elevator? Or while I was asleep? Can you describe it? And please call me Josephine.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Josephine,

  Call me Tesla. Yes, the elevator. I can't be distracted while I'm inputting instructions into the program, so I tried to keep visuals to a minimum. Your skin is haloed by metallic golden light. As is your correspondence. You sound like dessert at Christmas. Sweets. Caramels. Toffees. Treacle. Sort of like your olfactory hallucination, except ongoing. It's a first for me, so it's taking me awhile to process it.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  Josephine felt a bit wooed, which was a little unfair. He must not realize how his words come across, and it must be strange for it to be truth instead of metaphors. Which was good. Because as metaphors they were laughably poetic. She always found poetry trite. She wanted to meet him properly. It was irrelevant that she was a little smitten.

  __

  Tesla,

  It's truly difficult to picture what you're saying. But, I did understand about the baby powder. That helped me understand better. I can't imagine why everything is golden and what that must look like. Is there anything I can wear or do that would make it less...bright?

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Josephine,

  I think it will get easier with time. It doesn't hurt me in any way. It just takes me a bit to adjust my eyes around you.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Tesla,

  Is there a way you can show me? While in my dream? You've been able to show me some fantastic things, and I'd really like to understand further what you see.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Josephine,

  I could try. Give me a couple of days . It's a very interesting idea and I do enjoy a challenge.

  I didn't ask. Did you contact Sophie Hildegard?

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Tesla,

  I did. I used her current work email address. She hasn't contacted me, but it's only been a week. She probably has someone going through them and mine certainly wouldn't be pertinent to work. I plan to write to her other ones if she doesn't answer in the next week.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  Josephine,

  I've been thinking more about it. I would have some qualifications for your dream template. The beach is fine along with the sounds, and it would need to be dark. Stars are fine, but no moon, and I'd want the stars to be muted.

  It's something we can work on later toward the end of the trial.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Tesla,

  Why don't you create one? I'd want you to be perfectly happy. Besides, I want to see how else you see the world, not just me.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Josephine,

  I hadn't thought to do that. I think I would rather visit yours first and see how it goes. I would need to think what to change because I'm not actually seeing it.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Tesla,

  Could you start something from scratch?

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  __

  Josephine,

  I could try, but your brain would try to filter every little thing just as mind does. So, I need to think about how to do so effectively. It would need to be something you've never seen before.

  Regards,

  Tesla

  __

  __

  Tesla,

  Of course. That makes sense. I'm willing to try whenever your ready.

  Since it's the summer, I'm available during the week if you want to get together. Dinner or coffee or whatever. It's not too far of a drive for me. I can even stay in the city. If you aren't busy, that is.

  Yours,

  Josephine

  __

  He didn't want to misconstrue. He didn't do casual anything, even with people he considered confidantes. It would make sense that she would read more into his description than he'd intended, but he was just trying to be factual. His little infatuation was just a twee thing. Something he didn't know the first thing about executing. He had so many parameters, and he had no idea which he could compromise in a more intimate relationship.

  Certainly, Synesthetes were able to have intimate relationships, but he'd been made to perform far too many times. Rich and smart, and even pleasant to look at didn't keep women interested once they realized that he wasn't going to paint the town with them. His strangeness was easily forgotten if he could fake extroversion for several nights a week.

  He could have done, as exhausting as it would be, but on nights he'd want to spend in the safe quarters of his home, he was accused of letting his disabilities rule his life.

  He didn't have any disabilities. He was a fucking genius, and if he wanted a night in to quiet his mind, he should be allowed to from the people who were meant to care about him.

  He could admit to himself that he very much wanted to spend time with Josephine, but he was so set in his ways that he wasn't sure how to spend time with her outside of her head. He also didn't know what her intentions were. She didn't seem like the vapid mass of women who tried to attach themselves to
his money, but it was really all he'd ever known.

  He went to create a new message to brush her off blaming his ridiculous, self imposed work schedule, when another of hers appeared.

  __

  Dr. Sorelle,

  I apologize for any impropriety. My request was inappropriate. I didn't think about the awkward position I might put you in to have to refuse.

  Josephine

  __

  Well, shit. He didn't want her to feel bed. It was a bit improprietous with his position, but it's not like he was her physician‒he wasn't that type of doctor anyhow, but as the creator of the trial, it might be a bit frowned upon. But only for a little while. He didn't have any ethical issues with it, just personal ones.