you.” He paused, seemingly lost in thought. Then he started and looked
up at her. “Do you have time to talk?”
Sidney hesitated.
“Please, Sidney?”
“Let me put this little girl down for a much-needed nap. I’ll be back
in a few minutes.” Sidney carried her out.
While she was gone, Rowe slowly walked around the room. He studied the
many photos of the Archer family scattered across the walls and
tabletops. He looked over as Sidney came back into the room. “Beautiful
little girl you have there.”
“She is something. A terrific something.”
“Especially now, right?”
Sidney nodded.
Rowe kept his eyes on her. “I lost both my parents in a plane crash
when I was fourteen.”
“Oh, Quentin.”
He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. But I think I can understand a
little better than most how you’re feeling. I was an only child. There
really wasn’t anyone left for me.”
“I guess I’m fortunate in that regard.”
“You are, Sidney, keep reminding’ yourself of that.”
She took a deep breath. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Tea, if you have it.”
A few minutes later they were settled on the living room sofa.
Rowe balanced his saucer on his knee while he sipped delicately at his
tea. He put his cup down and looked over at her, his awkwardness
apparent. “First, I wan? to apologize to you.”
“Quentin–”
He put up one hand. “I know what you’re going to say, but I was way out
of line. The things I said, the way I treated you. I… Sometimes I
don’t think before I speak. In fact, I’m often that way. I’m not all
that good at presenting myself. I know I come off as geeky and uncaring
sometimes, but I’m really not.”
“I know that, Quentin. We’ve always had a good relationship.
Everyone at Triton thinks the world of you. I know that Jason did.
If it makes you feel any better, I find you far easier to relate to than
Nathan Gamble.”
“You and the rest of the world,” Rowe said quickly. “With that said, I
guess I should explain by saying that I was under a great deal of
pressure, what with Gamble balking at doing CyberCom, the chance that we
could lose it all.”
“Well, I think Nathan understands what’s at stake.”
Rowe nodded absently. “The second thing I wanted to tell you is how
truly sorry I am about Jason. It just shouldn’t have happened.
Jason was probably the one person I could truly connect to at the
company. He was as talented as I was on the technology side, but he was
also able to present himself well, an area, as I said, I’m lacking in.”
“I think you handle yourself very well.”
Rowe brightened. “You do?” Then he sighed. “Next to Gamble, most
people, I guess, seem like wallflowers.”
“I wouldn’t disagree, but I also wouldn’t recommend that you emulate
him.”
Rowe put his tea down. “I know it seems like he and I are strange
bedfellows.”
“It’s hard to argue with the success you two have had.”
His tone was suddenly bitter. “Right. The great measuring stick of
money. When I first started out, I had ideas. Wonderful ideas, but no
capital. Then along came Nathan.” His expression was not a pleasant
one.
“It’s not only that, Quentin. You have a vision for the future. I
understand that vision, to the extent a technology neophyte can. I know
that vision is what’s driving the CyberCom deal.”
Rowe smacked his fist into the palm of his hand. “‘Exactly, Sidney.
Exactly. The stakes are so incredibly high. CyberCom’s technology is
so dramatically superior, so monumental, it’s like the second coming of
Graham Bell.” He seemed to shiver with anticipation as he looked at her.
“Do you realize that the one thing holding back the limitless potential
of the Internet is the fact that it’s so large, so all-consuming that
navigating it efficiently is often a horrendous exercise in futility for
even the most adept computer users?”
“But with CyberCom, that will change?”
“Yes! Yes. Of course.”
“I have to confess, despite working on this deal for so many months, I’m
really not certain what exactly CyberCom has come up with. Lawyers