Page 95 of Bound By Stars
Sabine steps into the elevator, spins to face me, and takes in a long, exasperated breath. “My dear, I know you must be accustomed to theft and deceit back on Earth among your kind, but I run an honest company.”
“Honest enough to have produced my bot behind my back.” The elevator doors start to close, and I grab the edge. “You sent your son to get the specs and get my hopes up, just so you could, what? Tank my presentation and send me back to Earth withmy kind?”
“Do you not read?” She stares back at me with tight lips and pinched eyebrows.
This woman knows I can program. But she thinks I can’t read? Her prejudice transcends logic.
She exhales again, uncrossing her delicately bony arms and pulling the paper-thin glass tablet from her pocket. “It was all in your letter, Ms. Fleet. Your design was chosen, which means per the contest agreement thatyousigned, the ILSA project is to be produced by Dalloway Technologies and finished by you and a Dalloway-appointed team on Mars. You failed to provide plans on Earth like you were required to. Thankfully, we were able to finish production on the ship with the plans Jupiter drew on his computer, which is connected to the company network. The presentation is a formality, publicity. Your compensation has already been processed. I owe you nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
She taps the screen one final time and slides her finger over the surface, turning it toward me. It’s a financial record.Paid to Weslie Fleet.So many zeroes. My hand slips from the elevator door.
Sabine catches it before it slides shut. “You want the truth? You created an excellent product. You deserved to win the contest. You might even deserve the life-changing benefits being awarded to you. But you willneverdeserve my son. Jupiter is too softhearted to see it, but you could not possibly fathom the life he’s destined for, and I will not allow a minor dalliance to hold him back.”
My body feels heavier. My mouth wired shut. The silver doors clamp together between us.
Without thinking, I move my feet. One trudging step at a time. I didn’t read the letter before it burned. I have a whole life set up on Mars that I didn’t know about. And that means…maybe Jupiter wasn’t playing me. Maybe it was all real. Maybe Asha was right. I’m wasting time. If I got off this ship right now, would I regret the time we could have had? My feet move faster and faster until I’m running.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jupiter
Six days to Mars
The porters are starting to check the time at regular intervals. I think I heard one sigh, but I’m not leaving until lunch hour is officially over at three. Curran and Tar left the table nearly an hour ago. I’m one of only two passengers still here at the tail end of meal service. I still have four minutes.
Bouncing my knees, I stare at the door. Weslie loves food and hates showing up at dinner. There’s no way she’ll skip lunch. And when she shows up, I’ll convince her to talk to me. Catch her in a good mood and get her to listen.
Slurping carries through the dining room from the other remaining passenger, an older man with a thin white mustache who’s been reading his tablet and loudly drinking coffee for the last hour. Without the lunch rush, I can hear every long sip.
The sound of footsteps brings me to my feet. I fall back into my chair when Skye jogs through the open door dressed in leggings and running shoes. The afternoon light setting shines off her deep brown skin, and she pats her forehead with the towel hanging around her neck before grabbing a plate.
I don’t know why I expected this plan to work. Even if Weslie came in, she probably wouldn’t talk to me. She did look at me in the agricultural bay without rolling or narrowing her eyes. It’s not a lot, but it’s progress. Two minutes left. My eyes shift back to the doors.
Skye slams her plate down on the table next to me.
My heart leaps into my throat and I fumble the meat-filled pastry that bounces off her plate and over the edge of the table.
“Jupiter Dalloway. If you want that girl, you’re going to have to do something about it, because she’s too damn stubborn to come to you.”
“What?” It takes a few extra seconds to process her words, shaking off her intense focus.
“You can’t just sit here and hope she’s going to show up and forgive you.”
I cross my arms. “I wasn’t—”
“Yes, you were. Because you’re patient. And I love that about you…usually. This time it doesn’t cut it. We only have six days left on this ship.”
I shift in my seat. “I can’t force her to talk to me.”
“But you can keep trying to get her to listen.”
“I don’t even know what to say. What if you and I can’t get out of this? What about my mom? What about—”
Skye grips my shoulder, staring me straight in the eyes. “It’s a verbal business agreement. It’s not like we’re bound by law. And forget your mom. She’ll get over it.”
Someone else comes through the doors. I sit up straighter.
