by Anita Claire
“Your job is President and CEO?”
“What job did you think I had?”
“You said you were an engineer. But you drive a flashy car and are always on the phone and flying around. I figured you were in sales.”
“Yeah, I guess now I am. Most of our lawyers and bankers are located in Silicon Valley. But to close a big deal, my sales guys need to bring me in.”
“That’s what you’re doing? Closing deals?”
“Setting strategy, maintaining the right focus…we’re growing so fast. Each year we’ve more than doubled the number of our employees. Ana, four years ago I got out of the Army. When I got into civilian companies, I was shocked at how weak their computer security was; I knew there was a better way.”
“You started this company?”
“Ana, in the Army, I thought I was a lucky guy. I’ve seen guys get blown up. I still don’t know how I got home in one piece. But this company, it’s growing like wildfire. My sales people don’t look for customers, they’re too busy scheduling all the requests that come in. Our solution is expensive, very expensive, we’re the only unicorn functioning in the black.”
Trying to parse what he said only confuses me. “But your buddy, Logan he has that big house and all those toys?”
“Oh, we’re still at that, are we? Ana, some people they get drunk from money. They have to buy everything they can think of. My dad says it’s like the money is burning a hole in their pocket. I buy what I need and what I want. Most of my time in the Army, I lived out of my pack. I liked living like that. I have no interest in collecting things.”
“You did buy that car.”
“That car is cool.”
“It’s kind of freaky. I thought you were...I don’t know....”
“I’m the guy you camped with. Everything else...who cares?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“We’ll camp next weekend. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“You’re really some billionaire living in an almost-empty one-bedroom apartment?”
“What shit should I have in my place?”
“I guess I thought billionaires lived in mansions.”
“Would it make you happy if I lived all alone in some crazy-big place like Logan?”
“No, that would be weird.”
“What I find weird is all the people who’d never give me the time of day all of a sudden want to be my best friend. Everyone has a lot of crazy ideas of how I should live and what I should buy.”
“And you?”
“I’m doing what I want and I don’t want a lot of crap.”
“Some people, like my sister, they think that’s a waste.”
“My goal wasn’t to be a billionaire. My goal was to provide an elegant solution to a big problem.”
“But I still don’t get why you didn’t wait for me in the city or why you stopped talking to me. How do I know I can trust you not to do that again?”
Brody sighs as he runs his hands through his hair. I stand there waiting for answers.
“I was tired, I had too many contrary ideas about you in my head. Your sister, that bar...I saw you flirting with some man. The whole night was off.”
“Flirting with some man? What are you talking about?”
“I saw you smile and do that hair flip.”
“Women can’t go around punching annoying guys. We need to get away from them by smiling. Is that why you left me in the city? Some guy grabbed me and I smiled to get away?”
“I’m not a patient guy, but I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left without you, that was the wrong thing to do. The next day, we had a big problem at work. I know it is a crappy excuse. I used work to avoid what I was feeling. I figured going back to how I was before we started dating was the easiest solution. I thought I could move on without you. But the thing is, I’ve been miserable the last two weeks. All I’ve thought about is you. My life is better with you. I wasn’t lonely before I met you, but now, not having you in my life, there’s a void. You make my life better. I needed these two weeks to know how much you mean to me.”
All I feel is confusion as he answers my questions. Can I trust him not to take off again? Should I forgive him for going silent? At least he seems like he is being honest.
“You hurt me so much, Brody. I’ve been in pain for the last two weeks.”
He pulls me into his arms. “I’ve also been in pain. I’m sorry, Ana.”
I wrap my arms around his body and bury my head in his chest. It feels so good to be here with him.
***
“Ana, are you going to answer your phone?” Brody asks.
“It’s my sister. Since she met you at that bar, she’s been calling me nonstop. She wants us to take her to one of Logan’s parties. I don’t want to deal with her now.” I snuggle into him.
Unfortunately, he picks up his phone, which I know will keep him mesmerized.
“Do you want me to answer my phone so you don’t have to feel guilty about checking and sending messages?” I ask.
“No guilt on my end. I already dealt with my family, after Bella met you.”
“What?” I exclaim as shock runs through me. “What kind of backlash?”
“I didn’t say backlash. But I have four sisters, a mom, and a grandmother. The six of them are constantly in communication. After Bella met you, all six attempted to pull me into one of their whirlwinds. Everyone had multiple questions, comments, and requests regarding you.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Tell them? I ignore that shit. At some point, it dies down.”
Relief eases my chest. Maybe I won’t have to deal with Bella undermining our relationship.
“That’s good to know. It just confirms what I thought.”
“What?”
“You pay attention to everything, but you only respond to what you’re interested in,” I explain.
“Are you going to get back to your sister? You know, not responding is making her crazy.”
