Deo ate breakfast with his mother and father around a glass table in the sunroom. His plate held waffles, scrambled eggs, and syrup. There wasn't much talking. His father read the newspaper and chewed toast while his mother took small bites of sliced cantaloupe. It was a peaceful sight. Sunlight shined through the large windows, painting everything in its golden glow.
Maids dressed in black waited near the table to refill their teacups or plates.
Deo glanced at his mother. She was a tall, skinny woman and worked as an actress. He had heard people call her beautiful, but he didn't see it. She had a sharp, angular face and a mass of dark, curly hair. People claimed the two of them looked alike; he didn't see that either. He didn't think his cheekbones were as pronounced or as striking as hers. He leaned against the chair.
Outside, birds chirped in their trees, and squirrels ran across the grass, hunting for food.
Deo felt laidback; his muscles relaxed. He had spent the morning playing with his toy. It had suddenly decided that it wanted to get stronger to participate in Relar. He found it humorous that the weak Anchovy had decided to take on such a task, but it had shown up on time and worked hard. He wondered how long the boy would last. He also enjoyed the annoyed look that crossed its face whenever it said, 'my king' or 'your highness'. He smiled.
He was having fun with this turn in events.
His father, Vasilis, observed him and asked, "What are you happy about?"
"My company is releasing a new robot. A friend for kids that feel lonely—artificial intelligence. We'll be sending it off to the beta group for testing in a week or so; I don't think there will be any major problems." It was all true, but it wasn't what he had been smiling about. He thought of his toy with its cropped blonde hair and uneasy grimace. He would have fun torturing it some more. What should he make Adonis do tonight? He dipped a piece of his waffle in syrup and took a bite.
"Can't wait to see the final product," Vasilis said.
Deo's mother, Tani, said, "We are going to see a musical tonight; I was hoping you would come with us."
There was mischief in her eyes and on her slightly upturned lips. Deo knew his mother well enough to tell that she was up to no good. She had tricked him into going on three blind dates in the last month. He wasn't falling for it.
Deo sipped his tea; he didn't like people and preferred solitude. He said, "Tonight's not good for me. I have to wake early to look over some insurance policies for the new product; I also have to review the advertisements we are planning on using and give feedback."
"Busy man," Vasilis said, his voice thick with venom. He shook the wrinkles out of his paper.
His mother fixed her disappointed gaze on the porcelain teacup, knowing it would stir some feeling of guilt within him.
Deo couldn't simply be antisocial. He had to give in sometimes or risk pushing away his family, who were the only people he liked. He said, "I can clear some time to spend Friday evening with you, but only you two. No strange girls invited."
Tani smiled. "I'll check my schedule and get back to you. But you know, fourteen is a good age to start thinking about marriage."
Deo held back his laughter. He had no such plans; he had to find some way to get his mother to let go of this horrid idea.
***
In his office, Deo sat behind a mahogany desk and went through the documents on a holographic desktop. The blue light played across his tan face. He had a basketball net in one corner of the room with a tray of basketballs next to it. On the wall behind him were his awards from previous ventures. 'Social Media App of the Year'. 'Young Models to Watch'. 'Surrey's Youngest CEO'.
The large windows along the west wall had a view of smaller brick buildings and the sky, blue with thick white clouds.
A man knocked on the door. Deo tapped a buzzer, and the electric lock released long enough for the man to open it. He was young, early twenties with a military cut and a sharp gaze. He said, "Everything is on schedule with Project Ryan. We will be sending it off to the test group soon to see how the kids react to it. We have put in an order for the Avas Silicone Company to provide us with the different colored skin tones we require for the friendbots. The first shipment should be in by Tuesday."
Deo nodded and dismissed him with a disinterested wave of his hand.
The man bowed and left the room. While Deo had heard the man's name more than once, he could never remember it. He brought up the files for the friendbot on his desktop. A picture of a four-feet tall robot with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared. He felt that creature faintly resembled the way its pet used to look when it was younger with unkempt blonde hair and chubby cheeks. Big, puppy dog eyes. He had decided to optimize the online ordering system so that the buyers could determine the ethnicity of the bot; its skin color and hair type, but those updates were still being finalized.
Deo took a chocolate bar out of a drawer and ate it as he watched clips of men kickboxing. He took out a slim glass phone out of his pocket. It glowed orange at his touch. He said, "Call Anchovy."
A female voice answered, "Calling Anchovy."
The phone rang twice before the boy answered, "Are you dying," a pause then, "my king?"
"No, just bored. What are you doing?"
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"What are you doing Friday?" Deo asked, and when the boy continued his silence, he said, "I heard from an acquaintance that you like dressing up in woman's clothing?"
"Fuck, he's already telling people. That dick."
