The SUV didn't pull up to some shiny, futuristic skyscraper.
Instead, we slowed down in front of a flat, windowless gray building in a part of London that looked like it only sold gravel and industrial pipes. It was depressing. No signs, no windows, just a heavy steel fence and a single flickering streetlight.
"This is it?" I asked, looking at the concrete wall. "I was expecting… I don't know. Something that looked less like a high-security prison."
"Glass is for people who want to be seen," Liam said. He didn't even look out the window; his thumbs were moving across his tablet with a speed that was honestly a little irritating. "This is for the things I want to keep."
He stepped out, and I scrambled to follow him. The night air was actually cold now, and my thin silk blouse, the one he picked out wasn't doing anything to help. I hugged my arms to my chest, my heels clicking loudly on the pavement as I tried to keep up with his long strides.
He stopped at a plain metal door. There wasn't a handle, just a little black box on the wall. Liam didn't look for a key; he just stood there for a second. A red light blinked once, scanned his face, and the door opened with a heavy, mechanical clunk.
I went to walk in behind him, but a voice one of those flat, robotic computer voices, came out of nowhere.
"Unauthorized entry detected. Please remain stationary."
I jumped nearly a foot in the air. Liam stopped and looked back over his shoulder. He looked completely bored by the fact that I was currently being threatened by a wall.
"Step into the light, Lia. It needs to scan your eyes."
"My eyes?" I felt my temper flare up through the nerves. "When did you get a scan of my eyes, Liam? I've worked for you for all of six hours."
"The medical check-up you had for your college scholarship two years ago," he said, turning back toward the hallway as if it were a casual detail.
"The clinic is owned by a subsidiary of Vane Health. It's in the fine print of the consent forms you signed."
I stood there, stunned." The fine print." Of course. I stepped into the red light, feeling like a criminal, and waited for the beep. When it finally let me through, the air inside was even colder than it was outside. It smelled like dust and old air conditioning.
We walked past rows and rows of black cabinets that were humming so loud I could feel the vibration in my teeth. It wasn't "cool" it was just loud and freezing.
"The Hub," Liam said, gesturing to the endless rows of servers. "Everyone thinks the world runs on money. It doesn't. It runs on this. Information.
Most people pay millions for software to tell them what it all means. I pay you."
He led me to a circular desk in the middle of the room. It was the only thing with a chair. He sat me down and tapped the desk, and the surface turned into a giant computer screen. It was covered in charts, maps, and numbers that were moving way too fast for me to read.
"The AI says everything is fine," Liam said, leaning over my shoulder. He was so close I could feel the heat coming off him, which was the only warm thing in the entire room. "My best guys in New York say it's a quiet week. But look at that."
He pointed to a tiny dip in a currency chart. To anyone else, it looked like a glitch. To me, it looked like a lie.
"Tell me what you see, Lia. Don't give me the 'analyst' answer. Give me the human one."
I stared at the screen, my fingers hovering over the glass. I was tired, I was cold, and I was still pretty sure I'd made a huge mistake by moving into his house. But as I looked at the numbers, the "boss" next to me faded away. I saw the pattern. It wasn't a glitch; it was a distraction.
"Someone's hiding something," I whispered.
"Good," Liam murmured. His hand rested on the back of my chair, and for a second, the silence in the room felt different. "Now find out what it is. I'll be in the office. Don't get up until you have a name."
He walked away, leaving me alone in the humming dark. I looked at the screen and sighed. No sleep, no sugar, and a boss who knew my medical history better than I did.