just for participating, just for showing up. That’s not enough. We need to be unafraid of failure as a learning process so we can know that we will succeed later. And that success is perfection, no errors, no lives lost. I’ve never really moved on from what happened with Odyssey 3, but I’ve come to a place in my life where I’ve found peace. I did the best I could to stop it, even lost my job over it, but I tried. A lot of things have changed since then, and the collaborative spirit of those settings is different too. We’ve learned from that mistake, and we will be better. But none of my students, none of my engineers, will ever repeat that mistake.”
Applause erupted, longer than all the others.
My eyes were actually wet because I could see Derek’s progress right before my eyes. He was growing, changing, healing, and it made me feel good to know I was part of that.
Dr. Salazar waited for the applause to die down before he asked his next question. “Is there any animosity between you and NASA at this point?”
Derek considered the question before he shook his head. “There wasn’t a single person in the room that day who wanted that rocket to explode. There were tears, sobs, overwhelming sorrow…pure devastation. We try to be right one hundred percent of the time, and we usually are, but this one time…we weren’t. The problem was the chain of command, not the people. No, there is no animosity on my part. There are good people there, brilliant people, and the fault only lies with one person—a person who is no longer there.”
Dr. Salazar gave a subtle nod before he moved on. “I have one last question for you, and after all the deep things that we discussed, I thought we could change direction. So, Dr. Hamilton, what do you do for fun?”
The audience laughed.
Derek took a slight breath, like he was relieved by the change in subject. “I work a lot. That is my hobby.”
“No vacations?”
Derek shook his head. “No.”
“Do you see yourself ever settling down? Or will you always be completely dedicated to your work?”
“There’s no doubt I will always be working, just the way my dad is still working, will be working until it’s his time to pass on. But I can see myself settling down…with a woman who understands how important my work is to me.”
Eighteen
Derek
I sat at the dining table with my laptop and paperwork laid out in front of me. The chef left my dinner in the fridge, so after I reheated it in the microwave, I ate it while I continued my work. Every day after work, I hoped that Emerson would join me, that we would have some time together away from the rest of the world.
But I knew she had her own priorities.
I couldn’t hog her all the time.
I had just taken a bite of my dinner when someone knocked on the door. Very few people stopped by my penthouse for a visit, unannounced. It was reserved for my family and Emerson because even my friends didn’t have the code to access the building’s elevator.
I walked to the front door, wearing my sweatpants and zip-up sweater. While I wished it were Emerson, I knew that was unlikely. She would text me beforehand, and if she didn’t, she would just let herself in.
My home was practically hers at this point.
After I checked the peephole, I opened the door. “Hey, Dad.” I smiled at him, seeing him standing in the hallway in his signature jeans and t-shirt, what he wore to the lab all day long. That was where I got my fashion sense from, the most casual billionaire I’d ever met.
He stilled at the way I greeted him, his expression hardening and tightening, like I’d said something that actually offended him. His eyes burned into mine without blinking, a pause that lasted an eternity.
I’d seen him react that way to strangers, but not to me. “Dad, you alright?”
He cleared the catch in his throat. “Yes. I just… I haven’t heard you…call me that in a long time.” He moved into my penthouse and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a tight hug, a full-body embrace that we hardly ever exchanged. He squeezed me as he let the air leave his lungs.
“I call you Dad all the time.”
He released me and pulled back so he could look at me again. “Not like that.” He moved past me and