by Lily Menon
“Three hundred thousand! A million!” her dad said, totally missing the point. “Those seem like tremendous numbers. The article said he hadn’t even been in business a full year yet.”
Annika sighed, letting her head loll on the back of her chair so she could stare up at the ceiling, where she’d strung twinkling lights. “Those numbers aren’t that astronomical. Anyway, Dad, you’re missing the point.”
She heard the smile in his voice. “And what’s that?”
“That Hudson’s a brash, boastful, condescending supervillain.”
Her dad made a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a snort. “Supervillain, huh? Things must be bad.”
Annika forced herself to mentally chronicle all the good stuff in her life. Health, friendships, father, a nice place to live, a business she loved. “No,” she said, meaning it. “Things aren’t so bad. I love this phase of Make Up, when we’re collecting new data and everything feels rife with possibility.”
“Excellent,” he said, but Annika could tell he had to make an effort to sound enthusiastic.
She’d wished so many times that her father would show the same level of eagerness for Make Up as he would if she were telling him about a surgery she’d performed, or a cadaver she’d dissected. It was the one sticking point in their relationship—he simply refused to see that Make Up was her passion, her baby, something she’d created from absolutely nothing, a dream she’d concocted from thin air.
She stifled the disappointment and said lightly, “You don’t really think it’s excellent, but that’s okay.”
“No, I do. It’s just that—”
Annika frowned. “Just that what?”
“I think you could be so successful as a doctor, Ani. A real doctor.”
She set her wineglass down and hugged her knees to her chest. “Dad, you don’t know that. I could kill people. I could be one of those doctors they profile on the news with a catchy nickname like Dr. Death. I bet you wouldn’t think Dr. Make Up was so bad then.”
“But how do you know that when you haven’t even given it a chance?”
She glowered at her phone. “Well, I guess we’ll never find out.” There was a beat of silence before she added, “Good night, Dad. I’m going to bed.”
“Okay. Good night, Ani. Pluto.”
And just like that, her shoulders relaxed, the hurt and disappointment seeping out of her. “Pluto.”
“Pluto” was what they said to each other instead of “I love you.” It had become a thing because Annika’s mom apparently used to say she didn’t just love Annika’s dad “to the moon and back,” but “to Pluto and back,” because that was much, much farther. Eventually they’d honed the phrase down to just “Pluto.” And then when Annika came along, her dad said they would say it to her, too, though she had no memory of her mom. Now “Pluto” was a link connecting her and her dad, a way for them to signal, “Hey, you’re all I have in the world. And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Annika set her phone down and sighed. Her dad’s “Pluto” had put everything in perspective. He might not be perfect, but when she spoke to him, she felt like she belonged somewhere. She didn’t need to look out at the city lights to remind herself she was here, that she mattered to someone in some way.
Annika padded back into her apartment in her socked feet, turning out the lights she always left blazing, a facsimile of warmth. After she got ready for bed, she snuggled under her covers and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow, she’d—
Her eyes flew open. A Hudson memory popped into her head without her permission—his warm hands encircling her waist, his fingers pressing into her bare back.
She turned the other way, pushing him out of her head. She must be way more tired than she’d realized if she was thinking of Hudson Craft in bed.
Think about … a nice, peaceful stream. Trees waving in a gentle breeze.
The way he’d whispered her name in her ear, sending goose bumps rushing down her arms. How he’d nipped at her earlobe, her neck, her shoulder … how he’d pushed her against the wall and pinned her arms above her head …
Her forehead was damp with sweat now, and her mouth had gone dry. She squirmed in her bed, her clothes suddenly too constricting, too abrasive. She wanted to feel the warm air on her bare skin, to feel his hands on her again—
Stop it.
Annika lay there, panting in the dark. Her hand slipped to the waistband of her shorts.
Fuck. This was a problem.
* * *
The next day, Annika arrived at work at seven in the morning to prepare for Colin’s arrival. The building was still quiet and almost completely empty; the security guard barely glanced up from his cup of coffee as Annika zipped her card through the turnstile reader. Once she let herself into the office, she kicked off her pumps and paced the carpeted floor in bare feet, watching the tops of the buildings turn pink as the sun seeped into the sky.
Tracing her fingers along the MAKE UP: HAPPILY EVER AFTER, REDUX sign, the metal cool against her skin, she smiled and walked to her desk to review the questions she needed to ask Colin.
June came in at eight, right after Annika finished her morning meditation. “I see we’re going for yin and yang again today,” Annika said, gesturing to June’s metallic, zebra-print dress and hot pink pumps.
“I like the all-black look,” June replied, putting her purse in the closet and running her eyes over Annika’s silky shirt and pants. “Especially with that turquoise statement necklace.”
Annika smoothed her hands over her thighs. “Thanks, Junebug.”
“So, I was thinking that after the appointment I could review the last learning layer we added to OLLI. The aggression detection algorithm is still a little off.”
Annika perched on the edge of her desk, phone in hand. “You know, I was doing some reading and I think the problem might actually be in a higher-order layer. I have some ideas about that. I’ll post them on the bug tracker today.”
