Not in Love

RUE

“And you’re really sure that she admitted to it?” Tisha asked for what had to be the fourth time. I’d already replied to the first three, but still didn’t blame her. I could scarcely believe it, and had gotten it straight from the source.

“I am.”

“And it’s not some kind of…I don’t know, a stroke. Or, I don’t know how common folies à deux are these days, but maybe Florence and Eli are both in the throes of one? Maybe it’s not quite the way Eli painted it? A misunderstanding, in which Florence is not nearly as gaslight-gatekeep-girlbossy as he’s trying to make her out. Or the Harkness people could be biased and exaggerating their contribution to the tech. I mean, are you really sure that she—”

“Admitted to it?” Diego shouted from Tisha’s kitchenette. Then he came to lean against the doorjamb—a bare-chested, bespectacled, body-built nerd who couldn’t have been more Tisha’s type. Tisha had supposedly been working from home, but her short kimono clearly broadcast that they had been in the middle of something when I barged in. Diego had taken my uninvited appearance like a champ. “Rue, could you please tell Tisha whether you’re really sure that Florence admitted to it?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Let us know if you change your mind.”

“Never.”

“Understood.”

I hadn’t liked a Tisha boyfriend this much in years, and hoped he’d stick around. Even Bruce seemed to be a fan, rubbing himself against Diego’s calves while shooting me his repertoire of skeptical glances.

“Okay, you two can stop being chummy and cahootsy against me.”

Diego and I exchanged one last cahootsy look before he disappeared into the bedroom. It was an immense relief, being with Tisha. Sharing the burden of today’s discovery. The last few hours had upended the last few years of my life, but Tisha was here, unchanged. Still standing as everything else crumbled down.

“If Florence admitted to doing that shit—and yes, I know she has—well…” Tisha shrugged. “Listen, I love her. You love her. She did so much for us, and we’re probably going to keep on loving her, even if she fucked up. At least we’ll try. But this is not a small thing. This is someone’s livelihood. This is someone’s hopes and dreams and entire career. We have to do something.”

“I know. But what?”

She scratched her temple. “What if it was your patent that Florence had stolen? What would you want Minami to do?”

My mouth was dry. “I would want her to help me make it right. Even after ten years. Even if she wasn’t the one responsible to begin with, I would want her to be on my side.”

“Okay.” Tisha nodded. “Then let’s try to make it right.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“We have no evidence. If UT swept it under the rug years ago—”

“Reporting it won’t do anything.” Tisha bit into her lower lip. “I’m not sure what else, though. We might not be the best people to figure this out.”

An idea hit me. “No, we aren’t.” I let out a breathless laugh. “But you know who is?”