Page 22 of Atlas
“Are you flying back home for Saffron’s birthday?”
“Yes. Friday will be my last day here.”
“It’s been a month. You’re a good man, Maximum.” My tone was sincere.
“I’m just trying to outweigh a bit of our family karma.”
“We’re not responsible for our father’s sins.”
“No. We’re not. But we’re paying the price nontheless.”
“Is that why you love to hide in the Philippines where no one knows you?”
He sighed. “I wish. Even here people have internet, and I always worry that people will Google me. We can’t hide our past or outrun it. It’s a constant companion somehow.”
“Funny that you should say that. Today at work, my new researcher, Jolene, told me she’d Googled me, but all she talked about finding were innocent stuff like my job at Solver and women I’ve been dating.”
“And you hired her as a researcher?” Maximum scoffed. “Sounds like she didn’t dig very deep.”
“She’s a psychologist at C.M. Research, and her job is to interview people and run experiments, not to search online.
“Is she old?”
“No. She’s twenty-eight. Why?”
“Nothing, I just figured old people are less internet-savvy, that’s all.”
Maximum was three years and four months younger than me, which made him twenty-four.
“I don’t think her age is the problem. She comes across younger than she is; maybe because she doesn’t have children yet. Anyway, I invited her to the Super Bowl since she’s a massive football fan.”
“Hmmm.” Maximum widened his eyes a little. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing.”
He leaned closer to the camera, and it made his head bigger on the screen. “I’m picking up a weird energy here. Is something going on between you and her?”
“Geez, not you too. Lumi already poked at me. Why is everyone so weird about it? I have hundreds of employees? What’s so special about this woman?”
“I didn’t say there was something special about her. You brought that up. But if you’re inviting her to the Super Bowl, then there must be something about her.”
“No. I tried to give her two tickets, and she was the one who insisted that I come with her.”
“Maybe she has a crush on you.”
Taking off my glasses, I rubbed the spot between my eyebrows. “I doubt that. The tickets were just my way of being nice to someone new in town. It doesn’t mean I fancy her.”
Not unless you count filthy dreams about dominating her in bed.
I shook my head, annoyed about the reminder of my earlier shame, but at least no one would ever know about it. “Maybe I should get some sleep. I have a long day tomorrow.”
“You do that, and thanks for calling. I’ll see you next week in Ireland, right?”
“Yes. Oh, one quick thing; what are you getting Saffron for her birthday?”
“I bought her a doll a few days ago. Survivors of sex trafficking here in the Philippines make homemade toys to fund their school.”
“You’re a fucking saint, do you know that?”
