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“How late did you all stay up after I went to bed?” I asked.
“Late,” Evan answered. “Or early, if you’re Bruce.”
Bruce looked up and grinned. He had a slightly crazed look on his face. “I haven’t gone to bed yet.”
Yikes on bikes.
I grabbed a plate of eggs and toast and settled in next to them. A few minutes later, Jason and Shane joined us from the buffet table. Shane looked gorgeous, as always, but Jason…Jason looked the same way Heidi did. His suit was rumpled, his shirt slightly untucked, and he had what looked like pillow creases on his face.
“What did you and Heidi do last night?” I asked him.
He blinked. “Whatever it was, we definitely didn’t get arrested.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I yelped.
“We had a busy night, but one thing we didnotdo,” he said again, “was get arrested.”
Shane shrugged at me as they both sat at the table. “That’s all I got out of him, too,” he said.
I had clearly slept through so much. I glanced over to see Patrick helping Heidi load her plate. Once I got her alone, I’d make her tell me everything—or at least what she could remember.
Evan turned to me, looking a bit green but alert. “Today’s the day.”
I nodded and took a sip of coffee, then winced. For a swanky hotel, the coffee sucked. I’d seen a little bistro on the Strip last night, so maybe after this was over, Shane and I could grab a cup… I sighed, then gave Evan my full attention. I couldn’t avoid it forever.
“Yeah. Today’s the day. Honestly, I wish it weren’t. I’ve wanted to get this over with forever, but yesterday was such a blast. I’m going to miss Apollo. And especially all of you.”
“There’s still the possibility Melvin won’t fire you,” Evan said, but he sounded unconvincing.
“No, there isn’t,” I said, shoveling a forkful of eggs in my mouth. “And even if he didn’t, I want out. He trusted me as a coder because I have a manly name. When he met me in person, he called me a little girl. Then he reneged on his promise for a promotion and tried to take credit for my idea. This is not someone I want to work for or with. And no offense to your car dreams,” I said to Bruce, who didn’t seem at all focused on the conversation, “but last night you all met the reason why I needed that promotion. Keeping my dad in assisted living has taken every spare penny I have. Not that Melvin knows about that, and it shouldn’t matter either way. He should promote me because, with all your help, we made a product that’s going to change the way people interact with consumerism from now on.”
“Wait, are you all talking about the S.J. Sporting interface?” one of the men sitting near us asked. I’d seen him somewhere but couldn’t place him.
Evan froze. “Um. No?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, we are,” I told him. “You said it yourself, Evan: this whole thing ends today.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” the guy said, “I was just curious because that product is the reason we’re all here, and from what I’ve seen, it’s amazing.”
“It is,” I said and gestured to my team. “We made something amazing.”
Shane leaned over. “Maybe Evan’s right. You love Artemis, and you’veworked really hard. If the higher-ups know about Melvin, maybe you won’t have to go.”
“I don’t love Artemis. I love Diana,” I said. “And the higher-ups haven’t inspired a ton of confidence with their leadership choices. Just saying. Besides, I’ve become kind of close with Sara Jean. She’s so refreshing to work with. I have a feeling if I wanted a job with her at SJ, she’d find a spot for me. Point is, I think I have a future in coding, but not at Apollo.”
“Sara Jean, as in SJ?” the man asked.
“Yeah,” I answered, then narrowed my eyes at him. “Who are you, anyway?”
“David,” he answered. “I work on the”—he hesitated—“the Poseidon team.”
Hm. Hadn’t heard of that one, but when Apollo IT found a theme, they clearly stuck to it. I turned back to the group. “Melvin gives his speech tonight; then I give my resignation. But you all will keep in touch, right?”
They nodded and began talking all at once. Mike and Bruce wanted to meet my dad and Margaret for coffee before the big meeting, and Evan and Allen wanted to look over the final presentation they’d prepared for Melvin before it was showtime.
There were a couple of events scheduled for the afternoon, but I didn’t really feel the need to show up. Fortunately, neither did Shane. I leaned into him at the breakfast table, and he rested his chin on top of my head. Bliss. He might live across the country, but for now, we were together and our issues were in the past, where they belonged.
That afternoon, Shane and I ditched the “mandatory” events and checked out the shark reef at the Mandalay Bay Resort. He said it was a way to make up for losing our romantic dinner in the shark tunnel. I squealed the whole time and pestered him with uncomfortable facts about sharks until it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for the evening keynote event. I asked if there was anything he wanted to do, like see some German shepherds (dogs or people, whichever he preferred), but he politely declined.
