“The Masquerade Ball? No. Why would I do that?”
“Yes. Why?” One of the visitors stepped forward. “The charity ball allows us to help so many people every year. People like you. We were so proud when you got your certificate. When Layla hired you.”
“No. No. I did it to help you. Why would you want money from someone who offers free rooms to spoiled royalty?”
The visitor shook his head. “Layla has always done right by us. She has a knack for finding the biggest donors. And she never charges for the use of her hotel. We can’t afford to book another venue if we can even find one on such short notice.”
Layla put her arm around the visitor to keep him steady as he wobbled.
Jim’s face went pale as he looked from Layla to the visitor. “I didn't mean… That can’t be true. I just wanted to help.”
“Without the charity ball, we’ll have to cut courses and reduce staffing. Which means limited openinghours and access to our computers, and less assistance with job applications and résumé building. How does that help?”
“I thought if I stopped her from taking in spoiled royals then?—”
“Then what, Jim?” Layla folded her arms. “I’ve hired over sixty percent of our staff through the Vocational Center. The amount of alleged royalty on the premises at any time makes up ten, maybe twelve percent. And for that, you sabotaged the chance for others to enjoy the services the Vocational Center provided for you. No, Jim. You didn’t think at all.”
Jim's breathing quickened, his voice ragged as he whispered, “What if I can fix it?”
“You?” Layla shook her head. “You’ve caused enough damage.”
I doubted he could fix it. But perhaps I could. The grounding system maintenance scan I’d saved to my internal system should at least give me an idea of where to start.
The readings were a mess. No wonder the outer wall of the ballroom had been brimming with energy. Jim had created a bypass in the grounding system by connecting the grounding outlet beneath the ballroom to the one beneath the plaza. Which explained the fountain glitches and the ones at the café. He must have thought it would disrupt the energy flow in the ballroom. Instead, he’d created a continuous, unpredictable energy leakage that was slowly reaching boiling point.
But he was right. We could still fix it.
I sent the scan to the server and turned to Rick. “I know what he did.”
A chorus of “What?” bounced off the walls.
“The scan I just sent to the server will explain it. If Layla doesn’t mind using her computer?”
“Go ahead.”
Jim seemed to go even paler, but I ignored him. My systemstuttered as I rose to join Rick; sparks went off in my head, and I lost my balance. Arms wrapped around me, lowering me to the couch.
“I’ve got you,” Sam whispered.
“Maybe you should take him to his room,” Layla suggested.
“Not yet. I need to…” My head pounded. Perhaps I underestimated the havoc the glitchy energy had wreaked on my system. I took a breath. “Rick will have questions.”
“Rick certainly does,” Rick said. “But let’s focus on sorting this mess first.”
Chapter Twenty
SAM
standard should do
Layla crossed her arms and stared Adri down. “You’re not going, and that’s final.”
“Sorry, pal. I agree with the boss,” Rick told Adri without taking his eyes off the screen. “You’re not looking good right now. You need to rest before you fry your circuits.”
Adri looked better than he had half an hour ago when he’d almost fainted. He had more color in his cheeks, and he’d stopped trembling. More interestingly, he hadn’t once tried to shake my arms off or move away from me, which had earned me some suspicious smirks from Layla and Riley. I just smirked back and pretended my inappropriate laughter never happened.
“You’ve never installed grounding systems before, which makes me the better choice,” Adri replied. “But you’re right. We can’t afford to wait until my system purges all the glitchy energy. If I go in now, I risk destabilizing the grounding system more than it already is.”
