I waited until Dad opened the door of the van to climb out. He put his arm around me as we walked. Mom rushed ahead.
Chapter Fifteen
Dad paused at the glass door under the Genie Communications logo. Katie and Leo had pulled in, and we waited for them to cross the dark parking lot.
When Dad wasn’t watching, Leo took my hand in his as if to say everything would be fine. Unfortunately, Dad didn’t stay distracted for long, and my hand was swinging solo seconds later.
They put us all in separate rooms. Leo, Katie, and me. The questioning took hours, and I felt like all the moisture had been sucked out of my body by the time they finished. At least I had my father. Leo and Katie didn’t have anybody.
The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. official, a bureaucrat in a blue oxford and tie, wasn’t hostile towards me. He wasn’t exactly nice either.
First he asked me to tell my story in my own words. Everything I said was recorded into a machine in the sparse, white room. Then he asked question after question with a neutral tone. Three coughing fits and a box of Kleenexes later, I thought we were finishing up.
I should have known things were taking a turn for the worse when the man started shifting uncomfortably in his chair and clearing his throat a lot.
“I apologize for the sensitive nature of the next questions,” he said, “but U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. security is of paramount importance.”
I blinked at him.
“Ahem,” he said, with a nervous glance at my father. “Miss Farrelly. I need you to tell us if you and the male genie, Leo, er, um, mated.”
Eew! “No!”
The guy looked relieved. “Okay then. I guess that about does it.”
He didn’t ask about kissing, so I didn’t tell.
Dad’s expression reflected my relief when the man finally told us we could rejoin the others.
I rushed out ahead of him toward the reception area. Mom still had her cell phone to her ear, talking a mile a minute. Dad walked over and put his arm around her. She relaxed into him.
Katie sat rigidly on the very edge of the sofa.
“Leo’s still back there?” I asked.
“Yes. He must be exhausted,” she said with a glance at the clock.
“They’ve finished with me. How much more could he have to say?” He wasn’t telling them about the kiss, was he? Oh no.
Katie jumped up suddenly, a huge grin on her face. “Joe!”
I turned to find Leo and a shorter, older man coming quickly down the hall.
Leo had dark smudges under his eyes but his face was lit with joy.
A wave of relief swept over me. His father was saved.
Katie rushed into Joe’s arms with a sob.
I blinked back a tear. Leo stepped around them and I waited for the hug I so badly needed. Instead, he stopped awkwardly in front of me and glanced at my parents.
“How bad was it?” he asked, reaching out and touching my hand with one finger. My parents couldn’t see from that angle.
“I’m glad it’s over,” I said, almost choking on the words as I realized my time with Leo was also almost over. “How about you?”
“Not too bad.” He grinned. “And they’ve released my father.”
“That’s great,” I said, matching his smile.
“Dad,” Leo said, interrupting the reunion with Katie. “This is the girl I told you about. Jen.”
Joe pulled away from Katie and turned to me. He wore a Genie Communications t-shirt and sweats. I didn’t want to think about what they’d done to his clothes while he was here.
Katie blotted at the tears running down her face.
Leo’s dad smiled, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He held out his hand. “Jen. I cannot thank you enough for helping me and my son.”
I shook his hand. It was colder and harder than Leo’s.
“I’m glad I could help.” I checked over my shoulder to make sure my mother hadn’t heard. She’d interpret my response as “glad to betray my mother’s trust for a stranger.”
My father came over to meet Leo’s dad. “Congratulations, Mr. Fuller. I’m glad your unwarranted incarceration is at an end.”
“I’m so glad that Leo found a friend like Jen,” Joe said.
“Yes,” my dad said without enthusiasm. “It’s too bad that they’re forbidden from seeing each other.”
His message was clear, and Leo’s father nodded.
I shot Leo a helpless look. His eyes flashed with anger.
Mom walked over, closing her flip phone. She gave us a weak smile. She’d long ago chewed off all of her lipstick. “Everyone’s free to go. The Oversight Committee will have decisions on Jen and Leo’s misbehavior tomorrow morning. They’ve put Max in a cell, and he’ll be returned to eternal rest after a hearing.”
