Evolved(30)

I just assumed it was because he was state of the art. He was leading technology in the world of humanoid robotics, so of course he was going to be incredible in everything he did. His sole design, his purpose, was to meet my every need.

So what if he excelled at it?

I hadn’t heard him come back into my room. He was freshly showered and neatly dressed, staring at me. “Lloyd, is everything okay?”

I looked at him, at the concern on his face, at how immaculate he was, and turned the control panel off. “Everything’s fine.”





Chapter Seven





Shaun got my lunch ready while I dressed, though when he sat at the table with me, his brow would furrow, his lips would purse every now and then, and his eyes would focus on something only he could see. It was very obvious that he was trying to piece something together or trying to figure out how best to phrase something.

When I was done eating, I placed my knife and fork at twelve and six and neatly folded my napkin and covered my plate. I pushed it squarely away. “Shaun? Is there something you’d like to say?”

He glanced at me. “I do not wish to bother you.”

“I can assure you, you’re no bother,” I said, trying to comfort him. Was it even possible that he could withhold information from me? Or worse, lie? “Shaun?”

“You were concerned when reading my control panel earlier. Was something amiss?”

Now it was my turn to be honest. “I’m not sure.”

His gaze shot to mine. “Is there something wrong with me?”

I pulled my chair around so our knees touched and took his hand. “No. If anything, the instruction manual or information needs updating, that’s all. You,” I said, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss, “are pluperfect, remember? Actually, I’m pretty sure if you checked the dictionary under the word pluperfect, there’d be a picture of you.”

He blinked and paused. “No, there’s not.”

Oh God, he literally just checked the dictionary. I chuckled. “I was joking, sorry. But maybe they should update the dictionary as well. There should be a picture of you under the word pluperfect.”

He finally smiled. “Is that a compliment?”

“Yes.”

He thumbed the back of my hand. “Have you eaten enough, or is there something else I may get for you?”

“I’ve eaten enough, thank you.”

He stood up and took my plate, but before he left, he leaned down and kissed me.

So much for never instigating a kiss. I smiled as I watched him walk into the kitchen. “So,” I said, knowing he could hear me, “I was thinking I would show you how to use the home hub so you can make orders or purchases, if you need or want anything.”

He appeared in the doorway, looking at me with an uncertain, shy smile on his face. “Really?”

I laughed. God he was adorable. “Yes, really. But please remember what I said about the no-luxury-car rule.”

He grinned. “No Lamborghinis. Understood.”

I went to the cabinet near the dining table. It was central to the house, so it was the logical place for the hub. I pointed to the sleek black disc on the top of the cabinet.

“This is the home hub. Every house has one, or one similar,” I explained. “I can do most things I need from here: grocery orders, thermostat, dry cleaning orders, email, phone calls. It’s completely voice activated, or you can press this button,” I pressed the On button and a holographic screen displayed above it. I showed him where the grocery order was. “All my meals are premade and I have them categorised into weeks, one through four. This week’s order will be week three.” I selected my standard pre-order titled Week Three, confirmed, and the amount of credits showed on-screen. I confirmed again and it was done.

“That was easy,” Shaun said.

“Okay, now I’ll show you the voice activation.” I hit the manual Off button and the hologram disappeared. “Home hub On,” I said clearly. The hologram screen reappeared. “Open Call Directory.” An alphabetised list appeared, admittedly a rather small list of my contacts. “Call Lloyd mobile,” I said and my phone on the cabinet near the door, buzzed. “End Call.”

I pointed to the list. “You can also call me at work, in the case of an emergency. Or send me an email. Just say Email Lloyd and it will convert your speech to text.”

“Work. The place where one is employed,” he said.

“Yes. I work at the university,” I replied, though I was certain he knew this already.

Oh, no. It just occurred to me. “I haven’t even thought about you being at home by yourself while I’m at work. I’ve taken this week off to be with you, but I have to go back on Monday.” God, he was going to be by himself…

He stared at the hologram and I could almost see him calculating the days, hours, minutes until then. His eyebrows pinched. “What hours will you be gone?”

“From eight until five. Monday to Friday.”

He paused for a moment too long, then looked at me. “I shall miss you when you are not here.”

Oh my God. My heart sank. “I shall miss you too while I’m at work.”

He looked back to the hologram, but he looked… I don’t know, sad, or troubled. I put my hand on his arm. “Shaun, you’ll be fine here by yourself. I’m sure we can find something for you to do during the day.”