"Sent out a picture too." Deo had gotten the text a few days prior to Adonis asking for personal training. He had thought that the person in the photo wasn't Adonis at first. The picture had been a tad blurry as if it had been taken in a rush. But he saw the bright blue eyes, followed the familiar curve of the cheeks, and knew it was Adonis. He didn't know what had possessed the boy to wear something like that, but he looked like a beautiful girl. Too beautiful. He knew the pictures had been set around to others and that if Adonis turned up to school this year, the boys would treat him like a bitch.
Gay or not— some guys would sexually molest the kid just for the heck of it. And others would beat him. The boys at their high school were like beasts. They liked fighting and rough sex, and society encouraged them to be that way. As long as they were under sixteen, they could fight and rape and not be sentenced to jail. Whether it was a girl or a feminine boy, if they didn't have someone protecting them, they would get hurt. Most of the guys at school had the money and connections they needed to get them out of trouble. Adonis' father's small solar company could never compete with what the other boys had.
Deo supposed they were exceptions to the rule that minors couldn't be placed in jail. A year ago, two eight-year-old boys had been sentenced to life in prison after brutally dismembering their neighbor, a four-year-old girl, but they were middle class, not rich. The guys at school were capable of covering their tracks and if they raped Adonis; they would force him to keep his mouth shut.
Deo frowned. What happened to Adonis wasn't his problem; the two boys avoided each other in public.
"What exactly did he say?" Adonis asked.
"That you were gay and liked to cross-dress and were out with some guy on the weekend. He approached you, and you begged him not to say anything, but he thought it was funny, so he's been sending the photo to everyone from our class."
"He's a fucking liar," Adonis said, "He's gay too, but he does a better job at hiding it."
"So, the two of you messed around, it went bad, and now he's outing you to everyone you know. Wonderful." Deo felt that he had hit the nail on its head, and Adonis' silence rewarded him.
After a moment, Adonis said, "Well, I'm fucked. I'm going to need some cash."
"You're asking me for money?"
"Unfortunately."
"What will you do for me?"
"What do you want me to do?"
Deo tilted his head to one side. There was an issue that had been bugging him for a while. He could get it solved with Adonis' help. He said, "My parents are trying to set me up with various girls. They say I need a good woman that complements my abilities."
"A trophy?"
"Someone with money, class, and looks."
"I have none of those things."
"You're prettier than the girls in our class. You don't have money or class, but I could teach you class. As for money, I'll give you some, and you can pay me back."
"And what about my family? Who would I be?"
"You'll be an orphan who studied hard and got a job at my company. You have lots of potential, but you're a diamond in the rough."
A pause then, "How much can you loan me?"
"How much do you need?"
"Two hundred grand."
"Then we might as well be married." Deo was sure that his mother had asked him out tonight to set him up with another girl. These days, people married young. A woman needed a man to sign legal documents for them, open a bank account, or purchase property. Various rich men were trying to tie him to their daughters. He could pretend to date Adonis for two years or so, which would give him some freedom to explore his options before getting married. He had never met a girl that he had liked. But that didn't mean he liked men.
His mother had asked him if he would rather a boy, and he had shut her down point blank.
He had no interest in men.
But two hundred grand was far too much money to waste on an anchovy. He said, "You don't have that kind of money. Your father has all but cut you off."
"You have met my father? Did he tell you that?"
"I have ways of sourcing information about my toy."
"You haven't met him then? Did you set a private investigator on me?"
Deo didn't answer, but the short answer was 'yes'. He told Adonis, "Tell you what. I'll give you the money, but I own you. You do what I want when I tell you to, no questions asked."
"But if I pay you back the money, you'll set me free."
"Ten percent interest will be added at the end of every year. If you pay it back, you are free."
Adonis drew in a sharp breath. "Alright, draw up a contract. You want me to dress as a woman; fine but make up some identity for me and I'll pretend to be your girl for two years, but I will not do anything sexual."
"I'm not into guys," Deo said.
"Good. I'm not into you. We'll have the perfect fake relationship."
"Also," Deo said, "You might want to consider taking a year or two off from school; the guys in our grade can be assholes, and they will hurt you. Give them time to forget the photo and move on."
"I know. Later. I'm hanging up, your highness." The phone beeped. The orange light flickered then went off, and Deo slipped the glass back into his pocket. He hadn't planned to ask Adonis that, but after seeing the picture of him dressed as a girl, he thought that he might be able to use the kid's hobby to his advantage. He bit his thumb, caught himself biting it, cursed, and wiped it on his shirt.
He felt anxious about tricking his parents. He had millions of dollars, so giving two hundred grand to Adonis wouldn't necessarily hurt him even if he didn't get it back, and Deo suspected he wouldn't. He opened a blank document and drafted a slave contract for the loan. Deo took out his phone and tapped the screen to activate the holographic keyboard. He sent Adonis a text: We'll be working out at one in the morning for four hours. Bring a poncho.
Adonis didn't respond, but Deo imagined him tearing his hair out.
He grinned and resumed watching the kickboxing clip.
***