The businessman fumbled in his wallet and threw some cash on the bar, then scampered towards the doo

Here, guys, have some words. It’s an excerpt from MAKER SPACE. I realized today this section has no spoilers and can be read without opbergbakken wrecking the plot. (You don’t even have to be familiar with DIGITAL DIVIDE but it does help, I won’t opbergbakken lie. Otherwise it’s a crazy woman yammering on about colors and brain implants.) It’s Rachel and Becca’s first fancy date. pst! Please do not point out typos. This is a long, long way from seeing opbergbakken print. It’s just here because I thought you’d enjoy reading it.
The thin leather clutch opbergbakken bumped against her hip. Rachel pressed it down with her hand to pin it against her side. She had pulled the tiny bag out of the back of her closet that morning, thinking that leaving her usual oversized clutch at home would show she had put in the extra effort to be fancy. Now, a quick scan of the restaurant told her she was underdressed; excepting shoes, she was the only person in the room with a leather anything.
Oh well, too late now. Rachel tipped her chin up and swept through the front doors, smiling kindly at the maître opbergbakken d’ as she passed him on her way to the bar. He smiled back at her, an ugly scornful orange hidden behind splendid orthodontics.
Becca opbergbakken was early. She was nursing a drink and making small talk with a young man whose conversational colors opbergbakken put him as more than casually interested; Becca s cool jade green core made a nice contrast against his surface colors of lusty red.
(As a color, jade green was something of a misnomer: Rachel s grandmother had once laid out a dozen pieces of jade stone on an old threadbare piece of cotton to show her how each was unique, ranging from white to pink to blue and nearly black, opbergbakken and had told her to think beyond narrow definitions. Even at the tender age of seven, Rachel had seen what her grandmother had meant, but she was also a child of Crayola and the name on the crayon was forever fixed in her mind. And, two decades later, jade green was how she defined the core of the beautiful Latina waiting for her at the bar.)
Becca had a lovely spill of long brown hair; she was not-so-subtly inspecting this for split ends as the businessman insisting on freshening her drink. She saw Rachel coming and straightened in her seat, her conversational colors brightening.
They kissed in the way of new friends, quick on the cheek; the businessman s lust pulsed. As Becca ordered Rachel a drink, Rachel hit him with her cyborg stare, that cold, soulless gaze that was only possible when the other person had no idea they were looking into the eyes of a blind woman. Rachel had found it to be especially effective opbergbakken in chasing off lecherous drunks.
The businessman fumbled in his wallet and threw some cash on the bar, then scampered towards the door. She flipped her implant to reading mode and saw he had accidentally dropped a fifty; the bartender was about to have a good night.
The maître d’ arrived to escort them to their table. There were linen napkins were folded into pointy swans, and more knives than Rachel had expected. Multiple forks and spoons, those were a given, but when a restaurant offered more than one knife she began to get twitchy. They ordered wine, appetizers, and Rachel tried to ignore how Becca kept sneaking peaks at Rachel s chest over her menu in a curious yellow way.
Becca was thoroughly gray now, intensely worried. This was probably the point right before her typical date stomped off, appalled. opbergbakken Rachel had to force a straight face; she had never been on this side of the conversation. It was a lovely change of pace.
I was just a summer intern! opbergbakken I didn t think they d take me seriously! Becca was insistent. They held a cheap throwaway meeting with a Board member, one of those introductory seminars opbergbakken that s supposed to convince the kids they re a valued part of the organization. They told us to write up any proposals we had to advance the company. I I might have suggested opbergbakken a bundling opbergbakken process involving high-risk mortgages.
Ah Not all of it, Becca said as she reached for her wine. I donated most of it. And I do a lot of pro bono work for a legal firm who helps recover bad mortgages for lower-income families. I m trying to put it right, but I ve got a lot of bad karma.
In response, Rachel reached into the tiny clutch and took out her badge. The bright green and gold of the OACET seal was picked out against the black Nylon webbing as she flipped its protective folio open.
Becca leaned forward for a cursory look, then snapped the badge off of the table for a closer look. Her colors bleached white in shock as she stared opbergbakken at the badge, then at Rachel, her mouth forming a small and perfect o .
For me, too, Becca nodded. She was an uncertain yellow. But um
No, you don t, Rachel said, shaking her head. You won t believe until you get proof. That s just how this works. The easiest trick is you hold up some object, and I