Elemental Pleasure (10 page)

Charles nodded. “We might need to ra
ndomize it, otherwise groups might
find a way to manipulate the game, if they know it’s an aggregate.”

“And you know they would.” Carly picked up her laptop. “That sounds good.”

“I’ll do a first pass.”

“Send it to me when you’re done.”

Charles saluted her. “Aye, aye, Capitan.”

Carly smiled and left the testing room. As she walked to her office, she nodded to everyone. She knew most of their
names, but Nexus Six had grown. S
he was always
both horrified and delighted
it had reached the point
where
it was big enough that she didn’t know everyone.

Shelly, Carly’s executive secretary, sat at a glass and steel round desk in the center of a bright atrium. Carly, the CFO and
the
COO all had offices off the atrium. Framed copies of their ads and box covers lined the curved walls.

“Carly, we might have a problem,” Shelly said.

“What?”

“Security has two men downstairs. They said they’re here to meet with you, but they’re not on your schedule. I checked and you’ve never met with either of them before. Security let them up because they’ve got solid credentials. Dave said he didn’t want to turn them away in case they were here for something not on the schedule.”

Two men
.

“What are their names?”

“Preston Kim and Lance Glassco.”

“Let me see.”

Shelly turned her computer monitor around. The feed from the lobby security camera showed Preston lounging on a couch, staring at his phone, while Lance stood, one hand clasping the opposite wrist behind his back as he examined some of the framed articles and photos on the wall.

“Send them up.”

Shelly’s brow
s
rose. “Really?”

“Yes. I…met them in Boston. I might bring them on as consultants.”

Shelly nodded, and Carly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t owe Shelly an explanation, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

“Let me know when security gets them up here.”

What she had to say to them was going to be said in private.

*****

Lance glanced around, taking in everything, as a security guard led them to Carly.

This was her company?

He needed to re
-e
valuate his understanding of her. Preston had explained what he knew about her over drinks. Lance wasn’t a fan of story-based games, as he preferred things with patterns and clear ways to win, but he’d heard of Nexus Six.

He hadn’t fully understood exactly how important the games she made were, or how important she
was, until Preston
pulled up articles about her and her company on his phone. According to Preston, she’d revolutionized modern gaming and developed an entirely new kind of technology.

The company had offices with security to rival a military base. It had taken them an hour just to get onto the grounds, and they’d only managed that because they’d both handed over their business cards. The guard had been willing to let someone from DARPA and a fancy scientist onto the property. They’d been passed through two different vehicle checkpoints, then a buzz-in front door, before making it to the lobby, where they heard the guard calling to check on them.

He’d been sure they’d be turned away there, that Carly would have security escort them out, but instead a guard was now leading them deeper into the building. The space was bright and colorful, and unlike any offices he’d ever seen, with toys and comfy furniture everywhere.

“Here you are,” the security guard said, opening the door into a round room.

A large skylight illuminated the space, and a pretty woman sitting inside a round glass desk looked up when they stepped in.

“Preston Kim, Lance Glassco?”

“Yes,” Preston answered.

“Just a moment
and Ms. Kenan will be w
ith you. Can I get you anything? C
offee, tea, juice,
or
water?”

“Water,” Lance said, more curious about how she got out of the desk than he was thirsty.

The woman rose and
pressed both hands down on one section of the desk. It popped down, then slid sideways. She walked over to a shiny black cabinet, then brought him a cold bottle of water before returning to her desk.

Lance shook his head. People liked to say that DARPA had some of the best toys and most advanced technology on the planet, but clearly the private sector had better—and cooler—resources.

They waited almost twenty minutes before the secretary lifted her head. “She’ll see you now.”

The woman led them to one of the many doors in the wall of the round room. She opened it and motioned them in.

Carly was there, though for a moment Lance didn’t recognize her. The woman who leaned against the desk was gorgeous, but in a completely different way from the ultra-feminine, polished woman he’d met in Boston.

She wore dark je
ans, riding low on her hips, and
a tank top printed with the image of a
pixilated
video game character. Expensive headphones hung around her neck, the high-gloss white finish mirroring the gloss on her lips. Her hair was up in a simple ponytail that fell in soft waves down her back. She wore bracelets on both wrists, and they clacked as she unfolded her arms, bracing her palms on the edge of her glass desk.

Lance positioned himself so he could see both her and the door. Now that he was here, he had no idea what to do or say. The woman standing before him radiated power and control. Either he hadn’t noticed that when they were in Boston, or he’d been too aroused
to see much beyond the end of
his dick.

“Gentlemen.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She wasn’t happy to see them. Her eyes were wary and her posture was tight, on guard. Had they done this to her? Given her a reason to fear them? “What can I help you with?”

“You left us.” Lance wasn’t sure where the words came from or why it hurt so much to think about. His gut had been tied in knots ever since he and Preston woke to find her gone two days ago.

“Yes. I left.” Her gaze focused on him. Lance wanted to grab her and kiss her, but he didn’t think that was wise. He couldn’
t be sure, but he suspected
the look on her face—eyes
narrowed, lips curled—meant
she’d as soon bite him as kiss him back.