“Like the way you responded to your sisters.”
“I replied.”
“What did you say?” I ask surprised.
“That selfie I took of the two of us hiking last month.”
“No words, just a picture?”
“It was a great picture.”
Since I’m holding my phone, I get a great idea. I take a few selfies of Brody and me. I crop one so it looks like a nice head shot.
“What do you think?”
“Not bad. But you realize that this picture will get out over the internet,” Brody warns.
“It’s a head shot of the two of us.”
“Obviously in bed.”
“Are you afraid it will hurt your reputation?”
“A picture of a guy in bed with a beautiful woman never hurts the guy’s reputation.”
***
“What’s going on with the toxic clean-up?” Brody asks as we stop for lunch.
“You’re funding it. Don’t they give you updates?”
“Yeah, but they spend most of their time fawning over me. It’s really annoying.”
“The Hazmat contractor has secured the drums and he is using a helicopter to move the contaminants out. After everything is gone, we’ll need to do more analysis on the soil and groundwater. The benefit from so many people visiting the site is that our lion no longer hangs out in that quadrant. The whole situation makes me so sad.”
“If you could do something to fix it, what would you do?”
“I’d acquire a magic skill that would heal the earth.”
“Considering that probably won’t happen, have you thought about what else would work?”
“I’m a wildlife biologist. What could I do?”
“That’s one way we’re different. I’m an entrepreneur. When I see things that don’t work, I start visualizing a solution.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start with your magic skill. What would your magic do? How wo
uld your magic work? Fifty years ago, science-fiction writers wrote about a handheld device that gave people a virtual map, communication channels to their spaceship, and it could monitor their health.”
“I should think of a science-fiction solution?”
“As long as it fits within the laws of physics, yes, we can invent the technologies to make it real.”
“Is that how you guys in Silicon Valley do it?”
“Every successful business starts with a dream of making something work better.”
“I’d love to save wild animals by securing their environment.”
“Then identify what’s hurting them and dream up a solution. We’ll make it real.”
“You and me?”
He leans in and gives me a kiss. “You and me.”
Chapter 34 – Brody – Firefighting
“This looks like a good spot to pitch camp,” Ana announces.
After a busy week, it’s great being in the backcountry. Hiking with a pack, hearing my breath, feeling my muscles ache it all makes me feel alive. It’s only 4:30 p.m., but it’s early November and we need to set camp before the sun sets.
“Shit,” I exclaim as my satellite phone starts beeping. If some bozo at work is sending me an urgent message that’s not really urgent, I’ll have his head. I pull off my pack, pull out my satellite phone, and start flipping through messages. I sense the temperature at work is rising.
“We need to get back,” I declare.
“It’s Saturday afternoon, what could be wrong?”
“Bad actors don’t take the weekend off. This is their favorite time to work.”
“Don’t you have people to handle this?”
“People?”
“You know, you’re the President and CEO, don’t you have people to deal with the problems?”
“This is my business. A major security breach can either break us or secure our position. I’m not going to be like the CEO of Bears Stearns, too busy playing bridge while his company tanks. I need to make a few calls.”
Ana packs up everything while I spend the next twenty minutes calling and talking to key members of my team. Finally, I stand up and hoist my pack.
“What’s going on?”
“The bad actors who keep me up at night are country-sponsored ones like Russia, China, and North Korea. They have the time, education, and money to cause real havoc.”
“That’s what this is about?”
“We’re not yet sure who is behind this attack. But it’s someone sophisticated and familiar with my company’s solution. They’re going after a few high-value targets, which turns out to be my customers.”
“I thought you had this security thing all figured out?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t try to work around it. We might limit what they can steal, but if an incident like this isn’t handled right, it can put me out of business. Let’s roll.”
My body spikes with adrenaline as I start following the path back to where we parked. I can hear Ana behind me, breathing hard to keep up. My mind is running a million miles a minute with what we need to do for damage control. The trail becomes harder to follow as the winter sun goes down behind the mountain. After a while I realize I no longer hear Ana. I call out her name. No answer. I wait and listen. Nothing. I call out her name again, yelling even louder.
“Back here,” her faint voice reaches me.
While I wait, I take the time to unlatch my pack and pull out my night vision goggles, I bought last month. With my phone in hand I check the latest status at work. I’m in the middle of composing a text when Ana finally shows up. She has her hands on her hips as she catches her breath.
“You keep a mean pace,” she gasps.
If I wasn’t so stressed about work I’d feel guilty for forging so far ahead of her. Instead, I nod and I text out a couple more directives. She takes a few deep swigs of her water. I hand her the other pair of night vision goggles.
“Fancy,” Ana comments as she looks them over.
“We’re losing light. We still have another hour before we’ll get to the car.”
