#isHeCheating — Part 5
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His exquisite frame cast a magnificent shadow as he stood at the cafe’s exit. My heart shattered into a million pieces as he stormed away. I lurched up from my chair. Everything inside me screamed to run after him, to accept whatever emotional crumb he was willing to drop. I felt Rico’s cool, scarred hands on mine. I looked into her warm brown eyes and found the strength I needed to stay put.
“It’s hard, I know,” Rico said, “but you need to send the message that treating you like a call girl is not okay.”
I felt a pulse of anger but quickly quenched the emotion. The word ‘call girl’ described my situation perfectly.
“I’ve spent my entire life getting kicked around like a used soda can,” I said, swallowing hard against a lump of emotion at the base of my throat. “When I was with him, I felt special. I mean, he’s John Geary for goodness sakes, and he wanted to be with me. I’ll never forget how people looked at me when I walked into a room with him. It was as though, for the first time ever, I had value. When I’m not with him — .” A large tear rolled down my cheek. “It’s as though I just a piece of trash rolling along the Mission.”
“But you do have value,” Rico interrupted. “Everyone was put on this earth for a purpose. You haven’t figured out your calling yet, but I know you’re not on the planet just to service John Geary.”
“You just don’t understand,” I said. “He has this amazing life — private jets, VIP entrances, and anything he wants. It was so nice just to have a taste.”
“If he weren’t John Geary, would you feel less conflicted about cutting him loose?” Rico asked gently.
I felt as though I’d been punched. “I don’t know, honestly,” I replied.
“What if your last boyfriend was as sporadic with his communication?” Rico persisted. “Would you be as conflicted about letting him go?”
“My last boyfriend was a bartender at the Elbo Room,” I replied. “Beyond free drinks on Saturday night, he really didn’t have much to offer.” My cup of Chai suddenly felt cold in my hands. “I’m going to go,” I said. “Thanks for being there for me.”
“Hey, no worries,” Rico replied, a smile playing about her pouty lips. “We’re all in this together. Just remember, you are valuable and you were put on this earth for a purpose. You just have to figure out what that is.”
“Yeah, well,” I said as I rose from my seat. “That’s easier said than done.”
“Take care,” Rico said after giving me a hug. “I’ll see you next week.”
The dull ache in the center of my heart throbbed as I stepped out into the darkness. Normal life swirled around me as I walked down the gritty sidewalk. Hustlers called out from doorways. Well-dressed people hurried down the sidewalk ignoring the offers. The neon signs of the Elbo Room bar beckoned to me. I decided to answer the call. Tonight was a good night to get drunk.
The sound of angry car horns erupted into the night. I quickened my pace. Like an apparition he was there. I involuntarily licked my lips as I drank in his appearance. He’d shed his jacket and tie. The top button on his crisp white shirt was unbuttoned. My fingers itched to finish that job.
The car horns blared louder, swelling in volume as more joined in song. “Dude,” I said, pointing to the Mercedes as it blocked an entire lane of the congested street. “Your car…”
“I’ve hurt you,” he said quietly.
“It’s really no big deal,” I said, trying to sound light. “I’ll get over it.”
“Please,” he requested, his eyes dark like hot chocolate. “At least let me give you a ride home. It’s the least that I can do.”
An epic battle raged inside. I missed him. I longed for him. I wasn’t sure I had the inner strength to walk away. He smiled that killer smile. It took everything I had not to hurl myself into his arms.
“Please get in the car,” he repeated.
Everything disappeared from my circle of consciousness as I weighed one choice against the other. I couldn’t shake the horror movie vibe. I’d heard about how bad things happened when John Geary didn’t get his way. Maybe I should jump in the car. No need to make a powerful enemy. Besides, a ride back to my place would be nice. No, I decided, because it wouldn’t just be a ride. He’d insist on walking me to my door and then coming inside. There was a reason why the relationship ended. I didn’t trust him. Period.
