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“Thanks, Shelly.”
“I did some research on ACS this morning,” Phil said. “I have to admit: they are cooler than I thought. There’s a lot of potential there. For you to get hired by them this early? It’s impressive, Amber. Good job.”
Gee, thanks for the reminder,I thought. What made it sting even more was that, for once, he seemed genuine in his praise. Praise for a job I hadn’t actually gotten.
“Why aren’t you at class?” I asked Michelle.
“I only have one Friday class, in the afternoon,” she replied. “It’s virtual.”
“Oh, right.” I turned to Phil. “Don’t you have work?”
“Took a day off.” He shrugged. “My team has been crushing our deadlines.”
Phil went on to explain that he loved his job so much that he had to suppress the urge to never take a day off. While listening to him, I had to suppress the urge to light myself on fire.
I went upstairs and sighed as I changed out of my clothes. The worst part about wearing a pencil skirt was that I couldn’t wear normal underwear with it because panty lines would show. Thongs weren’t conducive to any sort of comfort, especially after walking a mile from the CalTrain station. The guy who invented thongs was probably the same guy who invented heels. And yes, I was fairly certain it was aguy.
Once I was comfortable in sweatpants and a T-shirt, I sank into my computer chair. My desk had two curved widescreen monitors attached to my Alienware gaming desktop. After the day I’d had, I started to move the cursor toward one of the videogame shortcuts on my desktop. I wanted to lose myself in a mindless game. Logging in toWorld of Warcraftand starting a new character. Or maybe turning out the lights and seeing if anyone was online to playPhasmophobia.Anything to help me forget the pain of today’s failure.
But I was the adult in this house, and that meant I had to do the adult thing. I pulled up a browser and started job hunting.
There were always plenty of available jobs in the Bay Area. Coders got burned out in Silicon Valley, leading to lots of turnover at even the best companies. Within ten minutes, I had bookmarked two dozen potential jobs.
But they were all at huge, established companies. Companies I didn’t want to work for. I didn’t want to be a mindless cog in a corporate machine, damnit! I wanted to find a startup. Somewhere I could really make my mark, where my work would be appreciated andneeded.
Some place like Advanced Crypto Solutions.
The interview jumped back into my head. Fresh emotions came with the memory: joy at howgoodthe interview had gone, and then anger when it fell apart. I found myself wishing my dad was still here to talk to.
I minimized the browser and loaded up Diablo 2. It was a game I had been playing since I was ten. Comfortable and familiar. I started a game on my Sorceress, who was decked out in Magic Find equipment. After a few games against Mephisto, the boss of Act 3, I would forget all about ACS.
My noise-cancellation headphones kept me from hearing the doorbell, but I noticed the notification on my second monitor. I paused my game and alt-tabbed over to the security system. One of the IP cameras showed the front door, where a man was standing.
I couldn’t see his face from this angle, but I recognized his attire. Dress pants and dress shoes. A button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Sandy-blond hair and an awkward stance. He shoved his hands in his pants and shuffled from one foot to the other.
“No way,” I muttered. “What’sJudedoing here?”
9
Amber
I stared at the screen for five long seconds. It was definitely Jude Cauthon, the man I had met at the bar last night. One of the founders of Advanced Crypto Solutions. And he was standing at my door.
His hand reached out and pressed the doorbell again.
I ripped my headphones off my head and sprinted out of my room.
Michelle poked her head out of her room. “Was that the doorbell?”
“I’ll get it!” I replied way too enthusiastically. “I’m waiting for a package. For you. For your birthday. Don’t peek.”
My footsteps were loud on the stairs as I hurried down to the front door. I told myself I was in a hurry because I wanted to keep today’s failure a secret, and not because I was eager to see Jude in person again. I paused at the door, collected myself, and then opened it.
Sure enough, Jude was standing on my doorstep. It wasn’t my imagination. He gave me a crooked smile, and his impossibly-blue eyes sparkled behind his thin-framed glasses. I felt my body come alive at the sight of him.
“Hi,” he said.
This would be so much easier if he wasn’t so damn cute!I found myself thinking. I shoved the thought deep down inside and said, “What are you doing here?”
