Read Online North Dakota Weddings by Elizabeth Goddard - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Goddard
Ads: Link
find Elisa, then head home.”
Vance couldn’t stand the thought of going underground again. At least not yet. “I’m going to town to get some more groceries.”
She walked backward as she spoke. “Didn’t I show you the food storage room? Your uncle stocked it just in case.”
“In case of what? A nuclear meltdown?”
“Yeah, something like that. He was funny that way.”
“I gather.” Vance thought of the freeze-dried food. “I discovered the survival food. All those meals ready to eat. Not interested, thank you very much.”
Andi snickered. “You’re more interested in muscle drinks and candy bars.” She turned her back to him, then entered the stairwell.
“They’re energy drinks,” he said, but she’d already disappeared into the abyss of his eccentric uncle’s missile site.
He could have enough trouble on his hands at ANND Systems. Why was he borrowing more by attempting to get involved with a woman by the same name?
Vance headed for his car, then to the grocery store to get some more salsa for his chips—another procrastination technique he’d developed called restocking the condiments.
Chapter 6
W ith a couple of hours of daylight remaining, Vance pulled through the gate and drove up the road to the old missile base. Gravel crunched as he neared the building housing the elevator entrance. He shut off the ignition. A garage might be nice, especially in the winter.
Would the lack of one scare away a potential buyer? He hadn’t exactly had time to do research on missile sites converted to homes and how well they sell. On that, he’d given Andi his complete trust, hoping he wasn’t just another poor sap for a pretty face. But wasn’t every guy?
Vance dragged himself from the car and grabbed the two grocery sacks from the back seat, a box of Ding Dongs sticking from the top of one, and headed down under. He entered the living room, his eyes adjusting to the fluorescents. He set the bags on the counter just as his stomach growled, and grabbed a frozen burrito. Microwaves were a product of God’s mercy.
After eating dinner, he opened a bag of chips and plopped onto the sofa, the scent of Andi’s perfume in the air, a reminder of what he was missing. What he’d always missed, and what he would always miss—a girlfriend. A woman’s attention. Companionship. This place was the epitome of his life. Dark. Lonely. Boring.
Was this the plight of all computer geeks? His brother Matt was happily married, his wife expecting a child.
Vance blew out a breath. Hope yet remained.
The laptop sat on the coffee table where he’d left it open, applications running, and looked back expectantly. For once, he was tired of staring at his computer, but he had work to do, and procrastinating wasn’t getting him anywhere. Hard to imagine.
It was just that…he was fried. Having to use his so-called vacation, which should have been for rest and recuperation, to work on this…Well, he counted it as severe loss.
After running test data all day, he’d needed fresh air. Now it was time to get down to real business. What exactly was that second algorithm producing?
Though he wasn’t a data analyst, he could easily compare sample data output from both programs. The second data set produced by his government-contracted algorithm gone rogue appeared to produce a dissimilar data set. The records he’d flagged as the “bad guys” in his original algorithm weren’t being flagged as often in the second.
Serious bogosity was happening here—a sham he might even call mission creep: his proprietary algorithm was being used for an entirely different purpose.
It reminded him of when he’d watched two of his colleagues fired from the Texas-based company. They’d agreed to write the company’s proprietary software for someone else, in essence, selling company secrets.
But what happened when it was government secrets?
The sensation of being boxed into a small place came over him. An adrenaline rush sent
Vance couldn’t stand the thought of going underground again. At least not yet. “I’m going to town to get some more groceries.”
She walked backward as she spoke. “Didn’t I show you the food storage room? Your uncle stocked it just in case.”
“In case of what? A nuclear meltdown?”
“Yeah, something like that. He was funny that way.”
“I gather.” Vance thought of the freeze-dried food. “I discovered the survival food. All those meals ready to eat. Not interested, thank you very much.”
Andi snickered. “You’re more interested in muscle drinks and candy bars.” She turned her back to him, then entered the stairwell.
“They’re energy drinks,” he said, but she’d already disappeared into the abyss of his eccentric uncle’s missile site.
He could have enough trouble on his hands at ANND Systems. Why was he borrowing more by attempting to get involved with a woman by the same name?
Vance headed for his car, then to the grocery store to get some more salsa for his chips—another procrastination technique he’d developed called restocking the condiments.
Chapter 6
W ith a couple of hours of daylight remaining, Vance pulled through the gate and drove up the road to the old missile base. Gravel crunched as he neared the building housing the elevator entrance. He shut off the ignition. A garage might be nice, especially in the winter.
Would the lack of one scare away a potential buyer? He hadn’t exactly had time to do research on missile sites converted to homes and how well they sell. On that, he’d given Andi his complete trust, hoping he wasn’t just another poor sap for a pretty face. But wasn’t every guy?
Vance dragged himself from the car and grabbed the two grocery sacks from the back seat, a box of Ding Dongs sticking from the top of one, and headed down under. He entered the living room, his eyes adjusting to the fluorescents. He set the bags on the counter just as his stomach growled, and grabbed a frozen burrito. Microwaves were a product of God’s mercy.
After eating dinner, he opened a bag of chips and plopped onto the sofa, the scent of Andi’s perfume in the air, a reminder of what he was missing. What he’d always missed, and what he would always miss—a girlfriend. A woman’s attention. Companionship. This place was the epitome of his life. Dark. Lonely. Boring.
Was this the plight of all computer geeks? His brother Matt was happily married, his wife expecting a child.
Vance blew out a breath. Hope yet remained.
The laptop sat on the coffee table where he’d left it open, applications running, and looked back expectantly. For once, he was tired of staring at his computer, but he had work to do, and procrastinating wasn’t getting him anywhere. Hard to imagine.
It was just that…he was fried. Having to use his so-called vacation, which should have been for rest and recuperation, to work on this…Well, he counted it as severe loss.
After running test data all day, he’d needed fresh air. Now it was time to get down to real business. What exactly was that second algorithm producing?
Though he wasn’t a data analyst, he could easily compare sample data output from both programs. The second data set produced by his government-contracted algorithm gone rogue appeared to produce a dissimilar data set. The records he’d flagged as the “bad guys” in his original algorithm weren’t being flagged as often in the second.
Serious bogosity was happening here—a sham he might even call mission creep: his proprietary algorithm was being used for an entirely different purpose.
It reminded him of when he’d watched two of his colleagues fired from the Texas-based company. They’d agreed to write the company’s proprietary software for someone else, in essence, selling company secrets.
But what happened when it was government secrets?
The sensation of being boxed into a small place came over him. An adrenaline rush sent
Similar Books
