Primal Bargains by Raleigh Davis

Author:Raleigh Davis [Davis, Raleigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penny Bright Publishing, LLC

Chapter 18

Our destination turned out to be a gorgeous house on a cliff in Pacifica, shrouded in fog and surrounded by pines. The house itself is simple, painted dark blue and done in simple lines. The ocean and the cliffs are the stars here, and the builder knew it.

Without Gideon saying anything, I know this was Ira’s house. And it’s confirmed when I walk in and meet an older version of one of the girls from the pictures in Gideon’s room: Raven. She immediately makes me feel at home, pulling me into a corner to ask me everything about me, but in a natural, easy way. It’s the kindest interrogation ever.

Gideon was shooed away to go talk to people. “They missed you,” Raven said accusingly. “You disappear for weeks and then you show up with a gorgeous, charming woman. I want to know all about it, but I’m going to chat up Tess first.”

She pointed out a few of the people but hasn’t introduced me yet. “They all know each other from way back,” she says. “Let’s get you cozy, and then you can brave the gauntlet. Besides, Gideon needs to talk to everyone first, and Archer isn’t even here yet.”

Archer might not be here, but I recognize quite a few other people. Gage gives me a sharp nod when I catch his eye, and I see Cassian, who’s smirking at something Bishop Lund is telling him. Axel Beck is even here, snapping pictures with Raven’s sister, Morgan.

Raven catches me watching them. “Oh yeah, the romance heard round the internet.” She sighs. “I told him not to take pictures here, but he said he wouldn’t get anyone else in the frame. It’s part of his brand, and Axel can never not be on brand.”

Morgan is the sister who wasn’t smiling in Gideon’s pictures, but she is for these. “They look very happy together,” I offer.

And they do.

“They are,” Raven says wistfully. I could be imagining it, but her gaze lingers on Bishop. “They met at work.”

She explains to me that Morgan helped design the AI for Inspiron’s cars, the very thing that makes them self-driving.

“Wow.” Suddenly her and Axel’s closeness takes on a new dimension. I guess they’re not just together for social media. “So… everyone here does something with AI?”

“Gage does defense and security with an emphasis on AI.” Raven points each of them out in turn. “Bishop does something with stocks, I’m not sure exactly what, but it involves AI. Cassian’s marketing firm trumpets about their AI all the time.”

“I already know what Archer does,” I say before she can mention him.

Archer, the one who isn’t here, has a company that uses AI to do translations, things way beyond a simple Google translation. There was a big splash last year when his AI translated a famous Spanish poem I’d never heard of. Decoding figurative language isn’t exactly a strong suit of computers, but Archer claims to have done it.

“Are you in AI too?” I ask her.

Raven laughs. “Oh God, not me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.