Fool's Gold (Contemporary Romance) (12 page)

T
HE
 room wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for Stella. Every time Victoria started to nod off, whether it be day or night, Stella started flapping her gums and complaining about something. The old bat had no concept of time. Or propriety. Or privacy. She’d complain about the dinner, then she’d complain about her bowels, then she’d complain about being stuck in a room with a little slip of a girl.

If Victoria had had the strength, she’d have gotten up and held a pillow over Stella’s fat face. Instead, Victoria was lying in her bed, suffering through some terrible Lifetime movie when someone knocked at the door. She didn’t bother to look--it was probably a nurse.

“Victoria, are you awake?” Trent stood in the doorway, a nurse behind him.

“Trent?” Victoria didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or curse. He hadn’t returned her calls or her texts all day, and he just showed up at the door?

“Hey, I’ve been at the office. I just saw that you called.” He had on a gray suit, but no tie.

“Why? It’s a Saturday.”

He shrugged. “The China deal. I just ducked out to come see you while I was getting lunch. I can’t stay long.”

Victoria closed her eyes. He was just going to leave her with Stella and run back to work? Or back to that Jennifer a girl. A flush of anger coursed through her.

“Whatever,” she muttered.

“Are you holding up okay?”

“I feel like hell, and I’m probably going to be here for a few days.”

“I’ll try to call you tonight, okay? Hang in there.” And he was gone.

Victoria lay on the bed, trying to breathe properly. Her body shook; she wasn’t sure if it was anger or chills. She was going to have a real come-to-Jesus chat with Trent. How could he just abandon her like that? It wasn’t right.

“That your boyfriend?” Stella wheezed from her bed.

“Sort of.”

“He’s a handsome devil. Looks like he’d be a real tiger in bed.” She laughed at herself, which turned into a miserable hacking cough.

Victoria rolled over, facing away from her and covering her ears with her pillows.

***

Stella fell asleep around 4:00 and started to snore. Victoria half expected her to have big, manly, lumberjack snores, but they were more whimpers than anything. She told herself to be thankful for the small things.

The TV was muted and the window was blocked by the curtain that shielded her from Stella, so Victoria lay in bed in a daze, thinking about what to do with her life when she got out of the hospital.

Someone tapped on the door, then it squeaked open.

“Hey Vicks, I brought you a surprise.”

Victoria stared openmouthed. “Beta?” He stood in the doorway, a black bag slung over his shoulder, and a grin on his face.

“In the flesh. I heard you were stuck in here for a few days and no one else was able to come see you.”

“I... Uh... Thank you!”

Something rustled in his bag. He brought it over and set it on the foot of her bed.

“What’s that?” She had a feeling she knew what it was, and if she was right, he could get in
a lot
of trouble if one of the nurses caught him.

He unzipped the bag. Chuckles poked his head out, then dashed into Victoria’s open arms.

“I’ll just close the door.” Beta slipped away, leaving her alone with her cat.

Chuckles hadn’t forgotten her. He crawled right up on her chest and turned over on his back. Victoria ran her nails gently over his stomach. He purred like she’d never left.

Victoria blinked a few times, willing herself to maintain her composure. Beta poked his head in the door, as if to ask if he could come back. She waved him inside.

“Thank you, Beta. You don’t know how good it is to see you.” She glanced down at the furry motor in her lap. “And Chuckles.”

Beta had cleaned up. She looked more closely at him. His jeans were clean; his t-shirt didn’t have any holes in it. The one shoe she could see didn’t look worn out.

“What?” His shoulders hunched.

“You look nice, Beta.”

“You look like hell.”

Victoria laughed. “I suppose I do. I think I still technically have pneumonia.”

“That would do it.”

“So why are you in town? Do you have another interview?”

Beta shook his head.

“You just came all this way to see me?”

“Yes.” He looked away a moment, then back toward her and met her eyes.

He still loved her. She didn’t fully appreciate it until just then. He never said anything, but the little actions all added up and they could only mean one thing.

Victoria closed her eyes. How horrible had she been to him in the last six months? One date and blew him off for a guy she barely knew? What had she done to earn that kind of friendship? That kind of loyalty.

When she opened her eyes, Chuckles was looking up at her. At some point he had rolled over, and she had been absently stroking his back. The Chuckmeister loving her she could understand. For most of his life she’d fed him, petted him and cleaned up his messes.

Beta she’d just left time after time. And yet here he was.

“Thank you, Beta. How long do you plan to stay?”

“As long as you need me.”

She had to look away. It took her a long minute to make sure she had herself completely under control. When she looked back, he was still there.

