by Hayes, Sadie
Amelia looked at the woman’s reflection in the mirror, her hands still under the running water. “What for?” she asked cautiously.
“For putting us on the map,” the woman said, her eyes focused on her mouth in the mirror, carefully drawing the deep red to the edge of her top lip. She puckered a few times to settle the lipstick, and then she turned to face Amelia and stuck out her hand. “I’m Violet.”
Amelia studied the woman. She couldn’t tell how old she was. She could have been twenty or thirty-five. Her wardrobe was too sophisticated for college, but her skin had the flawless glow of a teenager. Amelia shook her hand but didn’t introduce herself. Violet obviously knew who she was.
“What do you mean?” she asked instead.
“I mean, before this, no one knew a thing about RemoteX. We weren’t even invited to the conference. We snuck inside the day before, pretending to be hotel staff, and added our booth to the expo floor. Now, though, when people leave, all they’re going to be talking about is RemoteX. Doreye and RemoteX. Money can’t buy the kind of publicity you just got us.”
“But they think you’re dishonest. My brother figured out how you cheated. We exposed you.”
Violet smiled. “They think RemoteX is dishonest for now. But give me a week, maybe two, and the story will change. Besides, any press is good press.”
Amelia was looking at her suspiciously.
“I knew you’d never figure it out in time,” Violet said. “Your brother, however, I underestimated. He’s not as naïve as you. There’s real potential in Adam Dory.” She smiled at Amelia, but Amelia didn’t seem to register.
“You see, your problem is that you assume people are good. Despite all that you’ve been through, in your happy world people are incapable of acting selfishly or maliciously. You never even thought to consider that I might have done something to mess up your presentation. Instead, you worried that you’d messed up something.”
Amelia stared at Violet in silence, studying her warily. Violet shrugged it off with a laugh.
“Look at me like that all you want.” She turned back to the mirror and touched her hair to pull it into place, dropped her lipstick into her purse and snapped it shut. “Not all of us are cute little orphans with Tom Fenway in our back pocket. Some of us have to make things happen.”
“See you around, Amelia.” She waved as she walked out the door. Amelia watched her leave through the reflection in the mirror.
CHAPTER 20:
Speech!
Chad’s hands were clammy and his cheeks were a deep crimson. He’d been standing at the altar for fifteen minutes. The string quartet had repeated Bach’s “Air on the G String” three times, waiting for the cue to switch to the processional music so the wedding could begin.
Chad felt everyone staring at him, looking for his expression. People were discreetly checking their watches and iPhones. The wedding was supposed to have started already. Why wasn’t anyone making an announcement?
Chad tried to push away his worry and focus on how beautiful everything was. The guests were assembled on the lawn at the Hibiscus Grove, under a white canopy tent. The grass had been trimmed to the length of a putting green so as not to catch on women’s heels. The curved, dark redwood altar was covered in white lilies—Shandi’s favorite—and looked out onto the ocean where the high sun was gleaming over the water. Quiet bamboo fans whirred over the three hundred guests, all seated in cushioned white folding chairs. The aisle between his family’s side and hers was sprinkled with white rose petals. His eyes followed the aisle down to the French doors of the hotel’s side terrace, through which, he was sure, the ushers would soon be guiding his mother to the front row so that the ceremony could start and he could marry Shandi.
His eyes strained to see past the doors. Where was Patty? Where was anyone? Craig, his best man, leaned over to him. “Don’t worry, man,” he said, “The longer you have to wait, the better the sex will be tonight.” Chad forced a smile, appreciating Craig’s clumsy effort to cheer him up.
The crowd turned at the sound of the doors pushing open. Finally! Chad jumped, looking anxious.
But it wasn’t Patty, or Shandi, or the ushers. It was…T. J. Bristol.
Chad hadn’t known T. J. that long, but in all their encounters he’d never seen him at all un-composed. Yet here was T. J., his clothes a mess, his hair disheveled, with a distraught look on his face. From his spot at the altar, he saw T. J.’s chest rising and falling in deep breaths, like he’d just finished a sprint.
T. J. ran midway down the aisle and stopped, looking up at Chad with eyes full of concern and opened his mouth to speak.
EPILOGUE
From: Ted Bristol, [email protected]
To: Adam Dory, [email protected]
Subject: Great Meeting You
Hi Adam,
I hope you enjoyed crashing the wedding! Did you stick around long enough for all the drama? Poor Ron Hawkins had about five heart attacks.
Am leaving Maui tomorrow, but would love to grab another scotch with you when we’re back in the Bay Area. Don’t worry—it’s on me. I’m impressed with what you’re doing with Doreye and can tell you’re very driven. I’m an excellent judge of character.
Shoot me an email. I’m looking forward to it.
Ted
“Sir, I don’t want to tell you again. Turn off all electronic devices.” The stewardess’ aggravated tone startled Adam, who was glued to his iPhone. He glanced up, gave a slight smile and apologized.
“Adam, it’s a real threat,” Amelia sighed, “The signals that the 3G network gives off can interfere with communication and flight control devices in the cockpit. Your phone could endanger everyone on this flight!”
She brushed her hair away from her glasses as she glared at Adam. It had been a rough couple of days and she was exhausted, ready to head back to Palo Alto.
“What’s the email, anyway? Good news? You’re smiling.”
With a swipe, Adam saved the email message before shutting down his phone.
“It was nobody, Amelia. Just spam.”
Author’s Biography
Sadie Hayes holds several degrees from Stanford University. She has spent years working in the tech industry, both as an entrepreneur and as an investor. The Anti-Social Network is the second episode in her new series: The Start-Up. If you work in Silicon Valley, you might not know Sadie Hayes. But she knows you.
Follow Sadie: www.twitter.com/DigitalSadie
www.Doreye.com
Want more of The Start-Up?
Episode 4: Reverse Engineering
Coming Soon!
Stay in touch with Sadie and The Start-Up series at:
www.Doreye.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Author’s Biography
