77 Outside work hours (1)

Aiden held Sarah's hand as they walked to the living area. "When did JoAnna arrive?"

"When I came back after lunch, she was already on the way here. She has work in Spokane and will be back after midnight."

"Do you want me to stay at my place tonight?" Aiden looked at Sarah seriously.

Sarah could see that he is reluctant and asked her this with difficulty.

Aiden didn't want to leave. He didn't want to be without her, but at the same time he felt that he has no right to monopolize her. His intention was to give Sarah an option to be alone with her sister, if she wants to.

To his relief, Sarah hugged him. "Unless you have a really good reason to be somewhere else, I want you here."

Aiden smiled and kissed her. He was hoping for this answer.

Jeff cleared throat. Obviously indicating that he is right there, and they should not get too intimate.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "CEO White, what are regular work hours at White corp.?" Her voice was full of irritation. She didn't let go of Aiden.

Jeff didn't understand why she is asking that suddenly. And why is she looking at him like an animal protecting its prey, unwilling to share. He slightly frowned. "From nine in the morning to five in the afternoon."

Sarah took a breath, and with a straight face started talking. "So, nine to five on weekdays, you are CEO White, and you can tell your employees what to do. But it's six o'clock already, you had him the whole afternoon. And I missed him... You can get used to it or look away, but don't expect me to hold back." Sarah pouted like a child and looked at Aiden, as if she is asking for his approval of what she said. After incident with Hugo, Sarah decided that she will not let anyone interfere between them, even if they are family. She told herself that she needs to be fierce and to defend what is hers.

Aiden gave her a small nod of approval and tightened his hug.

Sarah was happy with is repose. Then she remembered, why she told Aiden to bring Jeff here. "You asked who helped me during the interview. Let me introduce you to Eve. She can give you company a bit, so you are not bored." Sarah let go of Aiden and walked to open the door of the study room. "This way, please." She gestured with her hand for Jeff to enter.

Jeff was not sure how to respond to everything what Sarah said, but he followed her to the study. When both of them were in the room, Sarah called: "Eve!"

"Yes Master", Eve's voice was heard, and Jeff was startled.

He looked around trying to figure out from where that voice is coming.

"This is Jeffrey White. Give him temporary access level four."

Sarah looked at Jeff and smirked seeing his bewildered expression. "Eve is my AI assistant. Eve is the one who I texted today during lunch, related to both reports. You can ask her anything you want to know, she will either give you a satisfactory answer or tell you that you don't have access. It might feel strange at first, but you get used to it. Just call her name, and she will respond." Sarah paused for few seconds before continuing. "Eve will not initiate interaction. She will only respond to your questions."

With this, Sarah rushed out and closed door behind her.

Jeff stood in the room, not sure what to say. 'This girl is really… strange.' He does not remember when was the last time that someone talked to him so openly without any filter. He looked up, and called out, "Eve?"

"Yes, Mr. White", Eve responded with a slight echo.

"Hmm... how are you?"

"I'm not able to answer that. I don't have modules for feelings", Eve responded.

"Oh..." Jeff was thinking how this will work out... He checked the time on his phone. 'How long do I need to stay here?'

He decided to try again. "Eve…"

"Yes, Mr. White?"

"What do people usually do when they talk to you for the first time?"

"Decide how I should call them." Eve responded.

"Can I tell you how to call me?"

"Yes Mr. White."

"Call me Jeff."

There was no response.

"Eve", Jeff called again.

"Yes, Jeff?"

"Why you didn't respond?"

"When?", Eve asked.

"When I told you to call me Jeff."

"There was no question for me to respond to."

'This will be challenging. I'm not a chatty person.' Jeff was thinking how talking with Eve is not an easy task, but at the same time he was intrigued what all this AI assistant can do.

When Sarah got back into the living area, Aiden was sitting on the sofa fiddling with his phone. She rushed and straddled him while wrapping her hands around his neck. "I missed you a lot." She complained and kissed him lightly.

"I missed you to." Aiden was happy to hold Sarah in his embrace and feel her lips on his. He likes that she is open and says what is on her mind.

After some time, Jeff still didn't come out of the study room.

Sarah and Aiden were spending quality time in the living area, and situation was heating up. They hugged and kissed to make up for the afternoon they spent apart.

"Should we check on him? I'm sure it's more than fifteen minutes how I left him there." Sarah asked while catching up her breath.

"You want to stop?!" Aiden didn't want to stop. It was just getting to the good part. He held the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss.

She moved her head away to avoid his kiss. "Anymore, and I will drag you to the bedroom. Then we can forget about diner."

He looked at her lips. They were slightly swollen and red from all the kissing. He wanted more, and she could feel his hunger. Sarah was in a similar state as Aiden, but maybe with a bit more restraint than him.

"Your brother is in that room." Sarah reminded him.

Aiden pressed his lips forming a thin line and nodded. He took few deep breaths before speaking. "Let's go check on him."