Page 37 of Cocky Tech God
“Hardly,” I said, shifting my gaze to Hansen, the smile on his face was mischievous.
“Flattery will get you everywhere. Isn’t that right, Hans?” Graham touched his water glass.
“It’s true, Lucia. Don’t tell anyone, though.” Hansen touched my hand resting on the table. I pulled it back, slipping my sweaty palm to my lap.
Again, he was being careless. Why must he push the envelope on our secret?
I shoved away those building thoughts of Hansen and me between the sheets. Impressing Graham was my focus.
“I’ve read up on you and Morgan Financial Holdings, and I think what you’re doing for your clients is amazing. That’s why I submitted my demo to win your cybersecurity contract.”
“Thank you for saying so.” He continued, “I do appreciate that. Your presentation was intriguing. Quite different from what we’ve seen. So, I’m looking forward to getting an in-depth look at your solution. Have you still not had one breach since you opened doors?”
“I haven’t. Our simulations are spot on.” I glanced at Hansen. “Unlike this guy who’s had a couple.”
Hansen’s face broke into a smile. “Okay, Mendez. You’re not wrong.”
I shrugged. “Just saying.”
Graham laughed. “She’s got you there, Holte.”
“Indeed, she does.” Hansen’s gaze held mine. The somber, far-off look was gone, replaced with exhilaration. He was back to comfortable things, and I knew he loved competitive banter.
I still wondered what memories affected him so. But not enough to back down from my goal. I would win over Graham.
The waiter came back holding our bottle of sake on his arm as another server placed tiny porcelain cups before us inside of small wooden boxes. “The Ginga Shizuku Divine Droplets.”
We all watched as she poured the clear liquid into our glasses. The glass was so small, I was all thumbs handling it.
Hansen lifted it up from the table. “A toast to a successful World Tech Conference.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Graham took the rim to his lips and gulped down the whole thimble-sized cup.
I met Hansen’s gaze. He winked. I shook my head. The man didn’t like rules, indeed.
“Cheers,” I said, my throat dry and needing to be soothed. “To the conference.”
“Hear, hear.” Graham poured another glass, then poured more into Hansen’s as well.
We’d all ordered the chef’s tasting menu. Slowly, items came out, and soon the table was full of plates of sushi and other delicacies. The conversation had been light until we’d ordered our second bottle of Divine Droplets.
“Now tell me, Lucia. What’s it like breaking bread with your competitor?” Graham didn’t hold back at that point. We’d already had more than our share of sake so there was nothing holding anyone back.
I didn’t miss a beat, though. I was on fire, fueled by said sake. “I didn’t know I was breaking bread with a competitor.”
Graham cackled. Hansen did too.
I sat back, watching these powerful men carry on. But when Hansen met my gaze, I knew something was up. He was ready to pounce, make his own claim to the contract. I just hoped he didn’t put me down in the process; he was my competitor, after all.
“I like her,” Graham said to Hansen, nodding. “I think I like her more than I like you.”
“I don’t blame you, Graham.” He glanced at me. “But will you like her software more, that’s the question.”
“To be fair, Hans, I have four software solutions to decide upon.” Graham tapped the table with his forefinger.
“Fair enough.” Hansen sat back, his arm curling over the empty seat next to him. God, he was so arrogant. “What is your support expectation?”
He got me. This was the one thing I was most insecure about. My lack of tech support. I trusted my AI simulation to eliminate the need for a support staff, but others found that…controversial. My whole body was warm, and it wasn’t just because of all the sake, it was because I couldn’t compete with Hansen’s technical support.