“I’m good,” I said, “but thank you for the offer. Another time, perhaps.”
My legs felt heavy as I changed direction and began navigating toward my apartment. Within seconds, the red Mercedes was rolling along beside me, the hinged door opened skyward.
“Get in.” The tone of his voice was low and dangerous.
I shoved my quaking fists into my pockets. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t trust you.”
My heart pounded as I sprinted down the sidewalk. The Mercedes effortlessly kept up, creeping along amidst the swelling car-horn chorus.
I heard the gunning of a separate engine. The window of a yellow Mini Cooper rolled down. Rico’s head popped out.
“Need a ride?” she called out.
Without a further look at the Mercedes, I hurried into the oncoming traffic and jumped into the car.
“Great timing,” I said as I clicked the seat belt into place.
“I had a gut-feeling that Mr. Geary wasn’t about to go away that easily,” Rico said as we zoomed onto the highway. “I figured I’d see if you needed a lift.”
An energetic bassline thudded though the speakers as Eminem rapped about Warren, Michigan. I watched through the window as the bright lights of San Francisco surrendered to the inky blackness of the Pacific Ocean.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Rico confessed. “I guess I’m sort of driving on auto pilot. I’m going home.”
Her hands trembled as they grasped the steering wheel. I realized that standing up against a Goliath like John had scared Rico silly.
“Thanks for helping me,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, you’re worth it,” she replied. “So here’s what I’m thinking. Since we’re already on the way, would you like to stay with Linden and I tonight? Might be good to be in a place where he cannot find you.”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” I said. “Honestly, I really wasn’t looking forward to going home to smashed glass, mutilated roses — and him.”
“A little salt water and sea breeze will do you good,” Rico joked.
The multi-lane highway morphed into a small road that snaked along the jagged coastline.
“Welcome to Half Moon Bay, California,” Rico said as we drove past a darkened restaurant. “Where life shuts down after 10 pm.”
Small fishing boats floated serenely on the harbor water serenaded by the pulse of a lonely foghorn. Up ahead, a beach house reached skyward from its ocean perch.
“My grandfather owns the house,” Rico explained as the Mini’s tires crunched against the sand-covered driveway. “It’s been in the family for years and its where the women in our family languish until they find a husband.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.
“Not kidding,” Rico said as the car pulled to a stop. “In our family, being single after the age of 25 is cause for major alarm. Unfortunately, my sister Linden is currently in the cross hairs. She’s dating one of San Francisco’s most eligible bachelors. He’s made it clear that he’s willing to pull the trigger, but she’s not so sure.”
The wooden steps creaked their protest as we ascended to the second story entrance. Inside, soft light illuminated the open space. A woman in bare feet sat in front of a burning fire. Her beautiful face was illuminated by her laptop’s glow. Next to her was a bottle of wine and a half-empty glass. I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach. More than anything, I wanted a drink.
“Hey,” the woman said, looking away from her computer. “I was about to send out a search party.”
“Linden, this is my friend Mia. Mia, this is my sister, Linden Greco.”
“Hi Mia,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I replied.
In truth, the woman who sat before me, her painted toes propped up on a slate coffee table, didn’t need an introduction. She was the infamous computer hacker, Linden Greco. Linden’s biography was repeatedly shoved under the noses of young girls whose helicopter parents wanted them to study tech. At sixteen, Linden Greco’s keen eye and intimate knowledge of the latest iPhone had resulted in the acquittal of San Francisco Giants celebrity catcher. After that, she’d gone on to Stanford University and then launched Silver Trumpet Inc., a firm that protects the largest companies from sinister hackers lurking on the deep web. Most recently, she’d been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for inspiring others with the XX chromosome pair to go into tech.
“Would you like a glass of wine, Mia?” Linden asked.
I glanced at Rico. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a cold bottle of Pellegrino. She handed me a wine glass.
