Shifters of Grrr 2 (26 page)

"How do you think we can resolve mankind's dependence on oil?" a student asked.

"Good question!" Bryce said brightly before he rattled off into a long-winded answer.

Oh, no.
Everybody was asking him such educated, interesting questions. I simply couldn't take up these last few minutes with my dumb one. Eventually, time had run out, Bryce left the stage, and the auditorium began to empty.

I'd lost my chance.

"Well, at least I didn't fall asleep. Right, Sarah? Sarah?"

"Huh?"

Lindsay looked at me curiously. "Are you okay?"

I glanced back at the stage, which was unsettlingly empty. The same refrain kept playing over and over in my mind.
I lost my chance. I lost my chance.

I gripped the flier I still held in my hand, crushing the paper between my fingers.
No.
I wouldn't accept it. I'd come too far in life to fall so short of my goals. I'd gone from a trailer park to a university for god's sake!

"Let's go talk to him," I said.

"What?"

I laughed at Lindsay's expression. "I'm serious. Let's try to get backstage before he leaves."

"But...he probably has a full security detail, and--"

"And what? The worst they could do is say no. Come on."

Lindsay frowned, and she looked like she was about to say something when the same bespeckled guy from earlier interjected himself between us.

"Ahem. I personally know of a door leading backstage that is always unlocked."

"Oh, my god. That would be great!" I gushed. "What's your name, by the way? I'm Sarah."

"Jerry." He offered me his hand to shake. Then, he looked expectantly at Lindsay.

She rolled her eyes, sighing loudly. "I'm Lindsay. Okay, fine. Let's go."

We followed Jerry to a side exit, which fed into a narrow back hallway. He kept chatting about his major (electrical engineering) and how he'd followed Bryce Callaway's career since he was featured in a blog article about the ten most promising tech magnates of the decade.

"He actually got his start in mining, but he got fed up with the industry's effect on the environment, so he began experimenting with kinetic energy--"

Lindsay looked at me. "Kill me now," she mouthed, pointing her fingers at her temple, but I could only shake my head. I was interested in what Jerry was saying, even though I could only understand about half the words. The more I found out about Bryce, the more I realized I hadn't known him very well at all. It made me even more curious to learn about how he'd amassed so much success, and so quickly.

Finally, Jerry stopped us in front of an inconspicuous door. "Let's see," he murmured, trying the knob. It turned, and he brightened. "There! Ladies first."

My heart leapt up into my throat as I looked at the darkness beyond. The door had opened directly onto the backstage area. Low voices issued out, speaking in tones I couldn't decipher. I swallowed and charged ahead, waiting for Lindsay and Jerry to follow.

"--with the board of directors regarding the Tokyo deal," I heard a woman say urgently.

"Okay. Remind me to get the notes from Perry before that meeting. How much time do I have for lunch?"

I tiptoed ahead, staring at the maroon velvet curtain. I could hear Bryce speaking from just behind it. If only I had the guts to speak up--

"Hey! What are you doing back here?"

Suddenly, a flashlight was shoved in our faces. I raised my hand to my eyes, while Jerry and Lindsay cried out in alarm.

"I'm here to see Bryce!" I said, squinting through the blinding light.

"No way," the man barked. He finally lowered his flashlight, and I could see that he wore a fancy earpiece and a black shirt that said
Security
across the chest. He began moving in front of us and spread his arms, shoving us in the opposite direction.

"Wait, but I know him!" I protested. "I'm an old friend--"

"That's what they all say--"

"We grew up together," I stammered. "At Crystal Lakes Trailer Park!"

The security guard continued shoving me back toward the exit, but something finally stopped him.

"Marcus, wait!"

I froze, my heartbeat in my mouth. I looked over the guard's shoulder to see someone stalking forward out of the darkness.

Could it be?
I wondered.

The man stepped into the light. "It's okay, Marcus. She's with me," Bryce said. Then, his eyes passed to me, and he smiled. "Hello, Sarah."

My hands dropped to my sides, and I was speechless. "H-h-hi."

Marcus the security guard stepped away, and Bryce came closer. He placed his hands in his pockets and scanned me up and down.

"Wow. You've grown so much," he said, continuing to grin. I noticed that he had numerous smile lines around his eyes and mouth, but they only made him even more pleasing to look at.

I blushed when I realized how handsome Bryce had become. He had gotten his teeth fixed, and his dark hair was smooth and trimmed, just long enough to tuck behind his ears. There was only a hint of five o'clock shadow along his jaw, but it made him look even more put together somehow. Like me, he'd put on weight since the trailer park days, but
unlike
me, his weight was pure muscle, thick and sinewy along his neck, shoulders, arms, and who knew where else.

Suddenly, I imagined what he looked like under his shirt, and my blush grew deeper.

I searched my mind for something to say, but Jerry beat me to it.

"Jerry Morris, sir," he said, lunging forward to shake his hand. "It's such an honor to meet you."

"Any friend of Sarah's is a friend of mine," Bryce said. He winked at me, and I felt my stomach give a flutter. "I can't believe you're here. I don't have a lot of time for lunch, but why don't you join me, Sarah? I'd love to hear what you've been up to."

I could sense Jerry tensing up beside me, like he was about to invite himself, too.

"That sounds great!" I said, talking over whatever Jerry was about to say. "Just you and me, right?"

"Of course," Bryce said with a chuckle.

Jerry deflated.

"Let me wrap things up with my assistant, and we'll be on our way," he said. "Stay here."

I watched Bryce walking away from us, feeling high and triumphant.