Someone knocked at the door, and it opened to reveal her nurse. Kelly looked from Victoria to Chuckles to Beta and back to Victoria. Victoria’s hands tensed over Chuckles’ back.

“I didn’t realize you had guests. I need to take your vitals real quick.”

Beta rose and grabbed the cat carrier. “I’m going to go grab a bite to eat. Is it okay if I come back later?”

Victoria nodded.

Nurse Kelly wrapped the blood pressure cuff around the Victoria’s arm, but stopped before tightening the Velcro. “Young man, it would be best if you took your companion with you. And it would be even better if he stayed quiet until you were both out of the building.”

“Of course.” Beta scooped up Chuckles and tucked him into the bag. “See you in a while, Vicks.”

“Bye, Beta.” She watched him and Chuckles leave, and when he was gone, a wave of sadness overtook her.

“That your boyfriend?” Nurse Kelly asked.

“No. Just a friend.”

“He ought to be careful with that cat. If he gets caught, he’ll get tossed out of the building.”

“He just flew in from Nebraska. With the cat.”

“Oh, wow. And you said he’s not your boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.”

Victoria sighed. Could have fooled her, too.

B
ETA
 stood on the sidewalk in front Mt. Sinai Hospital and shivered. A cold wind whipped down the street from the east, and he was thankful to have brought a coat. The nurses had politely kicked him out when visiting hours ended. He was surprised to have lasted that long with a contraband kitty. Maybe it was seeing how happy Chuckles made Victoria that convinced them to let him stay.

He looked through the roof of Chuckles’ carrier and reviewed his assets. He had his suitcase full of clothes, one cat in a cat carrier, a small bag of cat food and approximately thirty-seven dollars. And he had Murderboat’s phone number. He just hoped ‘Boat wasn’t busy. Christine didn’t live all that far away, but he was pretty sure the apartment was locked.

He hit the button to dial ‘Boat and waited.

“Beta? How’s it going, dude?”

“Good, ‘Boat. Err... Jerome. Hey, can I ask you a favor?”

“Of course, dude. What do you need?”

“A place to stay.”

Jerome was silent a few seconds. “Are you in New York?”

“I’m at Mt. Sinai in Queens.” Beta shivered and turned to block the wind for Chuckles.

“Weird. I thought for sure you lived in Nebraska. Everything okay?”

“Victoria is in the hospital with pneumonia and my sister is on tour somewhere. No one else could come.”

“So you flew in all the way from Nebraska?”

“Yeah.”

Jerome grunted, something between surprise and amusement. “Charity has the Prius out on Long Island, but I could come out your way when she gets home. Might just be easier for you to take the train down here, you know?”

“Except I have a cat with me.”

It went quiet again, then Jerome laughed. “You brought Chuckles with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t sweat it then. The subway doesn’t care. Just don’t advertise that you have him.”

“Alright. See you in a while.”

Beta hung up, checked his phone for the nearest train stop and started walking.

***

Beta called Jerome back when he finally reached his building. “How do I get inside? The front door is locked.”

“I’ll buzz you through. Just come up to the eighth floor.”

“Thanks.” Sure enough, the door was unlocked when he tried it again. It was a quick ride up to eight, and then Jerome was showing him into the apartment and offering him a beer.

“I’m good, thank you, though.” Beta stifled a yawn. Chuckles was already getting antsy in his carrier. The nighttime was playtime, as far as the cat was concerned.

Jerome went back to his chair, but he left his headphones on his desk. The familiar dark starscape of EVE dominated his screen.

“You guys doing anything in particular tonight?” Beta unzipped Chuckles’ carrier, leaving him free to get out whenever he decided he wanted to, then went over and stood behind Jerome.

“Nothing much. I’m refueling some towers. The corp was surprised when you didn’t login at all today.”

“Sorry. It was a spur of the moment thing.” Beta pulled up a chair and sat, nearly collapsing. It was funny how sitting on your butt all day could wear you out.

“I gathered. So how’s your girl?”

“She’s not my girl, but she’s alright, I guess. Pneumonia, but it’s under control. She should be out in time for Thanksgiving, they think.”

“Hey, if you fly halfway across the country at the drop of a hat for someone, she’s your girl. She just may not know it yet.”

“I wish. Maybe someday.”

Jerome didn’t say anything to that. It made Beta feel pathetic, in a way. If he actually was dating Victoria, it might make sense that he flew to New York just to sit with her. But what else could he do? He’d known her his whole life and all her other friends had abandoned her. If that made him pathetic, so be it.

“So how long you planning to be in town, dude? I don’t mind letting you stay as long as you need, but I need to give the missus a time frame.”

Beta kneaded his face. “A few more days, I guess. I don’t have a ticket booked yet, so I can go whenever.”

