Alpha Incorporated

V - v WE ARE DEFINITIVE

"Did he put you up to the bed trick then?" 

"I wouldn't say 'put me up' as much as I would say, showed me the opportunity. I never felt the need to get back at Angelo. I was over it and wasn't going to let that prick hold me back from moving on with my life." 

"Then why would you do it?" Lucy asks. 

"I felt it could be, let's call it, a learning opportunity for him, more than revenge for me. Sure, he certainly threw my life into a bit of a tailspin when he broke off our marriage, but also I see it that in doing so, he showed me the kind of man he is. Thank goodness I didn't end up married to that." 

"But now you are, married to him." 

"Oh ya, I guess I am! Well, let's see how long it takes his lawyers to wiggle out of that little problem—and I am sure they will—but it is just another mess he needs to deal with. Guys like Angelo hate not being in control, and having someone else direct your course of action, in this case getting out of a marriage, will totally piss him off. That move was just Vincent showing a little dramatic flair. He has a bit of a warped sense of humor." 

Lucy chuckles to herself. No revenge? Give me a break. Mariana is loving this. 

Isabella speaks, softly. "Were you and Vincent ever, you know, a couple?" 

"No, dear, we never were. Actually, he keeps his private life private from me too. We had business dealings, mainly." 

"Do you know if he is married?" 

"Hell, no, he definitely has never been married. I do know that much about him. He has been far too busy with his businesses to be in any type of long term relationship. Very single, very private." 

Isabella's mouth turns upward in a slight grin and she looks to her left, at the wall. 

Mariana continues. "Vincent has been helping me a lot lately with my new project, a new company actually. Not financially as he doesn't want to invest in my latest startup, but by helping me put together the right team, helping me access capital, those kind of things. I have gotten to know him a lot better. He is a pretty amazing man." 

Isabella continues to look away, deep in her own thoughts. 

But Lucy wonders, why is it that Fryer-Duke would get involved in this mess with Isabella and Angelo in the first place? And, as if a CEO would work the floor of his company in disguise. What is this, reality TV? There must be more to it. So she asks. 

"I'm sorry Mariana. This all sounds way too far-fetched. Is there more to this?" 

"Of course there is Lucy. There are all kinds of boardroom politics going on. You see, there are those who want to take Alpha in a different direction, those who see Vincent as the one standing in the way of progress. There is a lot of money at stake for a lot of people here, so the influence is pretty thick. Vincent is fighting to regain control of his company." 

"And Angelo would be one of those, taking Alpha in this new direction?" 

"Angelo is a money guy—Wall Street. He is not a techie, and certainly not a visionary. He is here as part of Silicon Valley 2.0." 

"You've lost me," Lucy says. 

"Back in the day, in Casper Duke's day, the Valley was the frontier of innovation. The brightest minds came here to the wild west, this lawless world where maverick pioneers could be free, away from the constraints of the East Coast money establishment. But the money found us, and so did the rest of the world. Look around this restaurant: how many white Americans do you see? Not many, right? Well, this room is representative of the tech world. It is obvious that the American system is not producing the minds and the workers that can compete with the drive and ambition of those from India, or China, or, say, the Arab World. That is where innovation is going, back to the countries that are willing and able to do the work. We hire the best in the world, but the best are not from Buffalo—no offence Isabella."