“What did you think of Alyse?”
“She’s fantastic. She accepted the job offer on the spot. She’s going to bring a lot of experience to the group.”
“I’m glad. Is she nice?”
“Umm… Yes. Did you want me to hire a grumpy person?”
Byte giggled. “Of course not. It’s just weird not knowing any of my employees, except you.”
“Well, maybe someday Dani will visit the place.”
“You know you really tick me off when you call me that, especially around my friends.”
“They know only one side of you, a side that you allow them to know. I am one of the few people who knows the real you. And before you start lecturing me on not knowing you as well as I believe… I see the tween who protected those close to her. I see the moody girl who refused to answer my emails, and I see the fierce woman you’ve become. Danielle, I see you. Today your friends saw you too for the first time. Don’t shut them out. They are good for you. I also see why we could never partner with ALIAS. I know you’ve said it before, but just the fact that the owner talked about killing someone, well, that goes against everything we do. I’m glad I was invited into your secret sanctum, but in the future, let’s just agree that I’ll stay on the legal side of your life.”
“You’re such a nerd. But you are right… about everything. That’s why you’re one of the smartest people I know.”
“Nah, I’m just a smidge under you,” Aaron laughingly said. “Your level of genius is right up there with a criminal mastermind.”
Byte rubbed her hands together and gave him a menacing laugh.
“Now who’s the nerd.”
“Whatever. When is Alyse starting?”
“Next Monday. I think you did good.”
“Is she pretty?”
“Excuse me?” Aaron chuckled.
“You heard me. On paper she’s the perfect match for you.”
“Not every match looks perfect on paper. Sometimes the person we need is polar opposite of ourselves.”
“So you’d want a saint?”
“Are you saying I’m the devil?” Aaron asked.
“No, I’m just trying to understand your reasoning.”
“How many of your friends are dating their peers? Hacker with hacker, assassin with assassin.”
“Ha-ha. All of them. They seem to be successful.”
“But hear me out before you contradict me. If you dated a fellow hacker, how would you know he wasn’t in the relationship merely to learn from you? How would you know if it was competitiveness instead of attraction that drew you together?”
“You’d just have to trust your gut.”
“And worry every day if your gut was wrong. Now, on the flip side, let’s say you date a normal person.”
“Normal. Um, I’m not sure I could do normal.”
“Okay, maybe semi-normal by your standards. Someone who’s not a hacker, assassin, or criminal… just the standard, everyday Joe. There’d be no competition.”
“Nor would there be transparency. There would be a large part of my life that I couldn’t share.”
“Couldn’t or wouldn’t? If you found the right person, they would accept what you do.”