MOAB

Chapter 37: Gregoris @ 2.9x nhs

Chapter 37: Gregoris @ 2.9x nhs

The months after that flowed by nicely. They had fallen into a nice routine. She stayed some nights over, others she went back to her flat to give him space and work on her thesis. They went out for dinner, they watched shows and theatre, took in the Athens culture. Greg got VIP access to everything and she used it to the fullest extent, meeting some of the actors she admired in person.

His garden was blooming now. Her mother always had a nice garden in her house and she’d told him she hated that it was neglected, so she tended to it. The penthouse atrium was beautiful. Galene, worried that she didn’t possess her mother’s green thumb, simply attacked the problem and trained herself in gardening. She was doing great.

She was almost done with her thesis, even shifting the subject to a more risky one that her professor liked.

They learnt Spanish together and shared the endorphins of learning a new language.

The change in her was gradual but definite. Greg could see it transforming her. She was still Galene, but she was more confident, swifter. Sharper. It was as if she had finally gotten close to her full potential. Hermes had given her a team down on floor 32, and she was project leader. The Timeshaver service was a great success. It wasn’t for everyone, but it was a major hit with some specific crowds like tech-nomads and startuppers and the like. Demand went up, technical difficulties arose and it became her work. It fit like a glove, Gal was patient with people, gave clear goals that only an i***t would misinterpret, and praised good work. They loved her.

That’s why he was so scared to tell her the thing that would break her heart.

Galene changed her daily routine. She tried out the supplements he told her about, stacking natural nootropics like crazy. The kitchen was a mess. She installed a holosound system that followed her around as she paced across the room and blasted audio into her ears only. Greg couldn’t hear a peep. It wasn’t normal and Greg didn’t want to use it.

They had spent so much time together now, it felt absolutely natural. They either watched something together, Timeshaved of course, or simply sat touching each other while reading things separately. It was a quiet living, one that Greg never thought he’d have with a woman this young. He thought she’d want to party all day, but this was something like married living into your fifties.

She snorted her drink all over the desk. “Oh, by Hermes, this is so funny?” She spoke in quicktalk.

“What?”

“I just made a connection, and it’s so damn stupid.”

“It’s not funny if you’re the only one-”

“Your name is Gregoris Raptis. Which translates to Swift Tailor. Like Taylor Swift!” She chuckled and covered her mouth.

“Okay, you’re right. But I don’t see how it’s funny.”

She looked into his face, forced down a laugh, then burst out. “That’s cause you’re old enough to think she’s still cool.”

“Don’t speak to me for ten minutes,” he brushed her off and she chuckled in silence.

Then she was on the phone with one of her assigned employees. “Do it like I told you, biatch!” She hung up.

Greg gasped. “Gal, baby, you can’t talk to your employees like that. You-”

“Lemme stop you right there. Coco is a fellow Mean Girl, found her lurking on a message board. Shes a megafan, like me. It’s how we talk.” She nodded too many times, more than was necessary.

“Oh. Okay then,” Greg shrugged. “Wait, she cannot actually be called Coco,” he frowned.

“That’s what I call her. I got her the job, she’s my biatch.” Gal bobbed her head with each syllable. “Jeez, Greg, why are you so obsessed with me?”

“Right. It seems I have created a monster. I have work to do too, lemme give you some space.”

He thought about it. “Gal?”

“Yeah?”

“They offered me a job in Tokyo. It’s six months minimum, to train their analysts.” He searched her eyes for a response. “I know that we’ve gotten into a nice groove over here and I don’t want to ruin it, so I’ll turn them down.”

She scrunched her nose. “No.”

“No?”

“No, accept the job. I’ll come with you.”

“You will? What about your-”

“I can work from anywhere. I’ll come with you,” she shrugged. Her voice was firm, she looked him straight in the eyes.

“We can talk about it, it’s for the end of this year.”

“Six months?”

“Six months.”

“I can do six months away from here. I certainly can’t do six months away from you. The math is easy.”

He smiled. “I’m so glad! You can still change your mind, they’re given me ten days to think about it.”

She shook her head. “I won’t. I’d follow you anywhere.”

He kissed her on the lips. “Anywhere?”

“Except Mars. I hear there are some very hard to kill cacti over there and I’d rather steer clear of them.”