Lindsay leaned over, following my gaze. "I thought you didn't know who he was," she muttered.

"I did know. You just weren't listening," I said in annoyance. But despite my tone, I couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

Bryce let me pick out the restaurant, and he drove me there himself in a gleaming, silver sports car that had some European name I didn't know how to pronounce.

"How old are you now, Sarah?" Bryce asked over the engine's purr.

"Twenty," I answered.

Bryce was silent for a few seconds, and I knew he was calculating how many years had passed since we last saw each other. I'd been nine back then, so it had been over ten years. I did some quick math of my own to realize he was twenty-eight.

Twenty-eight was so young to be a billionaire.

I gazed at my surroundings, at the soft black leather and tinted glass, with newfound appreciation.

"Tell me what you're studying," Bryce continued.

"Political science," I said automatically. "I'm thinking about becoming a lobbyist."

"That's great!" Bryce said. He sounded genuinely impressed, which was saying something. "Hey, by the time you graduate, I might have a job for you at Call-Com."

"Really?"

"Really."

He glanced away from the road for a few seconds, giving me another smile that made a shiver pass down my back.
God,
I thought. He was so familiar and so different. It was so confusing.

It was so
exciting.

Finally, we pulled up in front of an old, brick-faced building.

"This the place?" he asked.

"Yup." I was already out of the car and inhaling the sweet and savory aroma of pesto and meatballs.
La Piazza Famiglia
was my favorite restaurant in town, and I couldn't wait to show Bryce just how good the food was.

We were seated at a table right next to the window.

"Tell me about your life," I said as we perused the menu. "Your story has got to be way more interesting than mine."

Bryce chuckled, and his eyes rose to lock with mine.

That's weird,
I thought.
I could've sworn his eyes used to be blue.
They were brown now, maybe a bit golden in the sunlight, but definitely with no trace of blue in them. I shook my head, assuming I'd just remembered wrong.

"Well, I graduated with a degree in mining and mineralogy. I was trying to be smart, because the state's biggest employer at the time was Hughes Contracting."

I nodded, following along. I'd seen signs for Hughes Contracting, Hughes Construction, amd Hughes Inc. all over town.

"At the time they were mining for granite near White Bear Mountain, so when I got the job, that's the first site I reported to." Bryce began playing absent-mindedly with his water glass. "I enjoyed it overall, and the money was good, but..."

I leaned forward. "Yeah?"

Bryce had to pause his story when the waitress came to take our order. When she left, he stared back at his water glass and folded his hands.

"I had a sort of epiphany," he finally said.

I watched his throat constrict as he took a deep gulp. Then, he licked his lips, and I realized that he was beginning to get nervous.

"Even though Hughes Contracting was a great employer and a powerful company to work for, I realized that they mostly made their money from tearing up the natural environment."

"Oh," I said softly.

Bryce ran his hand through his hair. "It was a rough few months. I was...I wasn't myself. I wanted to quit, but I had no idea what I'd do. Plus, if I quit, the company would just hire another fresh worker ant to take my place. It just seemed so pointless."

I smiled encouragingly, sensing the direction the story was going. "But you did something about it anyway."

Bryce smiled, but it wasn't like his usual smile. This one was wistful, sad, and...bitter, for some reason. "Yeah. I did. I started with modifying a conveyer belt modeled off of the ones they used at the White Bear site, only this one runs off of kinetic energy rather than fuel. I sold the patent rights to a Norwegian company, and the rest is history."

"Wow," I said, almost breathless from the story. "That's incredible."

"Maybe." Bryce played nervously with his Rolex. "But I still helped Hughes destroy a huge chunk of White Bear Mountain, in my own small way. Nothing I do will undo
that
damage."

I reached forward and touched his wrist. "Hey," I said.

He looked at me, eyes wide like he was surprised to see me there.

"The company was doing bad stuff, but they inspired you, didn't they? If you hadn't had that experience, where would you be now? They probably would've powered the last World Cup with electricity and gas like all the other ones."

Bryce's lip twitched up into a small smile.

"It wasn't a waste, was it?"

He sighed, like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. "I guess not."

I backed away from him when the waitress came back with some garlic bread, fragrant and steaming from the oven. I exhaled happily and grabbed a piece, the first of many I planned to eat.

Bryce watched me chomping happily. "We've come a long way, haven't we?" he said.

I looked at him across the table, feeling solemn even as the buttery, starchy goodness melted on my tongue. I knew exactly what he meant. The two of us, a pair of children from single mom households in a trailer park, really had come a long way.

I swallowed the piece in my mouth. "Sometimes, I can't believe how lucky I am."

I reflected on my life since graduating high school. It was like night and day. I'd starved, barely scraping by on one meal a day, until recently. Lindsay could whine about losing three extra pounds all she wanted, but I didn't care about my size, as long as I was fed and healthy.

And I smiled when I realized that Bryce didn't care, either.

Bryce reached across the table to touch my hand this time. "I'm so glad I found you here. The type of people who surround me..." He continued to avoid looking at me. "Well, they just aren't the type who'd understand, you know?"

"I do," I said. I really did. I considered Lindsay a good friend, but I didn't even like talking about my past with her. From what I'd gathered, her high school memories were a happy collage of yoga classes, sleepovers, and lattés on the weekend with friends. It was practically the complete opposite of my upbringing.

Our food came quickly. I'd ordered butternut squash ravioli, while Bryce got classic spaghetti and meatballs. I dug in immediately, pausing only when I noticed Bryce staring.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing. Well, it's just that this marinara..." He waved dismissively at his plate.