“I’m not trying to run you off. I was just going to say, if you’re in town tomorrow, you should come by the office. We still aren’t officially hiring or anything, but if you shake some hands and stuff, it might help you get your foot in the door.”

“Yeah, I can do that. I don’t have a suit, though.”

Jerome laughed. “We’re not that kind of office. Show up in your swim trunks if you want.”

“I think I can do better than that.” Beta took care of Chuckles’ litter box and food, then shuffled over to the couch and flopped down. “I’m going to crash, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem.” Jerome turned back to the screen and settled his headphones over his ears.

Beta lay on the couch and watched planets and ships blur past on Jerome’s monitor. Part of him wished he was there playing, too, but a bigger part wished he’d been able to stay at the hospital. Victoria claimed she was getting better, but she was so pale and so thin, and she didn’t have anyone else to keep her company.

She was on his mind as he nodded off to sleep.

T
HE
 office didn’t look spectacular from the street. It was taller than the brick buildings that made up the majority of the street, but certainly not the tallest building on the block. Jerome led Beta inside and showed him where to sign in at the security desk. Two minutes later they were stepping off the elevator into what looked like a giant playground.

“Whoah.” Beta looked from the batting cage to the ping pong table to the big screen TV.

“We do work, you know.” Jerome grinned. “Sometimes.”

“Uh huh.”

“Come on, my office is upstairs.”

Beta processed that as he walked. The developers had their own offices? The stairs were open to the rest of the space, climbing up to a second story balcony. Beta ran a hand over the rail as he mounted the steps. It was real wood, polished to a shine.

Jerome passed into an open office and flicked on the lights. His work desk was as neat as his gaming desk at home. He even had a matching Aeron chair behind it.

“Nice place,” Beta said.

“Thanks. Let me check on something real quick, and then I’ll give you the tour.”

Beta went to the bookshelf beside the desk. It had a dozen books and a Nerf gun the size of a rocket launcher. The gun had a well-worn trigger and the darts were all cracked from use. “You sure you guys work?”

“Sometimes.” Jerome tapped away at his keyboard for another minute, then stood up. “Alright, let’s go see who’s here.”

Most of the offices were still dark. “Where is everyone?” Beta asked.

“The guys that don’t have families usually come in around 10:00 and work past dinner.” Jerome stopped at an office with the lights on and tapped on the glass. “Sol, you got a minute?”

“Jerome!” The guy behind the desk was big. Nebraska big. Thick in the neck, thicker in the waist. His eyebrows were like giant bushy, brown caterpillars, and they moved with his every expression. He also had a yarmulke perched on his head. “Who’s your friend?”

Sol sidled over, smiling.

“I’m Ben. You can call me Beta.” Beta shook Sol’s hand. Sol had a firm, dry grip, the kind of grip Beta’s father would respect. Beta tried not to wince.

“Welcome to Fox Creek then, Benjamin. I’m Solomon Hesse, but you can call me Sol. What brings you to our little rat hole?”

Beta looked at him like he was an idiot. “Uh...”

“It’s a joke, Benjamin. Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.” He paused by Jerome and poked him in the chest. “Fetch the heavy weaponry. When Ricky gets here, I’m going to give him a surprise. This way, young Benjamin.”

Beta wasn’t sure how he felt about having his guided tour hijacked, but Jerome wasn’t arguing with letting Sol conduct it.

“Why do you have a batting cage?” Beta asked as they went down the steps back to the main area.

“Have you ever pulled a twenty-four hour shift?”

“No.”

Sol smiled. “Me, either. But sometimes it’s nice to blow off a little steam at mid-day and get your head on straight again. Some people say playing ping pong works. Some people find that smashing baseballs until their shoulders are numb works better.”

They stopped by a circle of beanbag chairs. A couple bookshelves cordoned them off. Behind the shelves sat a baby grand piano with the top propped open. Beta inspected the shelves, recognizing about half the books. They ranged from programming to chip design to high fantasy to space opera. There were some really old, really esoteric volumes stashed on the lower shelves.

“Why do you have all this stuff
and
a piano?” Beta asked.

“I play piano sometimes, Benjamin.” Sol was rooting through what Beta had taken to be a bench, but was actually a giant toy box. “It depends on my mood.”

Sol grunted triumphantly and held up a pair of Nerf guns. “He we are. Grab some extra ammo.”

“So what are we doing?”

“Have you never set an ambush before?” Sol took up position at the edge of one of the bookshelves so he could see the doorway.

“No. I grew up with an older sister.”

