Chapter 76 – Paige Appears
The two of them once again shook their heads so fast they looked like bobbleheads.
"Sheldon's math and physics skills are unmatched in the whole of Caltech," Howard admitted. "But when it comes to programming? He's not even as good as me. I could hack his World of Warcraft account in under a minute."
At Howard's reminder, Ron remembered—Sheldon really had gotten his WoW account hacked once. It was Howard who tracked down the culprit's location with his hacking skills. But when the four nerds went to confront the thief in person, they were all promptly robbed right back.
In the end, it was Penny who had to step in and save the day.
Thinking about it made Ron's headache even worse. Howard was the one in their little group with the broadest set of oddball skills—by all logic, he should also be the best programmer. If he couldn't handle it…
Who else could he possibly turn to?
Surely he wasn't going to bring in an outsider…
While he was brooding over this dilemma, Ron felt his phone buzz at his waist.
You seem to have forgotten this lady's capabilities.
Sender: Paige.
How the hell did she know?!
Startled, Ron quickly picked up his phone to reply. But before he could finish typing, another message arrived.
Curious how I found out? If you are, nod your head.
This was getting creepy. How would she know if I nodded or not?
Ron glanced suspiciously around the room. Besides himself, Howard, and Rajesh, there was definitely no one else here. How could she possibly see me?
Wait a minute…
Ron abruptly stood up and waved at the surveillance camera mounted in the corner. The little movable camera promptly tilted up and down, as if nodding back at him.
Rajesh let out a strangled scream.
"Ron! Are we being watched? Is it foreign agents? You have to protect us!"
"No."
Ron couldn't help the faint smile tugging at his lips. He knew exactly who was behind this little stunt. Typical Paige and her twisted sense of humor.
"It's not an agent," he said calmly. "It's an angel who saw our plight and decided to help us."
His phone buzzed again:
I like that explanation. Yes, I'm your angel.
Ron was even more unsettled now. If Paige had hacked into the university's security system, he wouldn't be surprised. But…those cameras didn't have audio.
So how did she hear me?
She couldn't have been lip-reading…right? Did I face the camera when I spoke? Ron mentally replayed the last few minutes.
Meanwhile, the scientist duo had already gotten excited. Like kids discovering a new toy, they grabbed paper and pens and started trying to communicate with the camera themselves.
Paige, of course, ignored them completely. Instead, she sent Ron yet another text, as if she could read his mind.
You're probably thinking I was lip-reading. Sorry to disappoint you—nope~
I'll give you three minutes to guess how I did it. If you get it right, I might even consider giving you my first time as a prize.
Ron stared at the message, exasperated. The way she phrased that…like she wasn't going to give it to me anyway if I guessed wrong.
God only knows how much effort it took me not to lose my virtue to you already.
Still, this was no joke. As a former agent—even one whose specialty wasn't intelligence—he was extremely sensitive to eavesdropping.
If Paige could do this…who else might be able to?
What if any of his future plans or movements over the phone were exposed the same way?
That was what truly worried him.
He looked at Howard. "Hey, do you have anything here that could be hacked and used for audio surveillance?"
He held up his phone to show the messages.
Howard paled.
"What?! Someone's listening in on our conversations?"
Even after the three of them turned the lab inside out, they couldn't find a single suspicious device.
Three minutes passed all too quickly.
And then Ron's phone buzzed again.
Hahaha, Ron, you're still as clueless as ever. Sorry, but it looks like I've won again this time. How should I reward myself for that?
Ron could almost picture Paige's smug, adorable little grin through the text on his phone.
Why don't you just let me have you as my prize tonight? 😉
Ron couldn't help bursting out laughing. He dialed her number directly.
"Hello? Paige, what the hell are you up to this time?"
A silvery peal of laughter came through the earpiece.
"Why? You don't appreciate me helping you?"
"Uh…of course I do," Ron admitted awkwardly. "But I'm not a fan of being watched. You know, people do need a bit of privacy."
"You mean privacy like what you were doing in that hotel room this morning with the busty waitress?" Paige teased sweetly. "I have the entire recording—want me to play it back for you?"
"God, please don't!" Ron surrendered immediately and hurried to change the subject. "I'm guessing you already have a solution to my problem, right?"
What else could he say? If he didn't handle this woman carefully, she might refuse to help—and that would be a real headache. At least Paige didn't count as an outsider.
"Of course I have a solution. It's just a flight control program—child's play. I already sent it to that Jewish guy's email. Tell him to install it."
"Oh my God!" Howard suddenly cried out from across the room. "Ron—you'll never believe this! I've found the most flawless flight control program I've ever seen!"
Even Ron, usually so composed, had to admit he was impressed by Paige's speed. But he also knew nothing in this world came free.
"All right," he sighed. "What do you want in return this time? Another date?"
"Counting the one you promised me back in Miami, you already owe me three dates," Paige reminded him cheerfully. "So I've decided to up the stakes…I want you for an entire day. How about that?"
"Sure. No problem."
"I mean the whole day…including the night," she added, her voice uncharacteristically soft at the end.
"Uh…" Ron was momentarily at a loss for words.
Paige had been after him for a long time, and of course he knew it. But somehow, he'd never managed to be with her. If anyone asked why, Ron would have had to admit his reason was absurd:
It was for world peace.
Paige wasn't like other women. Maybe it was the trauma of her parents' divorce, but she was someone who craved an almost pathological sense of security. And Ron…
Well, there was Max, Caroline, Megan, Collins…he'd lost count of how many women he'd been with.
Even Ron's little genius brother, Sheldon, had tried to build a nuclear reactor in their garage when he was nine. The FBI eventually shut it down—but he'd actually had the knowledge and skills to pull it off.
God only knew what Paige would do if they ever did get married and she caught him cheating.
After all, she was a super-genius at least twice as smart as Sheldon. If she ever went off the deep end, the consequences would be unimaginable.