Page 23 of CHOICE Lover
Well, that gives her some hope. And it confirms the lying bit.
“Oh, here’s one,” he says, clearing his throat. “On a scale of one to ten, is it possible to know your life’s purpose?”
She shakes her head, unable to repress a grin. “You used AI to help you come up with a list of questions for me?”
“Yes,” he says, shifting to stare guiltily at the dark green wall. “Are you more upset with me now?”
She leans forward, placing a hand on his knee, which causes him to jump. “You’re trying, and I appreciate that. If you really want to know if I think it’s possible to know your life’s purpose”—he nods insistently—“well then I’d say, yes and no.” He opens his mouth, but she holds up her hand to stop a rebuttal. “I know that I compulsively need to write. I know I feel an intrinsic desire to make the world a better place. I also think people, at least from my time, put too much stock in the wordpurpose. I think just pick something you enjoy and do it. If you can find joy in that, you’ve got it made. What about you? Was creating manupartners your life’s purpose?”
“I see Tommy told you they were my invention.” His expression is pained. “I know you don’t approve.”
“Don’t get mad at Tommy. You should have told me it’s your company. Besides, it doesn’t matter what I think about it. I’m asking how you feel,” she presses.
“I guess the answer is yes, then,” he says, meeting her gaze.
She can see he means it, which makes her insults that much worse. If only she could keep her mouth shut. Granted, a part of her is curious about what made him think manupartners were a good idea because between that and his resistance to offering compassion, there’s definitely some tragic character backstory going on here. But it probably isn’t the time to indulge her writer brain, considering they’ve spoken for ten minutes now and neither of them has yelled or started crying. “Well, that’s something, isn’t it? How about another question?”
He references his phone again and chuckles to himself. “What risky behaviors do you like to engage in?
She chuckles too since they both know his AI wrote the questions. “Writing. You?”
His smile is genuine now. “Science.”
“Good one,” she says. “Next?”
“What form does your existential dread take?”
“Cockroaches?” she answers, attempting to keep the tone lighthearted and hoping he’ll take the hint.
“That isn’t a real answer.”
“Pass, then. Next question.” She gives him an encouraging grin.
“Since she is a romance author, how many pages does she prefer her sex scenes to be?”
A laugh bursts out. “Umm . . . at least two. You?”
“I’ve never read a romance book, but I’m definitely reading yours now.”
She groans dramatically, leaning back into the pillows. “Please don’t. Having people you know read your books, especially the sex scenes, is so embarrassing. Next question.”
“If nothing really exists unless it is observed, who are you?” He offers her a challenging stare.
“God, the AI bot came up with that?”
He chuckles, and it is an entirely too-deep, too-pleasant sound, and she finds herself wishing he’ll do it again. “Yes. We can skip it. Here are two. How do you like your coffee, and are you a morning person or do you like owls?”
She bites her lip, pretending like she’s really having to think it over. His gaze flicks to the motion, his cheeks darkening as he quickly redirects his attention to his phone. “Let’s see. Black and owls. You?”
“Tea and morning. Would that be roosters?”
“I think so.”
“Did you ever see one?” he asks, making her think of the sad state of the world if the smog-filled image outside the windows is any indication. He thinks mermaids were real, and he’s never seen a rooster. It must be worse than she’s imagining. She needs to get started on those videos. Back to roosters.
“Of course. They’re noisy and can be aggressive. On the other hand, chickens can be quite beautiful. We had several different breeds when I was little.” He looks thoughtful for a moment, prompting her to ask, “Is this as effective as you were hoping?”
He scratches his forehead. “I’m terribly afraid to say the wrong thing, but yes, I think so.”
