Malfunction (A Googleplier Fanfic)

Five.

"Thanks so much for meeting with me today." (Y/n) said, earning a thoughtful nod from her superior who stood up due to her presence.

"Of course. I love to talk, as you know." He commented, making her forced chuckle fill the office air.

He stuck out his hand, but she hesitated. The employee looked down at her right hand, reminding herself that there was an obvious bandage wrapped around it as to avoid infection and too much pain from the outside biome.

"Oh, my apologies." Mr. Pichai spoke out, drawing back his hand. She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." She spoke softly, sitting down in the chair opposite from him.

"What happened?" Her boss asked, sitting down in his chair as well. She gulped, nervously twitching her left hand at his question.

"... I - I spilt some hot coffee on my hand. It's no big deal." She managed to stammer out, relieved that she was able to create a convincing lie. But Sundar didn't seem too persuaded.

"Ms. (L/n), I can have that checked out for you." He offered, genuine concern in his eyes. She gave him a soft smile as she waved off his suggestion.

"It's okay. It'll heal over time. It won't hinder my work."

"I'm glad to hear that." He stated, nervously looking down at his desk as he rubbed his thumbs, "So, what was it you wanted to speak about?"

"Google IRL. I just had a couple of questions that I was curious about."

His demeanor tensed, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Of course. What would you like to know?" He asked, grabbing his mug and sipping the black coffee that was held inside.

"Well, he's quite a character. But I was very interested in knowing how he seems so human-like. I know that modern technology has advanced greatly, but he could be thought as human to outsiders."

Mr. Pichai stood up, causing her eyes to follow his unusual movements.

".. We have given him the ability to act more like a human for the simple stake of money-making. Obviously, you have to generate something new and unique to earn a pay from it."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, but how? What did you do to allow him that much knowledge regarding human behavior?"

"That, my dear, is something that is very classified. After all, we don't want anyone to steal our prototype." He let out a nervous laugh, which slightly caught her off guard.

".. I suppose that makes sense.."

"Okay, on to the next question." He prodded, changing the subject quickly. But she didn't think much of it.

"Well, his hard drive seems to be... freezing up? He's been having some trouble lately, and I wanted to know how to do those sort of things manually."

Sundar stopped walking, gripping onto the mug that he was carrying.

"What exactly are you saying, (Y/n)?"

She looked towards him, a serious look on her face.

"Look. I know that I've been given this project for an important reason, and it is such a honor to be valued in that way. So, I want this prototype to work. And I refuse to give up on him. This Google advancement could change the ways that first-world countries function, and could maybe even help other places in need. There is so much potential, and it will not go to waste in my hands."