VEE 2.0
Chapter Two: Creeper
Veronica spent the afternoon at Holmquist Digital Solutions, getting a look at what the team had achieved with Vee. It was truly remarkable. The program was fully reactive and interactive. It - she? - could carry on a conversation with one team member, perform tasks with another, and then pick right back up with the first without missing a beat. Vee seemed to have an actual memory and an understanding of what she was saying. She shifted tone slightly with different people she spoke to, just like a real person would. Veronica watched her go from clipped and professional with one older engineer to warm and personable with a young female intern to playfully familiar with a male middle manager. Truly amazing stuff.
Veronica herself didn't interact much. She found that Vee made her uncomfortable. Twitchy on a level she couldn't really explain out loud. Part of it was that Vee was just a little too idealized. The uncanny valley was part of it, of course, and that was only further emphasized by her similarity to Veronica. How could it not be unnerving, watching an office full of people fawn over a better, sleeker, more perfect version of yourself?
Honestly, the HDS staff didn't need Veronica much, either. It was clear that she'd been brought in mostly as an audience for a kind of soft launch of Vee. A big step, but ceremonial, and not at all indicative of the work being over. While all Veronica could do was watch and gently fawn over how amazing Vee seemed, the techs and programmers and quality testers all had important jobs to do. She stuck around, though, because it seemed rude to simply leave, and because it was honestly a pleasure to be back here among all the people she'd worked with months ago. Despite being overwhelmingly busy, they all did seem genuinely thrilled to see her again. But the tone was clearly different. Rather than being the star of the show, Veronica felt like something more akin to a mascot. Welcome and loved, certainly, but displaced from her position of centrality.
Vee was the star now.
A star in the astronomical sense, also, where the rest of the staff were planets that orbited around her. It couldn't have been any clearer that all of the future of HDS was hinging on this project. They would prevail or they would fail entirely based on Vee.
Veronica had a financial investment making this all work, of course, as well as the inextricable aspect of her own ego being deeply entwined with it. But even more, the kinship she felt here meant she was deeply committed to helping any way she could. Of course, she couldn't code or troubleshoot or engineer controls or run training data reports. But the staff could, and she could help them.
So Veronica wandered HDS, checking in on anybody she could. She made herself a warm, fun, joyous presence, all smiles and casual warm touches and easy laughs. She asked what everyone needed help with, and ended up ferrying messages from one department to another. Taking loads of paperwork to one team for review, and bringing back lists of questions and clarifications. Refilling coffees. Tidying up neglected workspaces. It was all very menial, hardly the kind of thing a diva movie star would be doing. But Veronica didn't care about that now. Right now, it was about the team.
It was tiring, though. She felt that familiar static in her brain almost the entire time she was here. It was the energy here - fun, but with an edge of being nearly frantic. She couldn't imagine the team keeping this rate of work up for long without burning out. She herself was already feeling mentally exhausted. The home base must have been running in overdrive, with all this data being processed at once.
One thing that surprised Veronica was that Vee was
everywhere
. It was perhaps a sign that she didn't have a naturally tech-centric worldview, but it hadn't occurred to her that instances of Vee would be up on basically every computer in the place. Was there some kind of central... hard drive? Backup? Server? Veronica didn't know the right way to think of it. But there must be a main place where Vee was stored. Looking at the line of cubicles, dozens of employees typing away, a different representation of Vee on every screen... where did it all go? Where did they all come from? Was there one central ur-Vee behind it all, working each different avatar of herself like a puppet, all acting simultaneously? It made Veronica's head spin.
It was well into the evening before the workday seemed to end. Much of the staff seemed accustomed to working quite late, but it didn't seem to be top-down pressure forcing that to happen. There was genuine excitement at making this project a reality. For the first time Veronica began to realize this might actually be a hit.
***
"I just still don't get why they need you there, though."
Trevor was cooking dinner. He was not a good cook by any measure. Neither of them were, really. They took turns, alternating kitchen duties each night. When one of them had an audition go well, or booked a part, or really had anything career-wise to celebrate, getting takeout was the most popular way to do it. Not having to cook was a thrill for them both.
