Page 118 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“Jerome, what the hell is that about,” he snapped, turning away from Penelope and Phoebe.
The man glanced from his husband, then to Phoebe and Penelope, before meeting his gaze. “I know it’s an inopportune time, but we need to talk.”
Rowen thought back to earlier in the day. Jerome had mentioned a few work emails had come in. And what had he done? He’d brushed it off. He’d told Jerome to enjoy their vacation. Christ! He was a fool!
“There’s an issue with AI-77?” he asked, but he knew the answer.
The man nodded.
“How about we go see if there are any chocolate chip cookies in the galley?” Penelope offered, reaching out to take Phoebe’s hand when Jerome stepped forward, standing in her way.
“What is it, Jerome?” she asked, with confusion and pain in her eyes.
“Would you mind if David took Phoebe to the galley for those cookies? These texts pertain to you as well, Penny,” Jerome added with a distinct shake to his voice.
This was not a good sign!
He remained stock-still, holding in a whirlwind of fury and frustration.
Penelope squeezed Phoebe’s hand. “Everything is going to be fine. Your uncle and I have to talk to Jerome about some work stuff. After we finish, we’ll come up to tuck you in.”
But Phoebe didn’t look convinced that everything wasjust fine.
“And when you find the cookies in the galley.” Penelope bit her lip for a fraction of a second. She was nervous, but she was trying to hide it. “Make sure you get enough for me, David, Jerome, and your uncle Row. We can have a cookie party in your room before bed. How does that sound?”
Phoebe smiled, at least momentarily distracted by junk food. “And can we make up another story like we do at home?”
“Absolutely,” Penelope answered, but he could hear the trepidation in her voice. He knew this was his doing. His darkened, muted persona had everyone walking on eggshells. But he couldn’t help it. As much as he’d tried to change, and as much as he’d convinced himself he could be something else, this was who he was. This was his default mode.
David took Phoebe by the hand and led her toward the staircase. At the mention of a cookie party, the child’s tears had disappeared, and her bubbly voice returned. She chatted away with Jerome’s husband as the pair’s footsteps grew faint and their voices trailed off into the night, swallowed by the gentle rise and fall of the ocean.
A stretch of silence swallowed the lower starboard deck, and for what felt like ages, no one said a word. And it was still too much. When he was a boy, and the sensory overload threatened to eat him alive, he’d lose himself in that Game Boy. Like a damned security blanket, that portable gaming relic was the one reminder that he could distract himself with and stop the torrent of emotions.
“It was an accident, Rowen,” Penelope said, cracking into the silence as she rested her hand on his forearm. Her touch that once soothed him now sent a prickle of agitation down his spine.
“What’s happened, Jerome?” he asked, pinning the man with his gaze, unable to process what now sat at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.
His assistant paced the deck. “I didn’t want to bother you with this, Rowen. And I’d directed everyone to make me the point of contact while we were away, but—”
“Get to the point,” he growled.
“Rowen!” Penelope chided. “I’m sure Jerome’s doing his best.”
He heard her words, but his walls were up, deflecting the love, repelling the kindness. Like the embrace of an old friend, a friend who’d never let you down but always left you wanting, it was happening. The blinders. The laser focus. The ability to turn off any distraction. It was the only coping strategy that aided him and failed him in equal parts.
“Jerome, what’s the problem,” he hissed, ignoring Penelope’s comment.
“It’s the AI-77 servers.”
“What about them?” he questioned. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears as his body grew more rigid by the second.
“One of our system admins was doing maintenance, cleaning caches and changing the configurations,” Jerome explained.
Rowen crossed his arms. “That’s what they’re supposed to do. I left explicit directions for the team to clean up the servers.”
“It was one of the new hires,” Jerome continued. “We’ve lost several employees to Bones Gaming. I’m in contact with HR, trying to keep up with hiring new people and making sure the teams are getting them up to speed.”
“I understand, Jerome,” he interrupted as the muscles at the base of his neck tightened at the mention of his rival.