“All right. I’ll take a look—maybe it’ll shake something loose.” June adjusted her Princess Leia Funko and turned on her laptop. Then, a little too casually, she added, “Ziggy texted me last night.”
Annika lowered her phone. “Really? What did he say?” She paused. “Wait. How did he even get your number?”
June’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I saw him in the parking garage on my way out. I might’ve given it to him.”
Annika raised an eyebrow that June didn’t see, since she was steadfastly clicking around on her laptop. “Right. So what did he say?”
June shrugged, her eyes still glued to the screen. “Just that he was looking forward to seeing me Thursday at the networking event. And then we talked some tech stuff. He’s Hudson’s developer, you know, so we have a lot in common as far as that goes.”
“June.”
“What?”
“June.” Annika waited until June finally met her eye. “He’s the enemy. Remember?”
“No, Break Up and Hudson are the enemies,” June said, leaning back in her chair. “And I do remember that. It’ll be good! I can keep an eye on Kingdom Break Up from the inside.”
Annika sighed. “I’m worried it might get a little awkward once you’ve broken it off, though. We work down the hall from the guy.”
“I won’t let it get awkward!” June shot back, affronted. “I’m a pro, Annika. When we’re done, Ziggy will think it was all his idea.”
Annika smiled and hopped off her desk. “Okay, then. In that case, I hope Ziggy turns out to be a fun distraction.”
June rolled her eyes. “Lord knows we could both use one of those.”
They laughed and got to work preparing for Colin McGuire.
* * *
“Wow. That was amazing.” June sat on the edge of Annika’s desk once Colin, a tall, reedy guy with a gap between his two front teeth, left. “It’s such a thrill to see decision trees forming in real time.” She patted her laptop. “Good old OLLI. He’s
really comin’ along.”
Annika grinned. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, right? I can’t wait till we’re done with this prototype phase. Maybe we can reach back out to UCLA for more beta te—”
Deep voices in the hallway made Annika look out her glass doors, only to see Hudson Craft outside, smirking at her as he spoke to someone. She gasped. “What’s he doing talking to Colin?”
June followed her gaze. “Uh oh. I don’t know, but you better get out there.”
They speed-walked into the hall, just in time to hear Hudson say as he held out a business card, “I’m just saying. Do you know what the likelihood is of them actually getting that thing off the ground? About one in two million. Meanwhile, Break Up’s already been downloaded a million times. Three hundred thousand people have used our services. You’re in college, right?”
Poor Colin just nodded, bewildered.
“Thought so. Here’s my card. You’re gonna need it.” He looked at Annika as he said it, and she got the distinct impression it wasn’t so much that he needed to poach Colin for his million-dollar business but that he just wanted to get under her skin.
Well, mission accomplished.
Wedging herself between Hudson and Colin, Annika snatched the business card out of Hudson’s hand, ignoring the flutter in the pit of her stomach when his fingers grazed hers. “What do you think you’re doing?” She tried not to let too much vitriol seep into her tone in front of Colin, who looked confused. Turning to him, she pasted on her calm, professional smile. “Why don’t I walk you to the elevator?” she said, one hand on his shoulder. “And rest assured, I’m going to talk to security about panhandlers accosting people in the halls.” She darted Hudson a dirty look. He shrugged lazily, looking not the tiniest bit bothered.
Once Colin was securely on the elevator, Annika rounded on Hudson, who was now leaning against the wall, his green eyes intent on her. June had her arms crossed and was glaring at him.
“So it’s not enough that you stole my idea, you have to poach my volunteers, too? You have absolutely no shame!”
Hudson pushed off the wall and walked close to her, close enough to block out the light, close enough that he was looking straight down at her. She could smell his cologne, something light and fresh and masculine. His expression was now serious, and Annika felt her pulse thrum at her throat.
“No, you’re right, Ms. Dev,” he murmured, those eyes suddenly searing into hers, his previous casualness gone. “It really sucks when people screw you over.”
She didn’t break eye contact, even though her breath was catching at his proximity, at the tension in the air between them. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t make a habit of screwing people.”
The charged air shifted, changed. A corner of Hudson’s mouth lifted, though his eyes remained intense. “Don’t you? Because I remember differently.” His voice was deep, growling, husky.
Her stomach fluttered, and her mind went blank. For a long moment, she was captive, unable to look away. Her fantasy from last night flitted into her mind, caressing her with its butterfly wings. In her darkened bedroom, this is what she’d thought about.
Then June cleared her throat.
Annika felt her face flame as she realized June was standing there, staring at the two of them, her eyebrows as high as they could go. Shit.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Annika jerked backward and stalked back into her office.
“See you Thursday!” Hudson called through the glass door.
June came in, still staring as Annika sank onto the settee. “You … you and Hudson?” Her voice approached dog whistle– level pitches. “Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe you’d keep something like that from me!”
Annika massaged her temples. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. It was an impulsive mistake in Vegas, and … it should’ve never happened. You were on that Maui vacation when I got back and then a couple of months later the industry started buzzing about his app and I was too embarrassed to admit I’d slept with someone like him. Someone who had sex with me and then stole my idea, hoping I’d be too infatuated to notice.” Just saying it out loud felt horrible, the worst blow to her pride. “I was hoping it would never come up, but then he moved in next door and he obviously has no plans to let me forget it.”