“Please,” she said as she cracked open her sparkling water. “I insist.”
Linden Greco grasped the wine bottle. Her fingernails were polished a deep navy blue. She filled my glass generously before topping off her own.
“What are you working on?” Rico asked. The tone of her voice hinted that Linden Greco, Hacker for Hire might possibly be up to no good.
“Oh nothing much,” Linden replied. “Just trying to hack Boeing.”
“Major companies hire Linden to hack them,” Rico explained hastily. “Her job is to find the security weaknesses before the bad hackers do.”
“Technically the bad hackers are called crackers,” Linden clarified. “And Rico’s exactly right. The only reason I’m hacking into the Dreamliner aircraft is because Boeing asked me to.”
“Are you trying to crash the plane?” I asked.
“Actually,” Linden Greco replied. “I’m trying to hack the Wi-Fi. Airlines have begun offering onboard Wi-Fi only some idiot decided to put the passenger wireless network on the same network as the airplane’s avionics system. Theoretically, the plane’s navigation system or automatic pilot system could be hijacked through the in-plane network.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I said.
“Things could go very wrong, very fast,” Linden agreed. “Especially if terrorist hackers could gain control of American airplanes from the comfort of their own living rooms.”
She closed her laptop and placed it on the couch cushion beside her. “So what’s going on?” she asked.
“Mia is going to stay here tonight,” Rico said. “She’s having guy trouble and needs to get out of the city.”
“Are you in danger?” Linden Greco asked. “Like has he hurt you or anything?”
“He’s only broken my heart.”
I gasped as the words flowed from my mouth. There was something about this emerald-eyed hacker that made me feel at ease.
“Mia’s boyfriend has been acting very shady,” Rico interjected. “He’ll whisk her off to New York City for a weekend of romance and then go dark for weeks after that.”
“That would drive me crazy,” Linden said.
“That’s pretty much where I’m at,” I said with a nod. “Crazy.”
“Mia’s decided that she doesn’t want to see him anymore. Only this guy isn’t exactly getting the hint.”
“I could hack his Twitter account and send him a message,” Linden offered.
“You could,” I replied, my heart sinking into my sneakers, “only I’m not exactly sure if he has a Twitter handle.”
“Are you friends with him on any social media site? Facebook? Instagram?”
“Not exactly.”
“Are you sure the man is who he says he is?” Linden asked, her eyes narrowing.
“The man in question happens to be John Geary,” Rico said.
“You’re seeing John Geary?” Linden asked. The tone of her voice betrayed her surprise.
“I think I’m one of the many women dating John Geary,” I replied, “because I’m pretty sure he’s cheating on me — big time.”
“Then John Geary is an idiot,” Linden announced. “Clearly, you are an amazing woman. He’s stupid for treating you like anything other than a queen.”
“She means that,” Rico said pointedly.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“I think I might be,” I replied.
“Have you tried to talk to him? Maybe tell him that it’s not okay for him to go dark for weeks?” Linden suggested. “You’re not asking a whole lot. I mean: they have this cool invention now. It’s called the iPhone.”
“I haven’t said anything about how I feel,” I said. “In group, I was talking about how I felt about John. Norm told me to think about if the the relationship with John was good for me. Since it felt like John was jerking me around like a puppet on a string, I decided that he wasn’t worth it — not I’m not so sure.”
“If it were me, I probably have at least one conversation before I threw the baby out with the bathwater,” Linden advised.
“It’s a matter of common courtesy to stay in communication with a loved one when you are out of sight,” Rico said.
“I agree,” Linden said, her emerald-eyes blazing. “If you still want to be with him, the solution might be as simple as telling him that you are not okay with him going dark for days.”
“And what if he decides that I’m not worth the effort.”
“But you are worth the effort,” Rico said fiercely.
“But what if he decides that you are worth the effort?” Linden countered.
This is a progressive story. You’ve just read Part 5.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
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