She turned to Katie. “I’m afraid they may want to talk to Serena. Until then, you’re restrained from telling her anything.”
“She’ll be worried sick,” Katie said.
“She thinks Max called her and told her he wouldn’t see her until tomorrow,” Mom said.
“Thank you,” Katie said.
“Serena wasn’t involved in any of this?” Joe asked.
“No. We probed Max’s mind. It looks like Serena, besides being a beauty and an academic, just happens to be the last living descendant of his long lost love.” She shrugged. “He says he couldn’t help himself. He framed Joe when he realized they’d be at The Summit together.”
“I can see why he fell in love with Serena, she was the perfect woman for him.” Katie reached for Joe’s hand. “But framing Joe just to keep his secret hidden...” She shook her head with disbelief.
Mom took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “We all need some rest. We’ll talk to you in the morning.”
The ride home was tense. It was almost midnight and the streets were nearly deserted.
“Mom, I still have a question. Is Richard Williams really just a cell phone employee?”
“You heard me on the phone?”
“I thought he might be involved.”
“He’s the brother-in-law of a senior staffer. Williams was a buffoon. We were weighing the harm he could do to the cell phone business against the time it would take to prepare the senior staffer for the fallout from his wife about her brother.”
“Oh.”
“It was a family drama thing that we didn’t want impacting us.”
“Mom, did I get you into trouble?”
“Probably,” Mom said in a tired voice. “Breaking into my office does not make me look good. And consorting with a male genie reflects poorly on me as well.”
“Did I get you fired?” Mom would never forgive me.
“We’ll find out in the morning, Jen. I’m disappointed that you kept so much from me.” She sighed. “But I can’t argue with the way things turned out. You were instrumental in keeping an innocent man from being banished.”
With a soft thud, I leaned my forehead against the cold van window. I’d helped Leo’s dad, but how badly had I hurt my mom?
Somehow, I slept that night. Maybe I was lucky to have the Karmic cold. Otherwise, I might have spent the night worrying about banishment. Instead, I relived last night over and over in my dreams.
When Mom woke me, I blinked at her. “Is it time to face the O.C.?”
Mom had circles under her eyes. “I just came from there. Get dressed and come downstairs. We can talk about it over breakfast.”
Uh oh. Was this my last meal with my mother?
I jumped up, pulled on a bra and shirt and my baggiest jeans. Then I ran to the bathroom and rushed to follow Mom downstairs.
She stood at the stove making French toast. I liked French toast fine, but for my last meal, I’d rather have had eggs and biscuits. Either this wasn’t my last meal, or Mom was too peeved at me to care that it was my last meal.
I sat at the counter trying to get up the nerve to ask what was happening.
Mom served up the French toast, grabbed the syrup, an
d joined me at the counter.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
“For you, or for me?”
“You, and me.”
Mom closed her eyes for a long moment. Then she opened them. “You aren’t being banished. I didn’t think they would under the circumstances. Your father stayed up all night formulating arguments.” She smiled. “He really is a good advocate. The Directorate indicated that they were relieved you’d unmasked Maximillian before he’d caused more trouble. They are working on developing more safeguards for the Directorate.”
Thank God I wasn’t losing my family. “What’s my punishment?”
“You’re going to be watched closely, Jen.” She studied me for a moment. “You cannot screw up again. You’re also to do about 1,000 hours of community service. As for Leo, you can’t get anywhere near him. The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. will be monitoring all communication into and out of our house. No calls, no emails, nothing.” Her gaze softened. “Jen, you can’t ever talk to him again.”
My throat tightened and I gulped. I’d only known him a week after all. I could live without him just fine. Right?
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you fired?”
Mom smiled so wide she was almost beaming.
“That’s a no?”
“They terminated me from my duties at the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.”
My stomach roiled. “Oh.”
“But they’re letting me continue at Genie Communications. I’ll be working full time on the work I love.”