“More’s the pity. The idea is to hit the enemy unprepared. We’re going to let Ricky get through the door and then unload everything we have on him.” Sol pointed to the second level where Jerome was leaning against the rail, his Nerf bazooka dangling from one hand.

“So what’s the point? Aren’t you guys a software shop, not a game factory?”

“The point is that you must instill fear in your employees if you wish them to respect you.” Sol gave Beta a very serious look. His eyebrows looked like they were praying insects. Beta had just about convinced himself that the big guy was serious and utterly, completely insane, but then Sol grinned.

“The point, young Benjamin, is that if you want a healthy, productive work environment, it’s good to keep people on their toes. And entertained. This shall accomplish both. Plus that rat bastard has it coming. He got me right in the face when I was coming out of the john last week.”

Beta didn’t know what to think. “If you say so.” He still wasn’t convinced that Sol was sane, but he was willing to roll with it.

The elevator dinged and opened. A skinny white dude and a normal sized Indian girl came out chatting, neither paying much attention to the rest of the office.

Sol stood up, cackled like a madman, and unloosed a barrage of foam darts at the pair of them. A loud twang came from above, and the bazooka missile caromed down. Beta squeezed the trigger as rapidly as he could, sending a fountain of little discs at the newcomers. A barrage of ammunition hit both of them. The girl squealed and covered her face, but the guy took cover behind a desk.

“Solomon! Why’d you shoot
me
?” The girl stood in the atrium, hands on her hips and glared.

“Friendly fire, Vidya. Sorry!”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’ll get yours, Solomon. When you’re least expecting it.”

Ricky came out from the behind the desk, smiling. “Nicely done, boss.”

“We’re square, Richard. Be a dear and take Jerome his rocket back, would you?” Sol turned to Beta. “Now Benjamin, we need to go clean up our mess.”

Beta followed him out to the atrium. “So what do you do here?”

“Jerome didn’t tell you? I own the place.”

Beta stumbled. Jerome had definitely left that part out. Beta helped Sol clean up the mess, then followed him back up to his office. Sol pointed to a chair and asked him to sit.

“So Jerome emailed me, Benjamin. He says you’re in the software field.”

“Yeah.”

“In sixty seconds or less, tell me your skills and experience.”

Beta swallowed hard and collected himself. Then he told Sol about programming in college, tech support working for Chad and the web stuff he’d been doing lately.

“Python, huh?” Sol spun his monitor around. “Have a look at this.”

Beta leaned on the desk, taking in the screen. It was a function, one that handled decryption judging by the name. “Okay.”

“This puppy has been giving me fits this morning. Read over it and tell me if anything leaps out at you. And while you’re at it, feel free to ask about anything you don’t recognize.”

Beta didn’t know a lot about encryption, but he knew plenty about string manipulation. He spent a couple minutes in silence, getting the shape of things set in his head, then started asking questions about particular parts of the code. Sol explained, his diction becoming quicker when Beta hit particularly interesting parts.

“Well, I don’t claim to understand it all, but I think I see part of your problem.” Beta pointed to one of the deserialization methods. “You’re using the wrong character set.”

Sol squinted at it, then looked from the code to Beta and back to the code. “You might be right.”

Beta sat back in the chair. He knew he was right. “It breaks when you use non-English passwords, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I just know it breaks sometimes.” Sol studied him. “So Benjamin, you’re only in town for a week?”

Beta’s heart just about stopped. Victoria! He was supposed to be at Mt. Sinai in ten minutes.

“Benjamin?”

“Sorry. Yeah, just a couple days. I’m here to see a friend that’s in the hospital. Sorry, I lost track of time and she’s expecting me.”

“This friend is local to New York?” Sol leaned forward, his expression serious.

“Yeah.”

“I can’t ask you the nature of your relationship with this friend, but if you have any interest in remaining in the city and you’re looking for employment, I have a position open if you’re interested.”

Beta could hardly breathe. An open position? “What?”

“It’s a junior developer position, but it starts at one twenty-five a year. And it has an office.”

Beta tried to collect his jaw from the floor. That was more than four times what he was making in Omaha in cubicle hell. “You... I... Uh...”

“Think about it, kid. Talk to Jerome.” Sol rose and shook Beta’s hand again. “Don’t keep your lady waiting.”

“I won’t. I... Thank you for the offer. I wasn’t expecting it.”

“I wasn’t expecting a useful candidate to wander in today.” Sol walked with him to the door. “By the way, how do you know Jerome?”

“He’s in my corp in EVE.”

Sol chuckled. “And it all falls into place. Take care, Benjamin. I hope to hear from you soon.”

Beta walked down to Jerome’s office in a daze. He related the offer, accepted Jerome’s congratulations, then headed to the elevator. Victoria was waiting.