Gone - Part One

by Deborah Bladon

  "I was hoping to talk to you," I offer because it's the truth. My initial reason for making this trip was to secure a meeting with him under the guise of explaining why I sent Parker that package filled with erotic delights. I was going to skillfully use that to segue into a discussion about my merits as a potential employee. It's a huge leap but I know if I choose my words carefully, that I'll make my point and convince him that Corteck needs me.

  "Why would Rowan offer you a job?" He picks up one of the pieces of paper and tilts it towards me. "Did you bring up Parker's name during your meeting with her?"

  I touch my forehead briefly before I trace a path down my nose with my index finger. "I did, yes."

  His entire body shifts in his chair. His shoulders push back as his head tilts to the side. "You used your relationship with my brother to get a job here?"

  I don't know how to answer that. I did. I didn't do it intentionally but that matters little now. Rowan had made it clear that she had nothing to offer me until I brought up Parker's name. "I just mentioned his name."

  "You work at a café, Lilly." He leans forward now, tossing the entire file folder on his desk. "The position you were hired for is highly technical. You're not qualified for it. Is this part of the game you've been playing with my brother?"

  I fight the urge to stand and race out of his office. Instead, I slide my ass to the edge of the chair I'm sitting in, I rest my hands on my lap and I say very clearly and calmly, "I'm more qualified to work here than most of your staff. I don't want your brother. I want you."

  Chapter 5

  No. Wait. I didn't actually say that, did I?

  I pull my eyes from the file folder that contains my signed employment contracts to his face. His gaze is set on my lap and where my hands are firmly clasped together. "I'm sorry, Mr. Parker. That came out wrong."

  He doesn’t acknowledge my words at all. His eyes stay locked on my hands. I move them slightly and that's when I realize. I look down to where my skirt has inched up my thighs revealing the top of my lace garters. I fumble for a moment, teetering back and forth from one ass cheek to the other while I pull the fabric back into place. This can't possibly be going any worse. He has to think I'm an exhibitionist by now. I wouldn’t blame him. He's seen more of my body and lacy lingerie than most men I've dated.

  "I graduated at the top of my class from MIT," I begin before I stop to cross my feet at the ankles for safe measure. "I've developed several apps that are available in various marketplaces right now."

  "You what?" He reaches to pick up the file folder again, skimming over each of the papers. "Why is none of that in here?"

  I scoop up my oversized handbag from where I rested it on the floor near my chair and rifle through it. I tossed a copy of my resume and college transcript into it before I left Boston. In my haste to get ready to come here today, I'd forgotten about it. I fish the crumpled mess out of the bottom of my purse. I try to smooth out the wrinkles on my lap before I hold them in the air over his desk. "I brought these."

  I see the hesitation in his eyes before he finally reaches to take the papers from me. I can't blame him. Everything about me screams desperate nymphomaniac to him. It's a wonder he hasn't called security to have me removed from the premises yet.

  He studies both documents carefully, his brow furrowing as he scans the bottom of my resume where I've detailed the three apps I've developed in the past two years. "This is very impressive. You graduated with honors from MIT?"

  I swear that's sarcasm laced tightly into the question. Normally, I'd jump onto a soapbox and rail on the person questioning how a young woman can have the technical knowledge to go shoulder-to-shoulder with male counterparts twice her age. I can't do that now. I have to remember that I'm the one who unwittingly sent him a nude picture. It's no wonder he doubts my academic ability. Smart girls know better than to expose themselves to men they don't know.

  "You had a heavy class load," he goes on. "How did you manage to carry that and have time to invest in programming these apps?"

  "I love programming." I lean back in my chair. "Two of them began as class projects but I realized their potential so I developed something else for school and focused on these in my spare time."

  He straightens his shoulders. "I've had someone dedicated full-time to developing a mobile app that travelers abroad can use when they're faced with a medical emergency."

  I pull in a deep breath and try to contain the smile on my face. "As you can see on my resume, I've developed an app just like that but with mine, travelers are able to tell instantly if their insurance will cover their emergency medical situation. They can then easily find a clinic that accepts that insurance based on their current GPS. "

  "It's remarkable," he says under his breath.

  "I also added a feature that I think is invaluable," I begin before I stall to exhale deeply. "The user can program in all their vital health related information including current conditions, prescriptions, and any primary doctors so that if they're incapacitated at any point, the medical personnel helping them will know what they're dealing with."

  "I stare at him waiting for his response. His jaw clenches slightly as he lowers my resume and transcript back onto his desk. "What's really going on here?"

  My hand leaps to my cheek. I know my face is flushed. I can feel the heat coursing through me. "What do you mean?" I volley back with little emotion.

  "Who sent you here?" He tilts his chin towards me. "You need to tell me right now who the hell sent you here?"

  I close my eyes briefly as I try to absorb the words he just threw at me. "No one sent me here. I'm here because I want a job."

  "You want a job?" he shoots back. "You tried to seduce my brother and now you're telling me you developed that app all by yourself?"

  Wow. Just wow. Asshole alert.

