Once my bottom touches the limo's seat, I ask, "What are the men—"
"They're furnishing my office."
"Oh..."
"Show me how social risks are calculated under this model." He extends my laptop to me.
So I spend the entire ride to Cal Tech giving him the mini presentation. "What differentiates this cybersecurity software from others is its ability to accurately gauge human errors and insider threats by simulating social engineering attacks, such as phishing attempts. The software acts as an attacker, analyzing how often specific users on certain IP addresses fall for these tactics. Based on this probabilistic assessment of social risks, it then reassesses and adjusts the level of monitoring required for each user and IP address."
My heart skips a beat at his thinking face—his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed and looking off into the distance. It's the first time I've seen this face. This must be how he is at work. He looks... yummy. The excited screaming in my head makes me press my lips tightly shut to contain it.
He hands me his phone and says, "Show me how it's done."
"I can't, love. I've only prototyped it to work on... Dr. McCoy."
"Your Principal Investigator?"
"Yes. Not shockingly... he's at level two. Average users are expected to be at level four. You're probably at level six. Maybe people like me will be at the highest level—ten."
I chuckle and confess, "Lizz is at level seven. She thinks she's at level nine though... shh..."I expected him to be amused, but when his eyes don't even move, I straighten up. This feels more and more like a business meeting rather than something personal. I can hardly contain my arousal at this new side of him. I slide my knees together, bending my legs to one side, and cast my eyes away, hoping he won't notice.
But instantly, he has me. Eyes shut, I dissolve into him, letting his strength hold me up as his long-awaited lips trace mine, drawing out an "Mmm..."
"Stop distracting me. Let's go," he orders against my cheek.
My mind scrambles to stay focused as he pulls me out of the limo. Lizz hugs her laptop, staring at the ground, waiting silently for me.
"Oh right, Lizz, this is, hmm..."
He lets go of my hand and, in a formal voice I haven't heard in a while, says, "I'm here for your presentation. Please lead the way." He stretches his hand outward in an open, welcoming gesture.
Lizz blushes at his businesslike politeness and takes the lead. I follow, but I steal a glance at him on our way into the Computer Science building. His eyes focus straight ahead, his shoulders back, his stride full of confidence. I'm reminded of how powerful a presence he exudes.
The presentation is a blur for me. Lizz takes the lead as we agreed. I try my hardest not to look at him, but my eyes keep drifting toward where he sits at the head of the conference room's table. Dr. McCoy too sits straighter and more upright than usual next to him. He fidgets in his chair as his eyes keep darting toward Mr. Silence. Lizz too seeks Mr. Silence's approval nod rather than Dr. McCoy's as she moves from slide to slide. I didn't know we had slides. Lizz's voice grows more confident with each of Mr. Silence's nods.
"And to demonstrate, Ace, please do us the honor," Lizz says. I take the remote from Lizz and stand, but as soon as I feel his eyes on me, my legs grow weak. Get it together, Ace! Since when am I nervous presenting? Just another presentation!
I clear my throat and click. The slide shows an email I sent to Dr. McCoy arranging this meeting. He opens it to read. The school's security software failed to detect the phishing link embedded in my email signature, which was disguised as a moving arrow. Dr. McCoy clicks on the arrow, and nothing visibly happens, so he clicks on it four more times. The phishing attack is designed to record how many times he interacts with the link. The table on the slide shows how many times he clicked on each email I sent, demonstrating how often he fell into the trap.
Lizz and I exchange glances. Her widened eyes reflect mine. This is a joke that was privately reserved for Dr. McCoy. Now, we both turn to Mr. Silence. The corner of his lips lifts slightly.
Dr. McCoy's face turns red as he pinches his lips, then releases them, then does it again while continuing to fidget in his chair.
"This is really a—" I start, but I see Lizz shaking her head vigorously from the corner of my eye.
"This is a prototype, so it's... it's..." I try, but I can't get myself to say it.
"Not accurate! We need a lot more testing and debugging. Right, Ace?" Lizz steps in, eyeing me.
I nod hesitantly, unsure if I'm having trouble lying because Dr. McCoy's arrogance pisses me off or because of Mr. Silence's presence. The room falls silent as Mr. Silence leans forward on the table, plants his elbows onto the two spots as if they were marked specifically for him, connects his hands in one smooth motion, and rests his chin elegantly on his connected fingers. Even Dr. McCoy sits still, waiting for his cue.
"Please continue," he says.
I click, hoping there's another slide. The next slide shows Lizzy's email exchanges with Dr. McCoy, containing the same traps. However, instead of a moving arrow, she embeds a left arrow icon that typically signals going to the previous page. I look up at the ceiling. Why did I think this was funny?
"Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this presentation," Mr. Silence says, extending his right hand toward Dr. McCoy.
Dr. McCoy springs to his feet. "O–Of–of course. Thank you for... b–be–being here," he stutters as he shakes Mr. Silence's hand.
"If you would give us the room for a moment, I would appreciate it," Mr. Silence adds.
"Yes! Yes, of course. My pleasure," Dr. McCoy says enthusiastically as he walks backward toward the door. He waves his hand at the door before leaving.
Lizzy and I exchange glances, surprised by the generosity of a man known for his prickly arrogance and unyielding reputation, who never gives anyone a break.
Mr. Silence's blue wallet only has Jason's business cards. He extends one to Lizz and says, "Thank you for presenting. My business associates will be in contact with you shortly."
Lizz's mouth opens and her eyes widen. She looks as perplexed as I feel while taking his card. Then he extends his hand, and she places her hand in his. He squeezes quickly and lets go of the handshake. Taking my hand in his left hand, he leads us out. I glance at Lizz's bewildered face. She searches my eyes for answers I don't have. I'm just as lost as she is about why he's interested in our project.
If I ask, would he tell me this time? Walking down the hallway, he calls the driver and then hangs up. It works because I see the car stop at the entrance.
He lays me down on the limousine's seat and kisses me. "How long before you complete the software?"
"Dr. McCoy and Dr. Cauchy gave us four months before we—"
"You have two weeks." He props my leg up to slide my underwear off.
The zipper comes down as I eagerly spread my legs for him. "What?! But–"
He shoves in, ordering, "I want it in two weeks."