wake-up,” said the room’s too sweet voice. “This is your 7 A.M. wake-up.” Around Veronica, the hotel suite woke up. The lights lifted to full morning brightness. In the sitting room, the coffeemaker began to gurgle and hiss, while a fresh lemon scent wafted out of the air ducts. Vee, who had been awake for an hour already, looked up, sniffed the combination of coffee and lemon, and wrinkled her nose. “Should’ve shut off one of those,” she muttered. She looked back down at the desk screen in front of her with its list of names, degrees, and recent publications. She frowned for a moment and then moved Martha Pruess to the top of the list. She was a research fellow in photonic engineering from the Massachusetts Federated Institute of Technology, and her list of publications took up half the screen. “Checking out the competition?” Vee jumped, twisting in her seat. Rosa Cristobal, her friend and business manager, stood right behind her chair. “Jesus, Rosa. Don’t sneak up on me.