  I push my body forward hoping that the action will give me the courage I need to get through this conversation. "Mr. Parker, what happened with your brother was an unfortunate coincidence. I started talking to him completely by accident. I was actually testing out the mobile dating app that your…"

  "You expect me to believe that you didn't know who Parker was when you sought him out?" he interjects.

  "Sought him out?" I'm on my feet now. "No offense, but your brother isn't really my type."

  "Clearly," he growls the word at me as he pushes himself up to a standing position. "Judging by that envelope you mailed to my place, you're willing to do anything to get my attention. It was obvious I'd come looking for you after I got a glimpse of your body."

  Was that a compliment? Does it matter at this point? "I sent that envelope to your brother for fun."

  "For fun?" he parrots back. "You sent that envelope to my address knowing I would see it. You wrote a letter telling me how you wanted to suck me off."

  "No." I want my voice to sound louder than it does but I can't pull anything from within me. "It's not like that."

  "What's it like?" he sneers. "It's clear from the contents of that envelope that you were hoping to fuck either me or my brother."

  I shake my head so hard that my hair falls into my face. "I wasn't hoping for that. I was only trying to have some fun. It had been a long time since I…" I stop myself. I'm not about to confess that I haven't gotten laid in months.

  "A woman doesn't send a man a detailed," he stops to point his finger in the air at me. "A very detailed letter about sucking his dick if she's not looking for a piece of it."

  I pull my hands to my face trying to cover up the panic I'm feeling. "I didn't think you'd read the letter."

  "You sent a letter to my house about blowing me and you didn’t think I'd read it? I want to know right now who sent you, Lilly. Was it someone from Veriolt? Are you working for Taylor Lungrund? I'm going to find out either way. Make it easier on yourself and just spit it out."

  "I have nothing to spit out." It's a poor choice of words given the current discussion, but I'm going to own it. "I'm being completely h
onest with you."

  He's a lunatic. I completely understand now why he's often labeled as difficult and offensive in the press. He actually thinks I'm a spy for one of his two biggest competitors. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've been trying to get a job here for years."

  "Bullshit." The word is brutal and direct. "Why haven't I heard about you until now? Explain that to me."

  I take a step back out of pure need. I can see the anger within the fine lines around his eyes. His entire face has shifted to a darker place. "Mr. Parker, please."

  "Please?" he hisses the word at me. "Please what, Lilly?"

  This is it. I have one chance to convince this man that I'm not a mole sent in by one of his competitors to undermine the integrity of his latest developments. "I've always admired you," I say the words even though they sound lame and contrived. "I've applied for the internship program for the past four years and I've written you many emails explaining how I think I can improve things within your organization."

  The twisted look of confusion on his face mirrors what I'm feeling inside. That sounded too pompous and expectant. I'm a young woman barely out of college who just told a man who has one of the most brilliant technical minds of my generation that I'm here to do him a favor. "I can verify all these random claims you're making."

  I nod briskly. "You should. I mean, yes, please do that."

  He leans back against his desk, crossing his legs at the ankles. "I will. In the meantime, why don't you explain one improvement that you'd make today?"

  He's pushed me into a corner. The smug expression on his face suggests that he thinks that I'll cave under the pressure of the question. I catch the movement of his brow as he cocks it up.

  "Well," he begins as he taps his expensive black shoe on the floor. "I'm waiting, Lilly."

  I cross my arms, push my shoulders back and try to contain a small smile. "The dating app you launched three months ago is a piece of shit. The framework is lacking, it has no fluidity at all and the fact that you're charging users for it is a crime."

  Chapter 6

  "I talked to my father last night about the company that he used to work for," Roni says from the doorway of my bedroom. "It's not exactly what you're looking for, but he thinks he can get you in there doing some coding."

  It's a sweet gesture coming from her. Roni hasn't been that supportive of my choice in a career path mainly because she's never understood the appeal of it. She's studying to be a lawyer, a criminal defense attorney, to be exact. "Thanks for asking him about that," I offer even though the idea of moving my life to Alabama to work in a cubicle doing mindless coding forever is even less appealing than working at Star Bistro.

  "I'm sorry about what happened in New York, Lilly." She shuffles back and forth on her heels. "You can't blame him for throwing you out of his office after you dissed his work."

  Confiding in Roni had been an absolute must after I had taken the train back to Boston yesterday afternoon. When I'd shared my opinion on Corteck's dating app, Clive hadn't reacted in any readable way. He stared at me for what felt like ten minutes before he leaned down to retrieve my purse. As soon as I took it from his grasp he asked me to leave. I had because by that point I knew that it was over. Any hope I had of working alongside him and his team was crushed when I took that Polaroid picture and sent it to his brother. I don't know why I thought he'd ever take me seriously.

  "Are you working today?"

  I scrub my hand over my forehead before I answer. "I'm doing the late shift. I need to be there by two."

  "Do you want to go somewhere for lunch?" Her eyes don't meet mine. "It's my treat."

  This compassionate, caring side of my roommate is foreign to me. I already know that I'm not going to be able to handle it in large doses. I need to ease into the idea that she cares about me. "Maybe we can do it another day?" I ask with a small smile. "I'm going to organize some files on my computer."

