One Problem At A Time

I was immersed in programming software that I'd been working on for a while to improve a program that could spot and identify sexually weird people lurking around defenseless people.

Children cannot say no and defend themselves, just as some adults have the same problem. All this by using chips integrated into the devices they use every day without them realizing it. But I can't concentrate, I'm doing everything backward, and I get lost in the program's complexity every time. My mind is elsewhere.

Strangely, I'm not getting all worked up; I'm just anxious and disturbed. I was about to pour myself my thousand umpteenth glass of milk when I heard the intercom reasoning in the house.

Who could it have been? I hope Olean knows what he's doing because I'm not in the mood to be bothered. With messy hair, wearing only a gray set tracksuit and white socks, I shuffle into the other room to answer the intercom despite myself.

I could have consulted it without moving, but I wanted to get away from my office a bit.

"Olean, I'm not in the mood, so dismiss anyone or questions that might piss me off." I hear myself growl on the intercom.

"Thank you, Olean. I'll take over!"

I was already a few feet away from the intercom when Nodge's voice came from the other end, profound, eloquent, and calm. "We need to talk a little, young man, so open and send the elevator."

"Oh no!" I grumbled as I made my way to the living room. I let myself fall into the sofa full-length on my face. "I'm screwed!" I yelled into the cushion.

"Cody, let Nodge in!" I launched my AI. "You don't seem happy to see Monsieur today." He answers me. "As you said, I'm not in the mood for chatting, Cody."

"I can find you an excuse for him to leave, although his voice indicates that it will be a bit difficult to get rid of him today."

At the same time as he utters this last sentence, Nodge, for his part, impatiently resumes.

"Don't you dare involve Cody in all this? Your shenanigans are not going to make me change my mind. So, I advise you to ask Cody to open the door and send me the elevator."

Cody let out a whisper as Nodge could hear him. "Too bad, We're toasted."

"Yeah!" I threw at him with boredom, still lying on the big sofa. "What are you waiting for to let him come up and join us?" I ask him in a weary voice.

Cody is a humanoid I created in my image, but he has almost everything I lack in the emotional quotient; he is three times more human than me.

More than ten million dollars have been spent refining all his features, and today he can recognize me among a thousand without even considering the genetic factors. The only one I didn't sell, I created him to complete myself, which was a good investment.

To have access to my apartments, as long as he does not give access, nothing can pass through it. It is inviolable. I wanted to nickname him like me, but Nodge said that was too narcissistic.

I don't find anything narcissistic about that, he's me, and I'm him in a way, and he looks like me like two drops of water. As Nodge advised me to change his name, I did it since I sometimes listen to and respect him.

The only way someone else, say Nodge, can order him to do something is if I'm dead and he checks it out or I'm in a coma. Only he can help me; he will take the initiative by connecting to my nervous system.

So I nicknamed him that, the first name that came to mind, Cody.

He can control my car, guide me, call the police if I'm in danger, or protect me like a shield, except that he can't get out of my apartment now.

No one but Nodge knows the true capabilities of this jewelry. Sometimes he even scolds me. Its firewalls are unbeatable, coded like my DNA with specific sequences that have been modified to make it better performing and inaccessible. he is incorruptible.

Something I can say out loud, I offered billions of dollars on the Dark Web to anyone who could break through his firewall. They spent three years hounding him without success.

Ah, that's right, I had almost completely forgotten those details about myself. Let me reintroduce myself before you find out from someone else. I'm talking about Nodge since he is the only one aware of everything.

It would help if you didn't say that I purposely kept details to myself or lied. The money I spend on my jewelry, we're talking about Cody, is mine, the one I earned myself. Talking about my legacy, like my father before me, I don't intend to touch it, and talking about the Empire my parents left behind after they died. I don't know what I'm going to do with it.

Now that I'm approaching my eighteenth birthday, I must take charge of the Empire. I speak physically because I manage many things as far as I am not too concerned, even if I'm not there.

Still, the problem is it is time for me to introduce myself to the members of the management and our various partners, which involves the media.

I'm not hiding. It's just that I'm not ready for it, and I have many things I manage on my side.

I invested last year, which earned me ten times the amount I invested. If only I used to do business with shady thugs and mafia, they'd already have my skin by now; they would have thought I was cheating.

