Eli hadn’t been, though. Nor Hark, I suspected. “What about Minami?”

“See, that’s . . .” Florence nodded slowly. “That really does hurt, in hindsight. I feel horrible for not including her in the patent. But I didn’t have any other choice. You know how hard it is, for women in our field. I was in a terrible situation, and—”

“Minami is a woman, too, and a more junior academic,” I interrupted harshly. I highly doubted Minami’s career had been as privileged as Florence’s. “And that’s not—Florence, having it hard doesn’t give us a pass to cheat other people out of their work, especially not to screw over people who have it harder.”

“I know. And I felt horrible—why do you think I spent the following years knee deep in mentorship programs, trying to uplift junior scientists? I was trying to atone for that.”

“The only correct way to atone is to give Minami credit.”

“Rue, if I hadn’t done what needed to be done, you know who would have owned the patent? Not me. Not Minami. Not Eli or Hark. UT would have owned it.”

“So what?” I blinked in confusion. “So it was okay to sacrifice everyone as long as you got it? It was Minami’s idea.”

“Only partially! I helped Minami refine it. I lent her my expertise. If it hadn’t been for me, it wouldn’t have moved past the most preliminary stages.”

“That’s not what Eli thinks.”

“Then he’s lying. Do you really believe him over me?”

You did lie to me, I wanted to say. Why did you lie to me? But the answer was obvious. And even if everything Florence was saying was true, even if her contribution was superior to everyone else’s, did that make what she’d done forgivable?

I studied her face, truly seeing it for the first time. Florence stared back, and then began laughing. “You know what this feels like?”

I remained silent.

“Like Eli and I are fighting over you.” She was still chuckling, but I could not see the humor. And my heart did hurt for Eli, but . . .

“The person on whose behalf I feel the most outrage, right now, is Minami.”

“Rue. I . . . I just hope you’ll be able to see my point of view. I hope that you realize that I had to make some very difficult choices, and forgive me.”

“It’s not my forgiveness you need,” I said.

She called after me, but I strode to my car without hesitation.

32

LET’S TRY TO MAKE IT RIGHT

RUE

And you’re really sure that she admitted to it?” Tisha asked for what had to be the fourth time. I’d already replied to the first three, but still didn’t blame her. I could scarcely believe it, and had gotten it straight from the source.

“I am.”

“And it’s not some kind of . . . I don’t know, a stroke. Or, I don’t know how common folies à deux are these days, but maybe Florence and Eli are both in the throes of one? Maybe it’s not quite the way Eli painted it? A misunderstanding, in which Florence is not nearly as gaslight-gatekeep-girlbossy as he’s trying to make her out. Or the Harkness people could be biased and exaggerating their contribution to the tech. I mean, are you really sure that she—”

“Admitted to it?” Diego shouted from Tisha’s kitchenette. Then he came to lean against the doorjamb—a bare-chested, bespectacled, body-built nerd who couldn’t have been more Tisha’s type. Tisha had supposedly been working from home, but her short kimono clearly broadcast that they had been in the middle of something when I barged in. Diego had taken my uninvited appearance like a champ. “Rue, could you please tell Tisha whether you’re really sure that Florence admitted to it?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Let us know if you change your mind.”

“Never.”

“Understood.”

I hadn’t liked a Tisha boyfriend this much in years, and hoped he’d stick around. Even Bruce seemed to be a fan, rubbing himself against Diego’s calves while shooting me his repertoire of skeptical glances.

“Okay, you two can stop being chummy and cahootsy against me.”

Diego and I exchanged one last cahootsy look before he disappeared into the bedroom. It was an immense relief, being with Tisha. Sharing the burden of today’s discovery. The last few hours had upended the last few years of my life, but Tisha was here, unchanged. Still standing as everything else crumbled down.

“If Florence admitted to doing that shit—and yes, I know she has—well . . .” Tisha shrugged. “Listen, I love her. You love her. She did so much for us, and we’re probably going to keep on loving her, even if she fucked up. At least we’ll try. But this is not a small thing. This is someone’s livelihood. This is someone’s hopes and dreams and entire career. We have to do something.”

“I know. But what?”

She scratched her temple. “What if it was your patent that Florence had stolen? What would you want Minami to do?”

My mouth was dry. “I would want her to help me make it right. Even after ten years. Even if she wasn’t the one responsible to begin with, I would want her to be on my side.”

“Okay.” Tisha nodded. “Then let’s try to make it right.”

“We have no evidence. If UT swept it under the rug years ago—”

“Reporting it won’t do anything.” Tisha bit into her lower lip. “I’m not sure what else, though. We might not be the best people to figure this out.”

An idea hit me. “No, we aren’t.” I let out a breathless laugh. “But you know who is?”

33

SAD, BEAUTIFUL FORTRESS GIRL

RUE

The sun was already setting, but I worried that he might still be at the office, and that not finding him might force me to reconsider what I was about to do. Thankfully, I spotted Eli as soon as I pulled up to his street.

He was unlocking his front door, but he turned around when he heard my car approach. In the dusk, his eyes widened. Then softened. I got out quickly, without bothering to collect myself, and marched to him with an outstretched hand.

Eli stared at my open palm for a long while. “What is it?”

“Take it.”

He plucked out the USB. “What’s on it?”

“You know what.”

His expression traveled from confused, to understanding, to shocked. “No.” He shook his head and tried to return it. “Rue, I didn’t tell you so that you—”

“I know. But she took it from you. From Minami. From Hark.”

“Rue.”

“And we agree that she shouldn’t have.”

“We?”

“Tisha and I.”

He stared at the USB pinched between his fingers, silent.

“If Kline is breaking the terms of the loan contract, then Harkness has the right to know. I’m not giving you any secrets. These are just . . .”

“The documents she should have handed over weeks ago?”

At least, I hoped so. I had access to Florence’s office and computer—and a healthy ignorance of financial records. But that’s what Nyota was for.

After a brief hesitation, Eli slid the USB in his pocket. “Thank you, Rue.”

“You’re welcome.” I took a deep breath. “Can I . . .”

He tilted his head.

I swallowed. “The last few days have been . . . difficult. For me. If tonight . . . if I asked you to take me in and let me stay with you, and not mention a single word about Florence, or Kline, would you—”

He opened the door before I could finish the sentence—an unequivocal invitation—and a wordless conversation passed between our locked gazes.