As Kyle and Jessi walked down the stairs to the Latnok area, they could tell that something had happened. Most of the students were talking to each other. Very few of them were working on their projects. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Mark came over and told them, "You missed the announcement."
"We missed the announcement?" Kyle asked.
"Grace announced she was leaving and that we had a new coordinator. A guy named Brian Taylor," Mark said. At the mention of the name, he glanced at Jessi with a brief puzzled expression and then shrugged it off. He said, "He seems nice enough. More staid than Michael Cassidy, but he seems more approachable than Grace."
"We've met Brian," Kyle assured him. "He's been around Latnok for a long time. I think he'll be fine."
"He's in the office with Grace. I guess it's his office now," Mark shrugged. "I'm sure you can go in and talk to them."
"We will," Kyle led Jessi toward the door. He took her hand to reassure her and she rested her other hand on his biceps. He knocked on the door.
They heard Brian Taylor's voice say, "Come in."
Inside the office it was a repetition of the first time they had met Grace. Then it had been Cassidy sitting behind the desk, this time, it was Brian. Grace had the chair at the side of the desk.
"Have a seat," Brian indicated the two seats in front of the desk. After they sat down, he continued, "Grace has been bringing me up to speed on what's been going on here. I guess the biggest thing that's happening is the two of you."
Grace turned to Brian, "I think we've gone over everything and I can leave this place in your hands." She turned to Kyle and Jessi, "I was just waiting until the two of you got here so that I could say goodbye. Of course, it really isn't goodbye, we have the board meetings and, I suspect, we'll run into each other often enough. We do have a connection," she said, looking at Kyle. "What it is, only time will tell."
"I suppose so," Kyle said, looking at her.
She took a couple of business cards out of her jacket pocket. "I wrote my private number on the back. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call." She stood and handed one to Kyle and the other to Jessi. She went to the door, turned back to the room and said to Brian, "Give me a call after you've finished settling in."
"I will," Brian promised. Grace left the room and closed the door. Brian visibly relaxed. He turned to Jessie, "Jessi, it's good to see you again. How are you?"
"I'm living at the Trager's," Jessi said bluntly. "I like it there."
"I'm glad you have a home you like," Brian said. "I wish I would have given you a better one. If you're happy there, then that's fine with me. I want you to be happy."
"You pushed her too hard," Kyle challenged him. "You could have hurt or killed her. You were with Adam all those years. You saw what it did to him."
"I know," Brian admitted. "Latnok threw me out for creating Jessi. They thought she was a mistake. I wanted very badly to prove them wrong and I pushed too hard." He paused for a moment, then continued, "To be fair, though, at the beginning Jessi was eager to see what she could do." He looked at Jessi, "You remind me so much of Sarah." He smiled and looked down remembering. He looked back up and said, "It seems as though all my efforts were misguided. I wanted Latnok to take you seriously and now the two of you are on the board." He laughed, "It doesn't get much more serious than that."
"You did make me stronger," Jessi admitted.
"But it was too dangerous," Kyle objected. "You pushed too fast."
"I'm glad you're looking out for her, Kyle," Brian said. "I wish Adam had done a better job of looking out for Sarah."
"She can always count on me," Kyle promised. Jessi turned and smiled at him, resting her hand on his forearm.
Brian noticed the exchange and turned to Jessi, "And, I guess, congratulations are in order. I've heard about your invention and your success with it. One of my jobs with Adam was helping him get his inventions out into the world. He did well, but somehow I think the two of you will do more."
"We want to make a difference in the world," Kyle said. "We want to help people."
"And I'm sure you'll do that," Brian sat for a moment, then looked at Jessi, "Jessi, I had a long talk with Nicole Trager, I'm glad you have her looking out for you as well as Kyle and the rest of the Trager family too. I do really care for you and will be looking out for you too. You have a lot of people who care about you. You're not alone in the world."
"Thank you," Jessi's tension was obviously lowered.
"I think we can work together here," Brian nodded. "I worked to help Adam all his life. I look forward to helping the two you as well. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."
Brian Taylor was back in Jessi's life and mine as well. He was Jessi's father and a connection to Adam. While Jessi had started out apprehensive I could sense that her tension was lowering, her heart rate steadying. Perhaps in time she could build a relationship with her father. I could not see myself doing the same with Grace. Brian's physiological reactions had been consistent with he had been saying. He was very disturbed about what had happened to Sarah. I didn't sense that he was trying to deceive us, but I did feel that there was something important that he was keeping from us. What had he done to cause Adam to become disillusioned with him? I knew part of the story. My holographic memory from Zzyzx had revealed that he had conspired with Kern when Adam had been thrown out of the facility.