“Maybe your problem will be fixed by then.”
“Not likely.” Reading a series of updates, I feel frustrated by only having one phone. “You ready?” I bark out. Ana nods as I take off for the top of the ridge.
When we finally reach my car, we throw the packs in the back.
“I’ll drive. You can man your phone and your computer,” Ana volunteers.
“Head over to Paso Robles. I have a plane ready to fly us back.”
“What about your car?”
“You’ve got one of two choices. Drive my car back or get on the plane with me.”
“And fly back to Palo Alto? How will you get your car back?”
“My admin will figure it out.”
***
We touch down in Palo Alto airport. Ana is busy thanking the pilot as I grab both of our packs and immediately head out to the driver waiting in the car. Ana comes running up to me as I throw the packs in the trunk.
“I’ll have him drop me off at my office. Then he can take you back to your place.”
She nods as I continue to make calls, bark orders, and send texts using both of my phones.
***
At three in the morning, our command center is hopping. Everyone available has been pulled in.
“I’m flying to London, I should be there by the start of business on Monday. Put together a plan with who I need to visit and what media I need to talk to,” I instruct our head of Europe who is on a call with our London office.
“Brody, we’ve foiled them,” one of my ops guys professes.
“Yeah, but that was close. They’re a tricky bunch. They almost ruined our business. I need to do damage control and spin this into good press.”
As the clock hits five a.m., I feel every second of the twenty-four hours I’ve been awake. In the past, I pushed myself hard, but what I learned is that during times like this is when you start making stupid mistakes. I need to keep my people fresh and I need to get some shuteye. Before leaving the office, I make sure the men and women doing the hard work are taking shifts, sleeping, and eating. It’s imperative that their brains remain fresh.
“Once we know things are stable, work your schedule. Make sure everyone in your group takes a day off this week. I don’t need them burning out,” I order my lead trouble shooter.
“Where are you headed?”
“London.”
It hits me as I walk to the parking lot that my car is still in Paso Robles. So I call a car and message my assistant to get my car from Paso Robles. The cool morning air feels good as I stand in the parking lot watching the sun rise over the Diablo Range. Instantly my mind moves to Ana. An even better idea hits me.
“Did I wake you?” I ask when she answers her phone.
“Did you save the world?”
“My guys did all the work. I was directing traffic.”
“Did you get any sleep?”
“Do you have plans for tomorrow?”
“Are you going to sleep until tomorrow?”
“No, I’m flying to London. I thought you might want to join the Mile High Club.”
“Brody! What about work?”
“Ana, we never got to do it last night, or this morning. Fly with me.”
“I’m not doing that in public.”
“Then I’ll need to find us someplace private. Can you take off work on Monday and Tuesday?”
“I’ve got another report to write on the toxic waste dump and its effect on large carnivores.”
“You can work in London as well as you can work in your apartment.”
“Really? You’d spring for my ticket to London? Is that a reasonable question for me to ask?”
“I can afford it. I’ll be at your place in about twenty minutes. Dress comfortably, pack for the city, and don’t forget to bring your passport.”
Chapter 35 – Ana – London
“This is where he told me to go,” the driver answers since Brody is busy talking to someone on the phone.
He gives me the “hold-on-a-sec” signal and covers the mic on his phone. “Yeah, this is right.”
Confused, I sit back and look out the window. Is there some kind of special airport access for billionaires? Since I found out about Brody’s financial situation, nothing has changed. Except I no longer feel compelled to contribute when he pays for dinner. That, and my sister’s relentless attempt to get me to introduce her to some of Brody’s rich friends.
The driver pulls up under the portico of a building. The tombstone in front hasSignature Aviation Terminal etched across it. I have a sneaking suspicion we’re not flying coach.
Brody leaves the car and gathers both of our bags. He waits for me as I follow him into a large, well-appointed reception room. The woman at the desk smiles broadly before asking which flight we’re taking. Is this a special gate for rich guys?
Within five minutes, two pilots and a flight attendant come out of a back room. Brody shakes their hands. They share a moment, discussing where in Iraq and Afghanistan they were deployed to. We follow them out of the building.
“How’d you know they were in the service?”
Brody gives me an, of course I knew, smirk. We’re not in Kansas anymore. I pull out my phone; Jazz is going to shit in her pants when she sees this. We’re flying to London on a private jet.
We board the business size jet, which has four comfy-looking leather seats in one group and a second group of the cream-colored furniture including a big couch.
“It’s just the two of us as passengers?” I ask.
Brody looks up briefly and nods.
“Isn’t that an inefficient use of petroleum? Our ecological footprint just exploded.” Not surprisingly, Brody ignores this comment even though I know he heard it. Then again, I’m not rushing off the plane in protest.
“Would you like a drink?” the flight attendant asks.