I've never done that, not once. I own an incalculable number of complexes and duplexes that I rent to foreign and local firms and others to civilians who love luxury because they are luxurious. I love everything beautiful and impeccable. A person can't be perfect, but everything I do has to be.

Not to mention the many security software and startups I've sold. Oh, without forgetting the multinational that I have incorporated in three different countries for the moment, we provide everything related to domestic or business surveillance, with a surplus that I have introduced into their primary function.

This spy file can recognize domestic violence or other violence perpetrated on others. Such as rape, abuse, and sexual abuse. It can detect, analyze, categorize, and create a profile for each person living in the house or otherwise.

And it's a bit on it that I am busy working without sorting things out. I need to perfect its analysis function so there are no errors in its reports.

I don't know why, but I'm a stickler for safety. I always feel that I have to do something that can help, plus there are so many challenges in the world of technology.

The evolution of this branch never ceases to amaze me, and on the other side, so many people are suffering in silence, without talking about their personal needs. I mean, find something to work on without getting annoyed and losing interest in doing it. It would be a plus if I could help those who cannot defend themselves.

That's where my money comes from.

Last time I introduced myself, guys, ok. My name is Ray Quincy Kenbes Lordcaster. My father is Kaim Raynold Kenbes Lordcaster, and Quincy Williams is my mother's full maiden name.

Aim Williams, This is the name I introduce myself to my friends. You know who I am talking about when I refer to my friends since I have no other. It is also under this name that I was sent to boarding school to avoid being recognized everywhere I go.

Being the center of attention is not part of my prerogatives; It makes me uncomfortable and triggers acute crises. Of course, that is one of my most serious problems, after many others. But it remains the most important.

My complete identity. That's pretty much the only thing I don't tell my friends. Whenever I mention those two words, "my friends," I always get a big smile spread all over my face, making me look like an idiot. I can't help it, guys; first time in a century. I don't know why it always happens, but it's not unpleasant.

Nodge's voice broke the silence I fled into a moment ago. I didn't even hear Cody ask me if there was anything else he could do. He may have understood that I was again lost in my thoughts and slipped away discreetly.

I occupy the tenth and last floor of one of the many complexes for which I own the title deeds. My penthouse is as luxurious as Burj-al-Arab itself.

I grew up like this, in the comfort, the luxury, and the lack that I never expressed. I don't know any other life form, so forgive me if my lifestyle makes you uncomfortable.

I didn't even cry when I learned of my parent's death. Yet I knew very well that I would never see them. I understood what that meant; only I couldn't cry. I didn't need to.

So, while growing up, I began to feel the weight of the emptiness their absence left in my life weighing on my shoulders.

"You better not face me because I intend to gouge out your pretty, beautiful eyes and chew them like gum while making noise so you can hear my feast."

"Oh! Calm down, Nogdy. You woke up on the wrong foot. What is all this hostility and aggression? I don't recognize you at all." I replied to his ferocity in an amused tone.

"Now, you're making fun of me. It's new," he said, a little calmer. "But what did you do last night? For God's Sake!" he took back while resuming his aggressiveness, where he left it for a second.

"Last night, last night!" I start thinking out loud, "what did I do last night? I don't remember," I told him before resuming everything I had done. "I went home as usual and bathed. I put on clean clothes and worked until this morning... "Oh, Lord! I haven't slept all night! But how do you know? Are you spying on me, Nodge?"

"Stop fooling around, Mr. Kenbes." He almost yelled at me by raising his voice a bit, which made Cody pop up behind him.

"Any problem?" Cody asked. I shook my head no while sitting on the couch with my feet drawn up to my chest, which I wrapped my arms around without losing my amused look.

Nodge never gets mad, but when he says Mr. Kenbes, I know it's serious. I must have forgotten something about the Kenbes Empire.

He glared at Cody as he walked away from him. It almost made me laugh out loud. "So you don't need to get mad; tell me what I did, or Cody will wring your neck like a chicken." Given the situation, I refrain from adding fuel to the fire.

"We had concluded to introduce you little by little to this starving society in which we live, right? If it were up to me, I wouldn't have put you in such a situation to avoid repeating the incident at your parents' funeral, let alone run the risk of you relapsing. Do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember," I say softly while shaking my head.

"So why didn't you come to the Gala? Why did you stand me up, huh? You have responsibilities, and sooner or later, you have to accept them. If you continue like this, who will manage your inheritance, you will be eighteen years old soon. These vultures are just waiting to grab the fruit of your parent's hard work."