June sat and put an arm around her. “I’m sorry. That’s … awful. I had no idea you’d hooked up at the conference.”
Annika didn’t correct her. It had felt like so much more than a hookup to her back then, but it was obvious that that was exactly what it had been for Hudson. “Yeah. Not my smartest move.”
June squeezed her shoulder. “We’ve all been there, babe.” After a pause, she asked, “Was he … good?”
Annika glared at her best friend. “June.”
“What? It’s a valid question. I mean, his personality’s crap, but his physique is mm-mmm.” She closed her eyes to demonstrate her appreciation. “But what’s his skill level?”
“Can we not talk about this?”
June raised a shapely eyebrow. “That good, huh?”
Annika groaned and walked to her computer. “I’m going to get to work now. Don’t you have that aggression algorithm to fix?”
“You know what you need?” June said from the settee, as if Annika hadn’t spoken. “A date. A really nice, handsome, funny guy to take you out and make you feel special. How long has it been since you’ve had sex, anyway? Has there been anyone since Hudson?”
Glaring at her friend, Annika put in her earbuds and turned her music as loud as she could stand it.
chapter five
Thursday came too quickly. Annika was keenly aware that she’d spent much of the previous night tossing and turning. She’d tried all her usual insomnia remedies—write down what you’re anxious about, count sheep, listen to soothing music. At one point, she’d gotten out of bed to do some stretching, but she couldn’t even complete one asana before she was stewing over Hudson’s big event and how he was sure to show off about his hundreds of thousands of breakups and his hot models and his free booze and how much of a loser she’d feel like when everyone in the building except her and June was completely won over by his charm.
And … maybe talking with June had shaken things loose, but she couldn’t help but ruminate again about the Hudson she’d known in Vegas, and the Hudson she was seeing now. There was something about him she couldn’t put her finger on. He seemed to want to tease her and be in her space at the same time as she felt a distance from him, a hardness that she didn’t remember being there before.
In Vegas he’d been … sweet. Down-to-earth. Funny. Had his success changed him that much? And then Annika was tumbling headlong down the Vegas rabbit hole, each memory like a slideshow that wouldn’t quit.
She remembered Hudson telling her about his parents. They didn’t have high school educations, but seeing the fire inside him, they’d given him every opportunity to succeed. They were determined their youngest son would make it. He’d shared with Annika his idea for an app that could help fine artists visualize their projects on the screen before they began. She’d been his sounding board. She’d even given him ideas about how to make it stronger.
And it had all been a giant lie.
He’d been waiting for her to drop morsels of her own as-yet-unformed idea for a dating app that could bring exes together with a touch of a button, and then he’d stolen and bastardized it. All the mind-blowing sex and vulnerable sharing had been intended to turn her head, to make her trust him even more—which it had accomplished, of course.
But she had to go to his event, because if she didn’t, she’d feel even worse. She’d wonder if she’d done all she could for Make Up, especially with Mr. McManor’s threats looming over her.
Annika got out of the nest of her bed, with its extra-large comforter and six fluffy pillows, shut off the alarm that hadn’t rung yet, and walked to her bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. Afterward, she picked out a killer outfit that alway
s made her feel confident and calm: a teal mermaid-style skirt, a pale coral-colored eyelet shirt, and ballet flats. Annika nodded to herself in the mirror. Bags under her eyes or not, she could do this. She would do this.
* * *
Clutching her daily cinnamon dolce latte, Annika walked through the cavernous parking garage. She was only vaguely aware of a woman in a business suit pulling a briefcase from a silver convertible, until a man she’d never seen before approached the woman in a Break Up T-shirt and jeans. Annika slowed down to make sure the woman would be okay. She saw her look up at the guy and frown slightly.
The guy said, “Heather Formley?”
The woman nodded.
“I’m a terminator with Break Up. I’ve been sent by Yuri Trent to tell you he’s done with your relationship and is no longer interested in couples therapy. There is no hope of reconciliation. Please don’t try to call him or show up at his house. He’ll have your Hello Kitty pajamas and your electric toothbrush delivered via FedEx within the week.” The guy handed the woman a business card, turned on his heel, and walked off, entering something into his phone as he went.
The woman—Heather—hadn’t said a word. It wasn’t until the guy was out of the parking garage that she said, “Wait!” But of course, it was too late by then. The “terminator” couldn’t even hear her anymore.
Annika walked up to her. “Hey. Can I do anything for you? I saw what happened. It was…” She shook her head.
Heather turned to her, her face a mask of bewildered shock. Her leather briefcase hung limply from one hand, the business card from the other. “What—what was that? What just happened?”
“Your … boyfriend? Yuri?”
Heather nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been going out a year.”
Annika tried not to wince. She kept her voice gentle as she said, “Yuri hired this company called Break Up to break up with you. They’re like Uber Eats or DoorDash, but with breakups instead of food. That person was one of their drivers. Look at the business card he gave you.”
