Earth Awakens (The First Formic War 3)

Lem almost hit him. "I suggest you get out of my way."

Maxwell's smile faded, and he retreated back a step.

Ukko brushed the makeup artist away. "Maxwell, Natasha, leave us for a moment. My son is in a mood. And he and I have urgent business to discuss."

Maxwell stepped to the desk. "Are you sure, sir? We need to be downstairs in ten minutes. They want to check your audio and the lighting on your face."

"I'm going to look like an old man regardless of the lighting or makeup, Maxwell. Give us a minute, will you?"

Maxwell frowned, regarded Lem with sharp disapproval, then followed the makeup artist out and closed the door behind them.

Lem cocked a thumb at the door. "Who is that idiot?"

"Were you not paying attention? That's Maxwell, my new chief of staff."

"Simona is your chief of staff."

"She was. Unfortunately I had to let her go."

"You fired Simona? Why?"

"I demand absolute loyalty from my staff, Lem. Their devotion to me must be unquestionable."

"Simona was devoted to you," said Lem. "Insanely devoted."

"She used to be, yes. Until you returned from the Kuiper Belt."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She was clearly in love with you, Lem. I'm disappointed you didn't see it. It was blatantly obvious to me."

It took Lem a moment to find words. "Are you delusional? Simona was a friend. And barely that. Most of the time she couldn't stand me."

"She couldn't stand that you ignored her. You bickered like a married couple. I thought for sure you must have slept with her."

Lem blinked. "With Simona? No. Is that why you fired her? Because you thought she was sleeping with me? Because she wasn't."

"I fired her because she betrayed me."

"How? I can't believe that."

Ukko stood, pulled the bib from his neck, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it on his desk. "You're going to dislike what I have to say next, Lem." He exhaled and sat on the edge of his desk. "I suspected Simona's love for you was increasing. That poses obvious problems for me. I can't have my chief of

staff giving more loyalty to my son than she gives to me. So I gave her a test. I knew you were sleeping with Despoina. And I knew you were trying to pull information from her about my affairs. So I wrote an e-mail to myself as if it were written by Despoina and I let that e-mail fall into Simona's possession. If Simona was loyal to me, she would erase it and never disclose it to you. But if Simona was in love with you, if she was loyal to you over me, she would show it you. Which she did. She went straight to you behind my back. My only option was to fire her."

Lem stared. A sick heavy feeling had gripped his chest. "You wrote that e-mail?"

"Despoina was not my informant, son. I did not ask her to spy on you or extract information from you. Nor was she the whore you took her for. She was a sweet girl. For whatever reason, she seemed to be blind to your faults. Or perhaps she loved your strengths so deeply that she saw past what makes you human. Either way, you let a real catch slip through your fingers, son. Her father has quite the empire. It could have been a lovely match."

Lem said nothing. Words wouldn't come. His whole body felt numb.

"You acted too rashly, son. I found your response revolting. Arresting her in the night, banishing her from Luna, writing a malicious, scathing note. What were you thinking? That was cruel and demeaning, son. Totally inexcusable. And what's especially tragic is that it's evidence that you were clearly in love with her. Only a man betrayed by love would debase and humiliate someone like that. If she had meant nothing to you, you would have come to me. I would've been the one who had offended you. But instead, you spit all of your venom at her. You've made plenty of mistakes in your life, Lem, but this is first time I have ever been ashamed to call you my son."

Lem stared at him. His hands were trembling. His words were quiet. "I am not your son. I can't be. No father would ever do such a thing to his own child."

Ukko sighed. "This defense of yours gets old, Lem. You can't blame me for all of your mistakes."

"You created a lie. You invented a situation and provided proof. You built the justification for my actions in my mind. How is this not your fault? She was kind to me, Father."