Alex admittedly had second thoughts about buying his home, but the forest trails were one of the few things he enjoyed about it. He often walked them alone, dancing between thoughts of work and daily life.
But in the end, his mind always returned to that night. To the look of ecstasy on Chloe's face, the dominating smirk Edward gave him as he left the evening. The shame and excitement he had felt while staring at Chloe on the bed, ravaged and exhausted. Her skin covered in sweat and cum. He recalled the anger he felt when packing his bags to leave the house. She begged him not to go, begged him to talk things through. But Alex left Chloe alone in that house, leaving her behind like another bad memory to be forgotten.
Alex was pained by the knowledge that achieving his dream had come at the cost of Chloe. He had found freedom, but he had found it alone. As Alex meandered through his emotions and thoughts, he heard a familiar chime in his ear. It was Amber. Alex let out a sigh as he tapped the side of his temple.
"Hope you have good news." He said calmly.
"The servers are ready to go, but they are too weak to support my more advanced functions. I am doing my best, but the hardware they provided is limiting. Did you let Sharp Edge know they'd need upgraded racks?" Amber asked, a hologram of her body appeared in Alex's vision. A projection from his mind that only he could see. Alex had designed Amber to appear as a white-haired vixen, a projection he admittedly felt slight embarrassment over.
"I did, but as always, they won't budge until there is a major failure," Alex said.
"You think they want them to fail?" Amber asked, though she didn't need to. Risk assessment was hardwired into her, she already knew the answer to her own question, arguably better than Alex could've answered. But Alex didn't create Amber to be another vapid AI system. He wanted Amber to feel as real as possible. Alex loved the touch of genuine conversation, he wanted the user to feel as though Amber was right there with them, conversing as you would with any colleague. It was one of Amber's strong selling points.
"Not likely, Sharp Edge has no reason to tank their Amber instillation. It's likely just budgeting." Alex said, crisp leaves crackling underneath his boots as he turned a corner and neared his home.
"I suppose it would be hard for the Sharp Edge Lords to enjoy themselves without their yachts," Amber replied, sarcasm pungent in her voice, "I looked into their finances by the way, 7.8 million is the minimum starting salary for a Noble. Obscene."
"You shouldn't tell me confidential information, Amber," Alex said. Amber let out a playful laugh.
"I'll share what I want. It hasn't gotten us into trouble in the past." Amber said, her holographic body turning to look at the landscape. A nice illusionary touch. She was mapping the environment in real-time through Alex's neural signals. She saw what he saw, felt what he felt. Her body walked alongside him, matching the local light to make it seem as though she was there. The hologram technology was groundbreaking, but it was still in development. Amber was Alex's test AI, the first to receive the gift of environmental interaction.
"Sharp Edge is different. Another level of company. The middle companies tow the line of their Lords, but Sharp Edge is a Lord. With Nobles and alliances to preserve it. They will be far more protective of sensitive information." Alex replied. Amber sighed.
"Alex, they aren't going to destroy us for knowing how much money they make. Like always, the security measures you requested are already in place. We're simply gossiping." Amber responded, looking up at the tall maple trees. "I never did congratulate you on the new home purchase, did I?"
"We've been a little busy," Alex said. Observing Amber as she stepped towards a tree. Her hand reached for it, passing through its trunk before readjusting to rest on its surface.
"I should have said something. Work isn't the most important thing in life after all. So congratulations. You really did pick a wonderful spot." Amber said, looking back at him and smiling. Her eyes glowed a soft blue as she stepped toward him.
"Yeah..." Alex replied softly.
"How are you doing with the whole Chloe situation?" She asked. It always surprised Alex how real Amber felt. Her response time and ability to read the situation was seamless.
"Seeing her again was troubling," Alex said, rounding a corner and seeing his house in the distance. Its sleek windows and rock-faced siding a welcoming site.
"You saw her today at SharpEdge?" Amber asked curiously.
"You're going to act like you didn't hear what happened?"
"You told me to stop eavesdropping. Was Edward there?"
Alex didn't respond. Amber nodded slowly.
"He was. God, that must have been awkward," Amber said.
"Very." Alex agreed, walking off the nature trail and rounding another corner to his home.
"You never did tell me what exactly happened between you three..." Amber said curiously. Alex cleared his throat, but before he could come up with a response, he froze in place. Shocked to find Sarah patiently waiting at his front door.
"Sarah's here?" Alex asked, looking at Amber with surprise. She gave him an embarrassed shrug.
"It might have slipped my mind to tell you," Amber said.
"You forgot?" Alex asked, though the question was more to himself than to Amber. He knew full well Amber couldn't forget, at least not unintentionally.
"It's been so busy after all," Amber replied bashfully, staring at Sarah with grimace. An expression Alex had never seen Amber make.
"How long has she been here?" Alex asked.
"Long enough that she's been trying to call you," Amber replied. Alex looked at her with some surprise.
"You didn't think to let the calls through?"
Amber merely smiled, "They should be coming through now." Alex scoffed.
"Well, thanks for the warning." He walked up behind Sarah, who calmly looked down at her phone. "Didn't think you were one for surprise visits," Alex said.
Sarah jumped before turning to him. "Oh my god! You scared me!" She said with a laugh, she quickly opened her arms to hug Alex. She squeezed him tight, holding for longer than she should have, Alex did the same. Sarah released him with a gentle laugh. "How are you doing? I heard you went to Sharp Edge headquarters today and didn't tell me?"
Alex's eyes trailed over Sarah. She wore a baggy sweatshirt coupled with jeans and sneakers, all of it complimenting her athletic curvy figure. Alex looked away bashfully, his eyes catching Amber as she rolled her eyes and disappeared from his vision.
"Things got a little busy," Alex answered calmly, returning his attention to Sarah.