  "Sure thing." I can hear the relief in her voice. Obviously this newfound concern of hers is taking its toll on her as well. "I'm going to run down to the market to get some fruit."

  I flip open the cover of my laptop and dive into the task of clearing away all the random projects I've started and never finished the past few months. If I'm not going to get my dream job, I'm going to focus more on developing my own apps. Right now, the ones I do have available are bringing in a few hundred extra dollars each month. I need to increase that tenfold if I want to give up my job at the café.

  I spend the next hour organizing my files, saving the important ones on flash drives and tidying up my room. In less than an hour I need to be at work which means now is my chance to have something substantial to eat. I try to avoid the sugary pastries that are brought in for the display case each day. It's a temptation that is often too hard to resist but I'm working on rediscovering the willpower I seem to have misplaced when I started college. I decide on a turkey sandwich on rye and a glass of juice.

  Just as I'm settling next to the kitchen table to enjoy my modest feast I hear movement outside the apartment door. For someone studying for a career in law, Roni isn't the most organized person I know. She's dragged me out of class more than a handful of times over the last two years because she forgot her keys in the apartment. I race to the door to let her in, knowing that she likely bought way more groceries than either of us will be able to consume in a month's time.

  "You can thank me later for rescuing you," I say with a smile as I swing open the door.

  "I'll thank you now." His mouth curves into a grin as his eyes skim over the red boy shorts and tank top I'm wearing.

  "Mr. Parker?"

  "Lilly Randall." His voice is deep and seductive. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

  Chapter 7

  "I wasn't expecting you," I mutter as I walk back into the main room after excusing myself to get dressed. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a back sleeveless turtleneck sweater before freeing my long red hair from the ponytail it's been in all morning. "I don't normally answer the door like that."

  "I should have called first." He turns from the bookcase he's been standing in front of for the past few minutes. "I was at MIT and decided to take a chance that you'd be home."

  "You were at MIT?" I don't even try to veil the surprise in the words. I'm still reeling from the shock of seeing him standing in my doorway. Add to that the sheer horror of again revealing my underwear choice to him, and it's a wonder I didn't climb onto the fire escape outside my bedroom window. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that he was at my alma mater to confirm I graduated from the computer science program with honors. I'm hopeful that was part of his visit though.

  "I had business in Boston today," he stops before he corrects himself. "Personal business and I thought I'd stop in there and catch up with an old friend."

  The fact that he's talking to me at all isn't lost on me. "Why are you here?"

  "I spoke to Rowan after you left yesterday." He pulls on the fabric of the pants covering his thighs before he lowers his tall frame into a beige rocking chair. "She showed me some of the emails you'd sent to us over the years."

  I had hoped for a very brief moment in time on the train ride back to Boston that he'd discuss me with her. The optimistic part of me wanted to believe that she'd convince him that my technical ability trumped everything else. The more realistic part of me knew that she'd likely tell him that I used my brief encounters with Parker to get my foot in the door.

  By the time I finally got off the train after the three and half hour ride, I felt despondent. I'm not a foolish person. The knowledge that I may have lost the promise of a fulfilling career because of a mistake I made online is devastating.

  "Have you spoken to Parker at all since you saw him at the bistro?" he asks softly.

  I shake my head faintly. "No. I don’t have his number and I haven't emailed him. I regret what happened with Parker."

  "How did you initially connect with him?"

  I swallow hard
. It's not a question that has a simple answer and it's going to bring back to the surface a topic I'd rather keep buried. I can't avoid it though. If he hasn't already asked Parker about it, he will. I need to bite the bullet and spit out the truth. "I was testing out your new dating app when Parker contacted me on it."

  "The mobile app? The one you think has flaws?" His tone is hard to decipher. I can't tell if he's still offended by what I said in his office yesterday morning. He's had more than twenty-four hours to absorb my brutally honest critique of one of the biggest launches in his company's history.

  "Yes," I offer back in a hushed tone. "I thought that if I used the product, I'd be able to offer some viable suggestions in terms of improvement. I was hoping that would get me a meeting with you."

  He traces his index finger over his bristled jaw. "I asked Parker to use the app. I've been trying to get him involved with the company."

  I nod even though this is the first I've heard of it. I assumed that Parker was just a guy on the prowl. "We decided to switch over to email because it was easier for him."

  A faint smile runs over his full lips. "Parker told me that he had trouble with the app."

  I feel a sense of validation at the words. It's not likely that his brother's opinion will help to substantiate my brutal view of the app, but it certainly can't hurt. "I didn't know who Parker was at that time. He seemed fun and nice."

  For the first time since he walked into the bistro last week, I sense understanding in Clive's eyes. "Parker's life is a mess. His history with women is complicated. I'm glad you didn’t get too invested in him."

  It's the words that you'd expect from a close friend who has your back. "I got caught up in the things we talked about. I don't think I'll hear from Parker again."

  "You're right about that." Grinning, he taps the arm of the chair with the palm of his hand. "I put Parker on a plane to Dubai this morning. He'll be working at our division there for at least the next two years."