Broken Souls Don't Cry

Chapter 11

Kai

"One thing we all need to remember is that we are here to help the client with whatever computer needs they may have." Rockwell, the other partner at Sudo, says. Kai was sitting in the weekly Thursday training meeting that they had. According to Sam, they either talk about specific recent issues with clients and everyone gets a chance to learn from what happened or they have a life coach come in to talk about goal setting, being productive with your time, and positive mind sets.

Today, they were going over a recent issue with a client where heads had butted between the client and their assigned technician on whether or not a new server and backup system was really needed. One of the employees at the client had opened a link in an email and their whole system went into lockdown when it was infected with ransomware.

The client had been putting off getting a new backup system and they had lost all their information that hadn't been on the system due to lack of space. Client reports, referrals, contracts, etc. all gone. The point of contact at the client was familiar enough with computers but was refusing to upgrade their equipment and telling the owners of the business that they were fine. Whereas the Sudo technician kept urging them to upgrade so they wouldn't lose all that information when they were, inevitably, hacked again.

Kai took liberal notes because dealing with pushback from clients was something he wasn't super great at. Thankfully, he hadn't faced any issues yet, but it was only his third day on the job. Justin has been able to help him with most things that came up.

The meeting wrapped up and they all made their way to the breakroom for Thursday lunch, provided by Sudo. This week was pizza and cake.

Kai didn't have any classes on Thursdays so he would spend them at the office instead of on-campus. He was thankful for the reprieve. He still hadn't heard anything from Sara regarding their project, but he was trying to give her some space after his blunder yesterday. He had a feeling that unless it was project related, she wouldn't give him the time of day.

Sitting down at a table in the breakroom he decided to go through emails and any messages he'd received earlier. Still no response from Sara, there was a message from AJ asking about a ride home from work tonight, and an email from his father's secretary with the receipt for his tuition payment. Kai had requested that so he could turn it in to Sudo for tuition reimbursement.

He let AJ know he could pick him up and asked for the time and address, he thanked Rose, his father's secretary, and sent a follow-up message to Sara.

Kai: Do you have time tonight we could discuss prospects for the project?

Surprisingly she responded fairly quickly, albeit to the point.

Sara: Can't. Work.

Kai: How about tomorrow then? Before or after class?

Sara: 12pm, Jamba.

Guess she has an aversion to messages longer than two words, but at least she finally agreed to continue their project.

Kai: Great.

**

Kai stayed at work later than he had originally planned on so he could swing by and pickup AJ from work. There was still some pizza leftover from lunch, so he had that for dinner while checking on backup errors for a client.

At 7:00 he logged out of his computer and headed over to where AJ worked. He sent a message letting him know he was heading over before he pulled out of the parking lot.

His phone rang during the drive, and he answered it with his hands-free device.

"Hey Christi"

"Hey Kai!" Christi, or Christine, is his youngest sister. She's a senior in high school and is one of those women who want to take over the world. She's so ambitious that it makes Kai look like yesterday's news. Once upon a time, Christi had told her family during a rare dinner when everyone was present that she wanted to take over the company someday. Their dad's response had been... vehemently against it. He had said that women can't lead a business to success, their job was to be at home raising children and attending fundraisers. There was no place in a boardroom for a woman.

Needless to say, that didn't stop Christi from learning all she could. Dad's secretary Rose, put her in contact with another member of the company, Jason, who took Christi under his wing so she could start learning the ins and outs of their family business. All the while our father has no clue of what she's doing.

"How is school shaping up this year?" He asks her, "Is Mr. Chandler giving you problems in Physics like last year?"

"No, thank goodness. Classes are going well so far. I've got several AP courses and a few business classes I'm taking from Mr. T. He's working with Jason in getting me the material and experience I need to stage a coup at some point. They make a great team."

"Aren't you worried dad will find out?"

"No, not really. Rose keeps most things out of his line of sight and when I swing by the office to do work I always fake that I'm bringing dad lunch or some other random bs."

"Well, just be careful. I worry what he'll do when he finds out what's going on."

"If he finds out Kai, if." She sighs. "Anyways, that's not why I'm calling."

"Oh?"

"I thought I should give you a heads up that mom and dad are sending Chelsea your way. She's going to – I repeat – 'Make sure that boy doesn't get distracted with any floozy that wants him for our money'"

A grimace crosses Kai's face. "I bet she has another agenda while she's here as well."

"Probably. You know her. I don't understand how mom and dad want you to marry her. She's an idiot and such an air head."

"They want me to marry her for what she could bring to the company. That's all. They could care less if she was a brilliant scientist who cures cancer or some singer in an off-Broadway show. They just want the connection she can provide" Kai pulls to a stop at a red light then bangs his head on the steering wheel. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll have to find a way to avoid her as much as possible. I can't have her blabbing my secret to dad just yet."

"Well, let me know if I can help with any of it. I could probably put in a note to Rose and have dad recall her back to California. I'm pretty sure Colorado is not her scene"

"No, it's not. She'd rather be on a beach somewhere staring at and banging all the half-naked guys"

"Ewww" Christi gags, "I did not need that visual"

"You're welcome" Kai chuckles as he pulls into the parking lot. "Hey, I've got to go, I'm picking up my roommate and giving him a ride home. Talk to you never."

"Talk to you never"

Kai headed to the door of the shelter and knocked. He could see AJ at the desk talking to someone and he waved when AJ looked at him.

"Kai, would you be willing to help jumpstart my coworker's car? Her battery seems to have died"

"Sure thing" AJ points to the car that needs jumped and he moves his truck so it's easier to jump. As he's in the bed getting out his cables he hears AJ's coworker come out and start talking.

"Hey, thank you so much for being willing to jump me, I-"she stops midsentence and frowns when Kai closed the tailgate and stood up. Kai however let's a smile pass his face.

"Sara?"