“In his office.” Blaire gestured behind her. “But he can’t be disturbed. He’s in the middle of a really big project right now.”

“This won’t take more than a minute,” Annika said, edging around her.

Blaire was at least three inches shorter than her, but she drew herself up. “Make an appointment.”

“Blaire!” It was Hudson’s voice. “If it’s our nosy neighbor, you can let her in.”

Blaire shook her head and stepped aside. Annika turned the corner and stepped into Hudson’s office, only to find herself momentarily breathless. His office alone was about as big as Annika and June’s entire space. The windows were enormous, and unlike the street view she had, his faced a gorgeous green space. Oh, the magic she could’ve made in a space like this one!

Instead of magic, he had a Pac-Man rug under his plain white desk, which looked like it had come from Ikea—about ten years ago. There was a malformed wooden bowl on his desk, full of an assortment of fruit. His walls were covered with retro video game posters, and one large, bare wall had a glow-in-the-dark basketball hoop screwed into it. Directly behind Hudson were framed accolades and magazine articles featuring his arrogant, smiling face. The only aesthetically pleasing thing in here was a large ombre clay pot on a shelf by itself, its turquoise hues fading to a deep blue, fading to a deep indigo, and then a pale lavender.

Hudson leaned back in his chair, which, after a second look, she realized was a giant exercise ball painted to look like a globe. As if he were really leaning into his evil world domination plan. “So,” he said. “Is it just me or are you just … there every time I turn around?”

Annika rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I couldn’t wait to come to this daycare of an office and be near you.”

Hudson’s jaw hardened, but he didn’t say anything.

Crossing her arms, Annika continued, “I saw one of your terminators in action today.”

Blinking, Hudson leaned forward, grabbed an apple out of the bowl, and began to eat it. “Really. What’d you think?”

She couldn’t help the wrinkle in her nose, as if she’d smelled something disgusting. “It was vile. Absolutely brutal and awful. This woman had been going out with her asshole boyfriend for a year. They were going to start couples counseling.”

“Oh. So they weren’t happy. It couldn’t have come as a surprise, then.”

Annika stared at him. There was no way he really thought that. “Are you part robot? Do you not have a single feeling?”

Hudson stopped munching to think. “Oh, wait, here comes one now. It’s … sadness? No, wait … it’s … I’m … hungry.” He took another bite of his apple, his green eyes holding hers. “Yep, definitely hungry. Does that count?”