“Carly, you need to talk to us, not just walk away.” Preston slid one hand into the pocket of his suit pants.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t be a part of this.” Carly’s words were cool. “I plan to ask the Grand Master for different partners. You two shouldn’t suffer any repercussions.”

“So that’s it? You’re backing out?” Lance felt
as if she’d punched him in the stomach. What the hell had they done to make her so angry?

Her cool blue gaze settled on him. “You’re damn right I am. I won’t be some plaything the two of you use to mediate your interactions. I told you I didn’t want that and you ignored me.”

“We didn’t,” Preston insisted, “or at least we didn’t mean to.”

“That woman…the woman I was in Boston is not who I really am, not who I want to be.” She licked her lips and looked away. She took a deep breath. “I’m not weak.”

“That’s not what I, we, thoug
ht you were.”
Jesus.
Weak? Is that how they’d made her feel? Lance ran a frustrated hand through his hair. One of the biggest perks of the Trinity Masters was that he didn’t have to think about this relationship shit. Math was black or
white, right or wrong. Anything
like th
is—that fell into the gray area—left
Lance at a loss for answers.

“I’m sorry if we went too fast. I think we were caught up in the moment,” Preston said.

Luckily for Lance, he had Preston. Right now
,
he needed to fall back and trust t
hat Preston could get them
on solid ground with her.

“Exactly. And in that moment
,
I became some mindless sex toy
who couldn’t think or speak for herself.” She shook her head. “All I cared about was the sex, the pleasure.”

“I don’t understand why that’s a bad thing.” Lance looked at Preston, hoping for a clue as to
what the
problem
was
, but the other man was watching Carly carefully.

“You don’t?” She turned slightly and crossed her arms. It was a protective act, laced with
irritation
. “You don’t understand why I’m upset that only hours after saying I didn’t want to be put between the two of you that’s exactly what happened, and it was so fucking sexy and hot that I didn’t even care?”

Silence fell. Lance knew he shouldn’t be, but he was thinking about how she’d looked as she knelt over him, her pink lips wrapped around his cock.

Mercifully, Preston was there to respond corre
ctly. In a straightforward, one-
man,
one-woman
relationship, Lance was doomed to failure. With Preston as a buffer, there to run interference when Lance fucked up, he might just stand a fighting chance in this threesome.

“So you enjoyed yourself?” Preston asked.

“Of course I
did. I’d have to be dead not to
.”

“Then don’t walk away. Because we,” Preston motioned between them, “are about more than sex
. Do you know what Lanc
e does
for a living
?”

Carly raised a brow,
and then
shook her head.

Lance took a chance, stepping closer to her. He was relieved when she didn’t move away. “I work for DARPA.”

“The military R&D? What do you do?”

“I’m a mathematician.”

Carly’s lips pursed as she lo
oked at
them. “A mathematician for the military, a private sector chemist working on nanotech and a game developer.”

Preston shook his head. “And a woman who created a program that thinks and reacts.”

Lance didn’t understand the point Preston was trying to make. The facts weren’t adding up. “There’s no obvious connection between those things.”

“Yet,” Preston said. “But just imagine what we might discover, might do, if we follow through and accept the Grand Master’s bidding.”

For the first time, Lance understood the magnitude of who they were and what they could be together. The air grew thick with the weight of it.

“What are you suggesting?” Carly asked.

Preston smiled slightly. “Dinner tonight, at my house.”

Carly looked at Lance. “All three of us?”

“Yes,” Lance said. “I’m cooking.”

Carly looked between them, eyes narrowed. “
You’re
co
oking at
his
house?
”

“Yes.” Preston smiled at both of them.

“Something’s different about
the two of you.”

“Lance and I had a chance to get to know and understand each other. We’d like to learn more about you. If you’ll let us.”

She fell silent for a moment, glancing out the window.

Lance looked at Preston. He wasn’t sure, but Lance didn’t think this was going well.

Preston took a step closer to her.
“Give us a chance, Carly. You have every right to be angry with us. We behaved badly, but that doesn’t mean you should leave us.”

“Us?” She look
ed from Lance to
Preston.

Lanc
e nodded
.
“Us.”

An odd little smile crossed Carly’s face. For the first time since they’d entered the room, Lance felt a spark of hope. Maybe all was not ruined. Perhaps they could salvage this yet.

“D
i
nner?” Preston motioned at
himself and Lance. “With us?”

Finally, Carly nodded. “A woman can hardly turn down that offer.”

~~~~

Chapter
Seven

Carly laughed, holding out her wineglass so Preston could refill it. He liv
ed in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights
district in a two-story condo. It was tastefully decorated with bold colors and dark wood. She’d expected steak and potatoes from Lance, but he’d surprised both her and Preston with salmon en croûte, grilled bok
choy and a strawberry and goat
cheese salad.

Carly had
eaten more than she should have
and drunk far too much of Preston’s excellent wine.

After dinner, they retired to the L-shaped lipstick red couch.