“I need to talk to Phillip about this, see what he wants to do.”
This wasn’t defeat yet, but I had a lot of work to do now. My focus had to be absolute if I wanted to come out on top and kick Terratrex’s corporate ass.
Chapter Seventeen
Arthur
At first it was cute that Gwendolyn gave me a robot to help tidy up things around the warehouse.
Then it was annoying. He would try to grab things to put away before I was even done with them.
But now, now I have figured out how to beat the little asshole. I make messes on purpose, he’s obsessed with cleaning them, and I get peace.
On the outside he was a little boxed creature, with a ball at his base that he moved on. He had arms and hands like ours, so he could grab things. He had two LED lights for eyes, which narrowed every time I created chaos for him. He mumbled a bit, not really speaking much. I didn’t know if that was because he couldn’t speak or just didn’t feel like it. He’d come with all sorts of gadgets, fully equipped to handle any mess I could throw at him. Gwendolyn really did a good job with him; most people would probably pay everything in their savings for a robot maid.
He and I had gotten into a weird relationship over the past two days. We were content to just screw with each other as best as we could. He’d vacuum when I was trying to sleep, and I would splatter paint here and there. It was working for now; he seemed to get antsy if there wasn’t anything to clean, and I liked to be left alone while I worked.
Gwendolyn had called yesterday to tell me she was going to be busy with work, and that she would be in the zone, likely to not call or communicate until she was done. I got like that sometimes—I would just be so into my artwork that I forgot the world around me.
But I needed to get out of the apartment and thought she could use a break forced upon her, so I grabbed some Chinese takeout and headed to Griffin Tower, the largest building on the island of Seahill.
The directory was easy to read, and the security had my name on a list of people that were approved to enter the building. I was on the elevator in no time and on my way to greet my lady.
People were staring at me from their cubicles as I walked toward the back office that housed the robot genius. They looked like little meerkats, popping up to study what I was doing, no doubt ready to gossip as soon as I knocked on Gwendolyn’s door.
She answered after three knocks, and I heard the whispers behind me start.
“Arthur? What are you doing here?” Her hair was tied up into a ponytail on her head, and she looked like she had been working out. Her cheeks were pink, and there was a light sheen of sweat on her face.
I raised the bags and grinned.
“I figured you hadn’t eaten, so I’m here to force you into a lunch date with me.”
She eyed the bags, then her gaze moved to the people behind me.
“Sure, come in.” She bit her lower lip nervously and opened the door wider.
She didn’t have to tell me twice; I was in her office in seconds.
“We can eat over here.” She gestured to a couch and table that was off to the side of her very large office. It had to be at least fifteen hundred square feet.
There were tables everywhere, and lots of tools and equipment scattered about. But I will say she was organized about it. There seemed to be a station for everything, with labeled bins, and boxes holding everything she needed.
On one of the tables were these small, Pops-sized stuffed animals.
“Those are your cozy robots?” I asked, and she nodded, digging into the bags I’d set on the table. She arranged the food and then made herself a plate.
“Yep. I’ve been trying to get as many done as I can. Our competitor company has promised ones like mine, but they wanna charge people a lot of money for them. I don’t want that. So, I have to get mine out first. Phillip wanted a trial, so I needed them at the hospitals as soon as possible.” She sounded determined, but also tired. I wished there was some way I could help, but I didn’t know shit about building robots.
“Thank you for bringing me food. I was hungry.” She took a bite of food, and from the look on her face, it tasted amazing.
We ate in silence, something that was comforting, in a way, with her.
The women I used to date had to constantly fill a quiet room with chatter. It was exhausting to keep up with the small talk. Images of Gwendolyn popped into my head like a daydream: us curled on the couch together watching a movie, comfortably silent, just enjoying being near one another and spending quality time together.
“Do you like movies?” The question flew out of my mouth before I thought it through. Maybe her bluntness for saying what she thought was rubbing off on me.
“I do. It helps me relax my mind sometimes.”
“Like the music you have going on here?” The music playing in the room wasn’t classical or something calming. It was like techno, or club music.
“I know it sounds crazy, but the crazier the music, the calmer and more focused I am. It distracts that part of my brain that’s constantly seeking stimulation, so in a way it levels me back to normalcy.” She finished her food and sat back to look around the room, then back at me, observing me in her space.
“Makes sense. Kind of like how Ritalin works for ADHD patients. The drug chemically gives the brain what it wants so you can focus elsewhere.” My cousin had ADHD too; the drug helped him until he figured out a way to handle himself. Yoga helped and drawing. He loved to draw.
She nodded and stood, our lunch date clearly over for now.
“I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks again for stopping by. You’ve helped improve my rep by showing up out there.” She was biting back a grin, and I was so stupid happy that I came. She was teasing me again.
“Might amp up your cool points if you kiss me by the door.” I helped put the trash back into the bag and stood up to see her looking at me.
“Do you wanna come over and watch a movie tomorrow night? I should be done by then, and I would like to hang out with you more. Maybe try exploring things a bit too.” She looked like she’d thought of this before now.
“Explore all you want.” My voice didn’t sound as confident as I wanted it to. In fact, it came out almost like a groan. I wanted her to touch any part of me she wanted. At her pace.
“Sounds good.”
Just as I was about to leave, both of our communicators went off for the Hero Society. Pops and Cora came running out from wherever they’d been and were on her shoulders immediately.
“What’s going on?” I spoke to my cool watch and waited to see where we were needed.
Chapter Eighteen
Arthur
There wasn’t someone in danger, per se, but there had been something going on by the bay, and Phillip wanted me and Gwendolyn to check it out. More people were showing up at the hospital with bad coughs. The only common denominator was they were either at the festival or near that side of the bay in the past twenty-four hours.
Neither of us dressed in our hero gear, since there wasn’t any technical saving to do. Phillip just thought my expertise in water would be helpful, and Gwendolyn’s power for metal, too. Maybe there was something around covered up by the dirt, or in the water itself. Either way, we’d see what we could find.