Chapter 3
I was the only one in the parking lot.
Ten minutes later, Sam came out through the side door and found me.
He looked pretty grim as he walked over.
"Mr. Grant, did you really sell it all?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, cleared out," I replied.
"So what now?" he asked.
I opened the car door.
"Wait," I said.
"Wait for what?" he asked.
"Wait for them to roll out the cars," I replied.
Sam stood by the car, silent for a few seconds.
"Are you sure that flaw is actually going to blow up?" he asked.
"Four rounds of testing. Every single time, it happened again," I replied.
"But they've got their own testing team. What if they already patched it?" he asked.
I slid into the driver's seat and glanced back at him.
"Do you really think their testing team would willingly come forward about a fatal flaw that could shut down the whole project, especially with all that pressure to keep things moving?" I asked.
Sam didn't say a word.
"Let's go," I said.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
"Home," I replied.
"And then?" he asked.
"Sleep," I replied.
Sam stood motionless, watching as my car rolled out of the parking lot.
In the rearview mirror, he looked like a guy who'd just jumped ship and had no clue if he was about to drown or make it.
*****
By the time I got home, it was already eight o'clock.
My phone was blowing up with over thirty unread messages.
Most of them were from old business partners and industry acquaintances.
They all said pretty much the same thing, just in different ways.
"Heard the news. Tough break, man."
"Got any plans?"
"If you need anything, just let me know."
Some of them were pretty blunt.
"You should've left ages ago. That woman's a real piece of work."
"Cashing out over 25 billion dollars is way better than sticking with that company."
I didn't reply to any of them.
I poured myself a glass of water and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window.
From the 47th floor, the city lights below were packed together, spread out like a giant circuit board.
My phone lit up again.
This time, it was an unknown number.
I picked up.
"Mr. Grant, this is Financial News. Can you comment on being voted out at today's board meeting..." A voice came over the phone.
I hung up.
It rang again.
Another number.
"Mr. Grant, can you tell us what made you decide to sell off all your Autonova Mobility shares..." This time, it was a different voice.
I hung up.
I shut my phone off.
I sat there in the dark for a long time.
It wasn't sadness.
And it wasn't anger, either.
It was just a strange feeling.
Like I'd been standing on a ship racing straight toward an iceberg for ages.
Now, I'd finally made the leap.
The water was ice-cold, but at least I wouldn't sink with the ship.