Marny (12 page)

“Morning,” she said, sliding her tray onto
the table.

The Intertech dining hall was weirdly like
being in the high school cafeteria—and yet worlds away. Instead of
yellow linoleum, the floor was covered in a blue-patterned carpet.
No long, institutional tables with attached benches, but clusters
of round tables with comfortable chairs pulled up. The lighting was
softer, too, not the glare of industrial-grade lights overhead, but
warmer fixtures, with a few lamps scattered around the room. It
even smelled better—like bacon and coffee instead of overcooked
tomato sauce.

She sat down in a chair that was big
enough—barely—to accommodate her large frame.

“Hey there.” Brenna smiled at her. “Marny,
meet my friend Quizley.”

She pointed her fork at the guy seated to her
right. His hair was brownish blond, his face lean, but his eyes
were dark brown, not gray. Plus, he was about a decade too old; the
face in Marny’s dream had been somebody only a little older than
herself. She nodded hello.

“Enchant
é
,” Quizley said. “I understand you
are the newest debutante to grace our halls?”

“Marny’s with the Social Interfaces Design
team,” Brenna said. “Quiz here is a programmer.”

“Yes.” He drew the word out with a sigh. “I
take everyone’s foolish ideas and transform them to a more perfect
form.”

Whatever that meant. Marny raised one
eyebrow. She couldn’t decide if Brenna’s friend was French or just
eccentric. Maybe both.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“Mm, indeed.” The programmer turned his
attention back to his omelet.

Brenna gave her a sympathetic look. “Quiz
lives in his own little world. Don’t take it personally.”

“And a wonderful world it is, too,” the
programmer said, not bothering to look up from his meal.

“So, how’re you settling in?” Brenna asked,
pushing her empty plate to the side.

“Okay,” Marny said. “My bag hasn’t showed up
yet.”

“That’s tweaked.” Brenna frowned. “Did you
check with the front desk?”

Marny finished chewing her bite of eggs. “Not
this morning, no. I’ll ask them after breakfast.”

“Well, it’s bound to turn up soon.” The
liaison picked up her coffee, then stopped, eyes going to the
dining room entrance. “Uh oh. Somebody’s in trouble.”

Marny followed her gaze to where a muscular
guy dressed in a black suit sauntered around the tables.
Conversations hushed as he approached, then started up again once
he’d passed by. All the man needed was a pair of mirrored
sunglasses to complete the clichéd bodyguard look.

“Meh.” Quiz glanced up. “Our esteemed leader
has loosed one of his dogs to bring in a malefactor, I see.”

“That’s Mr. von Coburg’s guard?” Marny
watched the man as he got closer.

“They prefer to be called
attach
é
s,” Brenna
said. “Hey, Quiz, did you go rogue again? Because Bruno there seems
to be heading right for us.”

“Certainly not.” Quiz sent her a haughty
look. “Perhaps you are the one to incur the wrath of the CEO.”

They got quiet then, as the man drew up to
their table and stopped. Nearby diners craned their necks, and
Marny swallowed. The air was suddenly heavy.

“Miss Fanalua?” the guard asked.

Brenna sucked in her breath, and Quiz slowly
turned to regard Marny, brows raised high across his forehead.

“Um, yeah,” Marny said. “That’s me.”

Her breakfast congealed in her stomach. Was
the dress code so severe at Intertech that she was being
disciplined just for wearing her Converse?

“Dettwiler von Coburg would like you to
attend him in his office.”

Marny pushed her plate away and stood. She
had the feeling it wouldn’t be a good idea to ask if she could
finish her meal—and besides, her appetite was totally gone.

“Good luck,” Brenna murmured. “Chin up.”

The guard gave Marny a curt nod. “Follow
me.”

Aware of the intense stares on all sides, she
trailed the man, trying to look self-confident and serene. Inside,
though, she felt like a little kid being called into the
principal’s office.

Or being sent to prison without trial.

T
he
guard, who didn’t bother introducing himself, led Marny out of the
dining room. Instead of turning right, toward the elevators, he
went left.

“So,” Marny said, “have you been working for
Intertech a while?”

He grunted, and waved his card in front of a
plain-looking door. For a second, she wondered if he was about to
lock her into a janitor’s closet in punishment for wearing
non-regulation footwear. Maybe she should have gone for the bloody
feet, after all.

The door led to an anteroom holding a single
elevator. At their approach, the shiny gold doors slid open to
reveal the gleaming wooden floors and richly paneled walls of what
could only be von Coburg’s private ride. The guard gestured her to
enter, then followed her into the elevator.

There were no buttons inside. Completely
voice activated, and no doubt coded to respond to only a few
people.

“Top,” the guard said.

Marny couldn’t decide if the sinking
sensation in her gut was due to the express elevator whooshing
upward, or the doom that awaited her once she arrived. Would they
actually kick out an intern for wearing the wrong shoes? She didn’t
think so—and, in fact, the other employees at breakfast had been
wearing a wide array of footwear.

So maybe it wasn’t her Converse getting her
in trouble, after all.

Which left the even bigger question of why
she was being summoned into the CEO’s presence.

With a harmonious ding, the doors slid open.
The guard—she might as well think of him as Bruno—strode out.

“This way,” he said.

There was only one way to go, though.
Straight down the wide hallway leading toward a large set of double
doors.

Marny’s feet sank into the carpet. It was at
least an inch thicker than the standard-issue down below. The
ceilings were higher, too. Perks of top-floor living, she supposed.
Even the air smelled refined.

The big doors swung open as she and Bruno
approached, revealing a large office. Another black-suited security
dude stood just inside the threshold, and he and Bruno exchanged
nods as she stepped into the room.