Ah, the Gala! That's it. I completely forgot about it; It completely slipped out of my mind. "I am sorry," I mumbled quietly.

"So, how was it?" I asked him gently. He just felt the sincerity in my voice cause he relaxed a little and took his place on the large sofa in front of me.

"Pretty lovely, and I understand why you donate so much money to these causes. And this woman is breathtakingly beautiful and elegant. Luckily for me, I only brought the check of twenty-five million dollars that you gave me; otherwise, I could have left my account in the hands of this goddess."

He shook his head vehemently to chase away some obscene ideas that must be going through his head at the moment, and he swept his hand in the air in front of him, all that with his back straight, his legs crossed, and his left hand resting on his leg elegantly. He is an impressive man.

"But, he continues, "I was relieved that you did not come. There was a crowd of journalists present. The info has indeed been filtered that you will be there. These two-headed vipers have been disappointed. Well done for them."

"I don't want you to be exposed to those damned camera flashes of those gossip-hungry heartless vultures again."

"So why were you in this state if you were relieved that I didn't come? You're a weird, mean guy when you get down to it. Do you know that?"

"I was worried, that's all. I had an atrophied chest all evening for fear that you would appear in front of all these people. And this morning, again, I wonder how it would have been if you were there."

"If I weren't a strong person mentally than physically, I would have already been worried sick about you today."

He got up and went to the bar, where he poured himself a glass of 62-year-old Dalmore, which he sipped as he returned to his seat in the same position.

"Why didn't you sleep last night? What are you still working on?"

"I'm stuck on my spy program. I don't know why but I can't move forward."

"Is there anything else bothering you?" he asked gently

"Not really. I'm a little distracted, I think." "A little distracted?" he repeats, staring at the glass before looking at me in disbelief.

He shook his head and let slip that sentence for the moment. I don't let myself be distracted by anything when I am working; that's why it's a bit difficult for him to digest the verb I used.

"In fact, Gueniève told me that you seem more fulfilled, calmer, and above all, less rigid. You are making progress. I am happy for you, my boy. But what is the source of this sudden distraction?" He said, pursing his lips.

Gueniève is my governess. She and Nodge took care of me after you know who died. She is stable at the manor, but she comes here twice a month, and every week a group of her subordinates comes here for cleaning. And I have the floor available for them, my driver, my chef, my valet, whom I almost claim to be present, and my bodyguards.

"As I said, I don't know, I can't think straight, and I make mistakes. I probably need to take a step back and get some sleep. I hardly slept for a few days."

"It's been precisely one hundred and twenty hours and thirty minutes and forty-five seconds," said Cody, who hadn't shown up for quite a while.

"Your heart rate increases, you breathe rapidly, your pupils dilate, you have an increase in blood pressure, dilatation of the bronchial tubes, flushing of the face, abdominal cramps, sweating, and sweaty palms. These are the symptoms I've noticed in you for the past few days." he continued as if someone had asked his opinion.

"I did your checkup, you don't have an adrenal gland tumor, and you're healthy. Every time you touch your lips, or in the evening when you wake up in a hurry, you can't go back to bed and sleep in peace."

"Then every time that happens to you, you don't look like you've had a nightmare. You only present a sign of annoyance and a significant number of tumescence. I stopped counting, so I concluded…."

"Shut up, Cody. You're getting as loud as Jade. What gossip you are! Who asked your opinion?"

Nodge listened with amusement to the gossip of that loudmouth Cody with a touch of fun that annoyed me.

"Tell me more," he said sweetly to Cody, entirely in his element. He went to pour himself a second drink with such glee it made me nauseous.

"Dare he says one more word?" I challenged Cody. Who took a step back, motioning to zip it up while curtsying amusedly. He's laughing at me now. That's what was missing then.

"I recognize there, someone in love," said Nodge to Cody, who gave him a wink that he thought I didn't see. I look at them with disdain before launching:

"Nobody is in love. I just kissed a boy, a French kiss, more precisely."

Nodge nearly choked on the whiskey; Cody gaped with his eyes popping out of his head like a pig being slaughtered.

I look at them in turn, a little amused by their expression. Nodge withdrew a handkerchief from the inside pocket of his vest and wiped his lips before looking at me.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "I look like I'm joking for you," I retorted bluntly.

