Page 32 of Atlas
“No.”
He leaned back. “Now, I’m even more curious. What had you so flushed?”
This was my chance to ask him about the research, but I was afraid that my hard questions might sour this perfect day, so I hesitated.
“Just so you know; if you don’t tell me, I’m going to assume you were looking at porn.”
My eyes flew up to meet his. “I wasn’t.”
He just laughed as if it was the funniest thing.
“Here you go.” The waiter placed the coffee, tea, and juice in front of us and left again.
“The truth is,” my tipsy brain spilled out, “I was thinking about the darkness that I sense in you.”
That wiped his grin off his face.
“You’re very polished with your great manners, nice clothes, expensive glasses, stylish haircut, and handsome looks. At first glance, you look perfect, but my intuition tells me that it’s a front.”
“Is that so?” He narrowed his eyes a little.
“Yes. And your quest for all this information about mind control worries me. What is your agenda for wanting all this information?”
He was quiet, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Is it a secret?”
“Yes.”
“But will you tell me if I guess it?”
He didn’t confirm or deny it, so I began guessing.
“Are you a part of a crime syndicate? Does this have anything to do with human trafficking?”
“No!”
“Are you planning to start your own cult and hold power over people?”
He shook his head. “Not in a million years.”
“Are you planning to run for president and want to know how to manipulate and seduce a whole population?”
“God, no.” He met my eyes. “And even if I did, I couldn’t, as I’m not an American citizen.”
“But you could do it in Ireland.”
“Ireland doesn’t have a president.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I assure you that I have no ambition of running for prime minister in Ireland, or England for that matter. My sister wants me to be the CEO of Solver, and I won’t even do that. Being the top person sounds like a horrendous nightmare to me.”
Because of your father?I wanted to ask him straight out, but it would be better if he told me about his past on his terms, so instead, I went with the simple question, “Why?”
“It’s just not my thing.”
“Then what is the research about?”