The far wall was one huge window looking out
over the city, and Marny blinked at the view. She’d thought her own
slice of Newpoint was prime, but this was amazing. Light flooded
into the office and the city below gleamed and sparkled like a
treasure hoard.

On the right side of the room, behind a vast
expanse of gleaming ebony desk, sat Dettwiler von Coburg.

Bruno stopped and inclined his head. “Mr. von
Coburg, here is Miss Fanalua, as requested.”

“Very good.” The CEO steepled his hands
together and regarded her from his cold blue eyes.

Marny straightened her shoulders, resisting
the urge to bow. He was the boss, sure, but he wasn’t royalty or
anything. She didn’t think.

“Pull up a chair for Miss Fanalua,” Mr. von
Coburg said.

Bruno leaped into action, snagging a big,
comfy-looking armchair from the other side of the room and placing
it directly opposite the CEO. Slowly, Marny sat down. The desk
stretched between her and Mr. von Coburg like an expanse of black
ice.

Silently, the guard placed a glass of water
at her right hand. Condensation beaded on the sides. She felt too
cold to take a sip.

“Miss Fanalua.” Mr. von Coburg leaned forward
slightly. “No doubt you are wondering why you’re here.”

She cleared her throat. “The thought had
crossed my mind. I didn’t suppose you were in the habit of
personally welcoming all the interns.”

She surreptitiously tucked her feet under the
chair. This still might be about her shoes, though now she really
didn’t think so.

“Not generally, no.” He gave her a wintry
smile. “But in reading over your file yesterday, I discovered you
are from Crestview.”

A stab of panic went through her. Was von
Coburg aware of the faerie activity there? Did he know about
Feyland?

“I am,” she said.

“No doubt you’re aware that VirtuMax recently
made your small city its headquarters.” He paused, waiting for her
nod of confirmation, then continued. “I find myself curious whether
you have connections at VirtuMax. Friends, family.”

His pale eyebrows rose ever so slightly. He
was fishing for information, but what?

“If this is about the nondisclosure agreement
we had to sign for the internship, no worries,” Marny said. “I know
better than to leak anything I learn here to VirtuMax.”

“So, you
are
acquainted with people high up in
the company.” He leaned forward. “The CEO’s son,
perhaps?”

A little shiver went through her. If he knew
enough to ask that question, he’d done some digging. But still, he
couldn’t know about Feyland, right? She picked up her glass of
water and took a sip, stalling for time, then wiped her damp palm
on her pants.

“We go to the same school,” she said. “But I
wouldn’t call us friends.”

Not by any stretch, although they weren’t
enemies any longer, either. It was true Royal Lassiter had
changed—heartbreak could do that to a person—but she still couldn’t
quite forgive him for his rotten manipulation of her.

“Hmm.” Mr. Von Coburg tapped the smooth
surface of his desk, and a display lit up.

She couldn’t read it from where she was
sitting, but she’d bet it had to do with her friends. His next
words confirmed it.

“I see you are in close contact with a Miss
Jennet Carter, whose father happens to be well placed within the
company. And another of your companions, Mr. Tam Linn, has an
internship with VirtuMax. In addition, your uncle seems to have had
some experience beta testing for their game department.”

A flare of anger heated the cold silence
wrapping around her. Sure, this was the CEO of a major
multinational corporation, but he had no business prying into her
private life.

“Leave my family out of it,” she said. Not
that Uncle Zeg couldn’t take care of himself, but still. “So I know
people connected with VirtuMax. What are you getting at?”

“Pleasingly blunt.” He stabbed at the
display, and it faded. “You do understand that VirtuMax is one of
our competitors.”

“Is Intertech going into simulated
gaming?”

The CEO leaned back, his stern expression
revealing nothing. “I was hoping you might provide a little insight
for me about the company.”

Seriously?

“I don’t have any secrets to spill—and even
if I did, I wouldn’t tell them to you.”

The slow smolder of temper warmed her chest.
The nerve of the man! Trying to pump her for inside intel about
VirtuMax. He might be the CEO, but she refused to be bullied.

He regarded her, his eyes cold, and she tried
not to squirm under his gaze. Dettwiler von Coburg made her feel
like she was six years old and in deep trouble. It took all her
courage to stand up to him, but she wouldn’t let him intimidate
her. Even if her internship was on the line.

“No need to take offense, young lady. I
merely invited you up here for some friendly conversation.”

Oh, yeah. If your idea of friendly included
icy stares and demands for information.

“Well, I think our conversation is over.” She
said the words strongly, but couldn’t help a twinge of fear. He was
the CEO of a huge, powerful company, after all, and she was just a
lowly intern at said company. But holding on to that internship
wasn’t worth being bullied.

“A pity,” he said. “You could have a bright
future here at Intertech, if you were so inclined. It would be
unfortunate if anything marred your time with us.”

Marny swallowed. That
sounded like a threat, and she suddenly felt very alone.
When cornered, fight back
, her Uncle Zeg always said.
Don’t be
a victim.

“Even if I knew something, I don’t do
corporate espionage, Mr. von Coburg. For anyone. So if that’s all
you called me in here for, we’re done.” She pushed out of the
armchair and stood, glancing around for Bruno.

The guard waited impassively at the door,
staring into space like he’d heard nothing of the conversation.
Would he allow her to march out of the room? Even if he did, she
wasn’t cleared to use the executive elevator, and would have to
wait for someone to come activate it for her.

The whole situation was tweaked.

Mr. von Coburg let her stand there awkwardly
for a moment, then nodded to his guard. “Bruno, see Miss Fanalua
out.”

“Very good, sir.” Bruno motioned her toward
the door.