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I turned my phone over. The plastic case had a built-in credit card slot in the back. I had my Driver’s License and two credit cards inside. I pulled them out, then reached into the flap…
A small chip fell out and landed on my desk surface. It was the size of a postage stamp, and just as thin, with an RFID circuit printed on it.
It was a radio-frequency chip. When my phone tried to connect to my home network, the chip ran a man-in-the-middle attack, harvesting all of my login data and giving Owen access. For three long seconds, I was surprised. And impressed.
Then I got angry.
Moltisanti, Amber: You PIECE OF SHIT. Do you know what kind of invasion of privacy this is?
March, Owen: LOL. When you thought I was spying through the webcam, you were barely mad. But hack one cell phone and suddenly you’re dialed up to 11. Your priorities are all out of whack, kid.
Moltisanti, Amber: Fuck you.
March, Owen: You hacked me first. Hell, I didn’t even do anything to you. I just proved that I could do it. Compared to the shit you did to my condo, this is pretty tame.
Moltisanti, Amber: You made a big mistake admitting to all of this on a company chat program. I’m saving this conversation and sending it to Buzzfeed. Or TMZ.
March, Owen: Go ahead. I’ll release the records of what you did to me.
Moltisanti, Amber: You have more to lose. When a peon like me does something wrong, it’s not worth printing. But when Mark Fuckerberg kicks a puppy, it makes national news.
March, Owen: I’m sure you’ll feel real smug about that while sitting in a jail cell.
Moltisanti, Amber: You’ll be right there too, eating stale cornbread and gruel with the rest of the inmates.
March, Owen: Oh, sweetie. Rich people don’t go to prison unless they do something really bad. But if you want to press the Big Red Button and launch the nukes, then I guess go ahead. See what happens.
He was right, which only made me angrier. Men like Owen rarely had to face the consequences of their actions. Besides, I didn’treallywant to turn him in. I was just angry and frustrated that he had gotten the better of me. And, although I didn’t want to admit it, I was kind of impressed.
I stared at my phone. It wasn’t secure anymore. I needed to wipe it, and then do a full lock-down on my entire network to make sure he no longer had access.
Right on cue, a message appeared on my screen:
March, Owen: I know what you’re thinking. You have to reformat your phone. Don’t worry—I’ll save you the hassle.
In my hand, my phone screen flickered and went black. There was a soft popping sound, like an electrical capacitor overloading inside the phone. A small tendril of smoke floated out of the speaker in the bottom, and the case suddenly felt intensely hot. I dropped it on my desk and cursed.
Moltisanti, Amber: You asshole. Now I have to get a new phone!
March, Owen: Sucks to be you. See you in the office tomorrow.
Owen’s icon changed from green to gray as he logged off. Alone in my room, I let out a snarl of defeat.
17
Jude
Alone in my apartment, I let out a sigh of regret.
How could I have kissed Amber like that? Especially in my office. That only heightened the sense of wrongness: a boss kissing his employee in his office. While pretty much nobody else was there. I could imagine the headlines that would cause, and the op-eds that would be written about power dynamics and corporate abuse.
Yet I couldn’t stop myself. She was leaning forward on my desk, a challenging look in her big, round eyes. Inviting me out for a drink and demanding to know why I wouldn’t say yes. She was beautiful without even trying to be, her silky hair tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail, and her full lips were pursed together and I… and I…
I don’t know what came over me. It was like a hacker had gained control of my body and made me do it.
But even though I knew it was a mistake—itwasa mistake, damnit!—I couldn’t ignore the way I felt now. All the emotions I had sensed that night at the bar came rushing back, amplified by the kiss. Amber was everything I had ever wanted in a woman. Smart, geeky, and gorgeous. Cocky when it came to her work, but it was justified.
As I crawled into bed and closed my eyes that night, all I could see was Amber, leaning over my desk with that same challenging expression on her face. Waiting to see what I would do.
