"Uh?" Dorothy thought she must have misheard.
"It's nothing." Byte 7 lifted his hand to pull the hoodie over his head, concealing his pale, gaunt, yet striking face, and then he returned to his previous spot, cradling his laptop. "But first, you need to tell me what you're hoping to recover from this gadget." Dorothy blurted out, "It contains the truth about my mother's death.” "Then you should be taking that thing to the cops, not me! And just so you know, my services don’t come cheap." "I know you're expensive, and I have money!" How could she dare hand over the hard drive to the police? The Lopez family was untouchable back home, and she stood no chance against them! If it weren't for the involvement of Everett's parents, maybe she could have asked him for help, but... this drive contained evidence that could incriminate the Lopez family! "People often try to haggle with me, but you're the first to outright claim you're flush with cash.” Byte 7 seemed amused as he leaned back and looked up at her. "You're Everett's girl, aren't you?" Dorothy was speechless.
"Boring," Byte 7 snorted. "Thirty million, half upfront. After I'm done, I'll come looking for the rest." Thirty million...
Even though Dorothy knew hiring Byte 7 would cost a pretty penny, she was still taken aback by the figure.
At the sight of her hesitation, Byte 7 chuckled. "Didn't you just say you had money?" "But... not that much." "What now? Go ask Everett for it! I saw his car parked outside." Byte 7 really was the epitome of a rebellious youth, a smirk perpetually playing on his lips.
What a cocky youth! Dorothy wasn't used to dealing with the young crowd and felt awkward standing there.
She didn't want to be the butt of his teasing, but her only hope of recovering the data on the hard drive was in his hands! "I'm just Everett's subordinate, nothing more. I can give you the fifty percent, and I'll figure out the rest.” Fifteen million, she had that much.
She had saved quite a bit over the years.
It was Byte 7 who asked for an astronomical sum.
"And what if you can't come up with the rest later?" "I'll pay you in installments.” Byte 7 scoffed, his lean brows arching. "No way, I don't have time to chase down debts." Dorothy pursed her lips and had an instinct that this young man already had his answer in mind, so she decided not to bargain and just asked, "What do you propose?" "I'd like to see what it's like to date an older lady." Dorothy didn’t know how to respond to this request.
"If you can't scrape together the remaining balance, how about being my girlfriend for a month?" Byte 7 paused, then quickly amended, "No, a week is enough. Women are such a hassle, I reckon I'd lose interest after a week anyway." Dorothy watched him ramble and felt a bit lost, but she was the one seeking his help after all.
"I'm married, with kids. I don't think I meet your criteria.” Byte 7 spread his hands, his prominent wrist bones catching the light. "I'm not looking to marry you. What does it matter to me whether you're married or have kids?" "But—" "Stop nagging me. If you're not up for it, forget it and let me be," Byte 7 said, pushing the hard drive aside and returning to his devices.
Dorothy hesitated, then clenched her jaw to answer, "Fine, I agree!” After a quick calculation in her mind, she thought she could sell her property and stocks. If push came to shove, she could ask Kenneth for a loan. There was no way she couldn't come up with the balance, but if she missed this chance, she might never see Byte 7 again.
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