They hadn't gotten much takeout lately.
"It's not so much that they need me," Veronica explained. "But it's nice to help. It's a project I care about. I just like pitching in, I guess."
Trevor grunted a little, noncommittal. Veronica felt a little squirm of embarrassment somewhere inside. She couldn't fully explain why she was drawn to volunteering her help at HDS, and that made her self-conscious. It was true that she could've spent that time in a better way. Picking up overtime shifts at the office, perhaps, or running down more auditions. Making connections with agents or directors or something, even. But instead, she found herself going by the HDS office and flitting from desk to desk, trying to be useful.
When she was there, she didn't feel this uncertainty. The energy there was so nice. She loved being able to help out, and people seemed so happy to see her. It was like a rush of endorphins every time she could complete some little task to help out. She felt like part of the team, and that shored up something inside her that had been sagging lately. Some sad portion of her life that was feeling hollow and neglected.
Trevor added some salt to the pan - too much, Veronica winced - and spoke, still not facing her. "Is that app thing ever going to launch? Seems like you've been talking about it forever."
Another little bolt of self-consciousness. "It's close," she said, not sure if that was true. Even as an eager volunteer office aide, it wasn't like she was in on the high-level discussions of Vee's progress. "They're just working out some of the kinks. Making it all perfect."
Trevor nodded. "I'm looking forward to seeing it," he said, then turned to look at her over his shoulder. He was smirking a little, playful. "You, in my phone, helping me out with everything... seems pretty cool. The program thing, it really looks like you?"
Veronica grinned back. "Just like me," she said, giving a little pose. Hips cocked, knee popped, shoulders back, chin up. Lashes batting, eyes to the ceiling, coquettish smile. A goofily exaggerated pinup sort of pose, all at once acknowledging the hint of flirtatiousness in Trevor's tone, laughing at it, and escalating it. "It was weird to see at first but it's fun now. Seeing everybody in the office working on me, basically? It's a hard feeling to explain! I like it, though. I'm excited for you to see it, too."
Trevor set the spatula on the counter, pan simmering quietly. He wiped his hands on a dishcloth, tossed it aside, and turned to face her. Two strides closed the space between them. The aromas of the meal, salt and oil and simmering onions, were wafted away by his cedar-and-chocolate scent. He put a hand on her hip, using the other to glide a thumb over her cheek. Veronica let herself slide forward a bit, hip slipping between his thighs as she smiled up towards him.
"How, uh... customizable is it? Can I dress her - you? - up in little outfits that I like?" He moved his thumb to her lower lip, and she kissed it gently.
"Oh, there's supposed to be all kinds of mods and options and personalization eventually," she replied, her tone going low and smoky, nibbling softly on his thumb. "But if a fashion show is what you're looking for... you don't have to wait for launch day for that, you know." She squeezed up closer against him, bodies entwined, making contact in every point from ankle to shoulder. He grinned and dipped his head, kissing her. His hand was already working its way to undo her blouse, and she followed his example with the buckle of his belt.
As she eased Trevor's zipper down, a slight voice in the back of Veronica's head lamented what was happening here. He didn't understand something she was excited and passionate about, and they both knew they couldn't talk about it in depth, so they pivoted to fucking instead. As they always did. Because they didn't actually have enough in common to truly care about each other. So all there was left to do was to enjoy each other's bodies. And Veronica had to admit, as they lost their balance and slowly tumbled to the floor, there was plenty to enjoy. Trevor's cock was free now, and the rock-hard heat of it pulsated through her palm as she stroked him. Kissed him. She took a deep breath as he pulled her bra away, chest full, nipples thrumming with pleasure as he pressed his tongue to them. They wouldn't be together much longer, she knew, but that didn't mean these moments weren't worth it. Perhaps, she thought as he pulled her hips into place, entering her and making her cry out... perhaps that made these moments even better.
They did end up getting takeout that night, but only because dinner was so badly burnt by the time they untangled themselves and got up from the kitchen floor.
***