"But since when do you let yourself be touched by others?" he asked with a scandalized expression. "I took the initiative," I mouthed without any care. Shock reaction again by both of them, but this time they are even dumber than the first time.

They look at each other for a moment, dumbfounded. Nodge tries putting his hand over his mouth and in different positions without managing to finish any of these movements. Yeah, he's shocked, I can say that.

"Tell me that I'm dreaming. Cody, I'm dreaming, am I?" And the other moron, who can no longer keep his seriousness, burst out laughing, completely forgetting the right I exercise over him.

He stopped abruptly as if he had read my thoughts and scratched his throat before resuming his seriousness. Am I really their laughingstock?

"Coming from you, Nodge, it's unbelievable. I never commented on your fantasy for the organizer of the Gala, which you attend annually without fail; you even invent excuses every time to go there. At the same time, she's a married woman. It's not fair."

"What is she doing in this conversation?" he said. "That's completely different. I know how to recognize the value, the kindness, the beauty, and the grace of which she is the subject, but I never dared to dig my tongue into her throat"—a flood of words that he concludes with a burst of laughter.

"That's right, have fun, go ahead, Cody, forget that I'm threatening you, accompany him in his delirium. Laugh, laugh, go crazy!" I tell them with irony.

"Fortunately, there is only you. If these four runts were there, it would have been worse."

Hands behind my head, I leaned back on the sofa, staring at Nodge, who was increasingly amused by the situation. He straightened up suddenly, assuming an adequate posture, and began to speak seriously. But I still hear the laughter in his voice that he tries to hide somehow.

"Talk to me, did you like it? And the other boy, how did he react?"

"I liked it, but I don't know about the other one, and I hadn't spoken to him since I had kissed him without his permission. I completely spat in his face right after the kiss."

"You need to talk to him, make an appointment, and discuss everything. I am delighted that you were attracted to a person and dared to take the first step. I can't wait to meet him." He had become downright serious, and his calm and deep voice warmed me.

"It was just some attraction and an act that I did on a whim; There is nothing more. So, you don't need to rush; there will be no introduction. You can get that out of your head immediately." The excitement growing inside Cody subsided to end with a dubious pout.

"We'll see about that," Nodge said, downing his glass in one gulp.

And Cody nodded his head vigorously, unable to contain his excitement. They make a pair of these two.

"I didn't expect you to be attracted to boys at all. So you like boys?" said Nodge.

"I don't like boys, or at least I was never attracted to both genders until I came across this little rascal. No boy or girl has had that effect on me. It's strange, I like this feeling, but I don't want to get attached to anyone. I decided not to talk to him anymore."

"Easy young man," said Nodge. "It's too early to say such things. You have to open up to others and know that your parents will never abandon you of their own free will. And they haven't abandoned you either. You were their treasure, the thing they cherished the most."

I let out a heavy sigh. Nodge hastened to ask me a question to forget the question about my parents.

"And your friends, do they know about this boy?"

"Yes, I told them." he tensed a bit at my answer before asking the following question quickly. "How did they react?" Nodge worries, stiffening a little while waiting. "Like you two," I threw at him, "you are ingenious!"

Once more, Nodge starts laughing again; definitely, it's his day.

"You know what, kid, you need to learn how to break the news to people; otherwise, you will cause irreparable shock one of these days. You have to brush things up and say them little by little. Do you understand?"

"Not at all, but we'll do as." I snapped. "You got mischievous, huh? I owe your friends a giant candle; all your therapists and I have not achieved this result in seventeen years."

He almost had tears in his eyes as he said these sentences. He suddenly got up from the sofa and went to stand in front of the sizeable french-window door that overlooks a fantastic garden view.

I look at his straight back, this feeling of security that I feel when he is with me overwhelms me, and I feel good, soothed.

"In fact," he said hoarsely, "seeing you like this makes me happy without that awful wig and those lenses aging you."

I laughed heartily. "I thought you got used to it already," I told him, laughing.

"Getting used to it, really? Speak for yourself, Mon grand. I love to see you in all your childish, innocent, pure, and naive glory. Soon you'll be an old, ugly man," he teased me, "so I'd like to keep many more images of you that way."

"Old maybe, but ugly, never," I replied confidently. He also laughs and faces me with red eyes.

"If only I had the power to spare you all this torment, he says in a sad and wary tone."