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Only after they were done, and the table and kitchen tidied, did he open it up and present its contents to her. Strawberries, dipping chocolate, and whipped cream all sat in the bag. Noah had grinned wickedly, proclaiming that she was not allowed to touch anything and that he would feed her. Allee had laughed, and unsurprisingly, while feeding her, Noah had 'accidentally' dripped chocolate and whipped cream on Allee's nose, chin, throat, and cleavage. That last 'accident' had also been the last strawberry, which meant that Allee and Noah had been free to clean up. They had showered together, then tumbled into Allee's bed.
Stuart had been forced to return to Albury for his parents’ wedding anniversary, so he lost over a week of watching out for Allee. He’d had to stick around and listen to his mother harp on at every imperfection she perceived in his life, and he had spent the entire trip back to Brisbane entertaining thoughts of how he could get rid of her without his father knowing or being caught. He’d heard interesting things about pigs but only knew of one local pig farm, and he didn’t think they’d be very cooperative with him using them for body disposal.
He had sat and watched the bus stop on McKechnie Drive yesterday morning, but seeing neither hide nor hair of Allee, he decided to watch the busy Logan Road bus stop in the afternoon. Again, he waited in vain, which did nothing to ease his temper. There was only one other within close proximity of Allee's work, and that was on Brandl Street. If she got off at that stop in the morning, he would be one step closer to knocking on her door.
Parked in a car park just down the road from the stop on Brandl Street, Stuart waited impatiently. If Allee had caught the bus there, she'd walk past, and she would likely cut through other car parks to get her office. He had been sitting there for almost an hour, not wanting to miss her if she walked by, constantly checking the road behind him to see if she was coming. As he turned around from one such check, Stuart saw a bright flash of colour up ahead. A young woman was crossing the road, and she looked familiar. Stuart grabbed his binoculars and focussed on her, catching sight of her face just before she passed behind a line of trees and shrubs. It was her.
Allee jauntily sped up the stairs, feeling light-hearted and happy despite the gloom outside. She was happy. She had a wonderful man who was in love with her and thought she was amazing, a job she excelled at and enjoyed, friends and colleagues who supported and admired her, and a comfortable home where she finally felt safe. The nightmares that had plagued her for so long were becoming a distant memory, and Allee's confidence was the highest it had been since she'd met Stuart. She finally felt whole, and her entire being was lit up with the feelings of joy and completeness that consumed her.
Allee called out to Sammy, offering him a coffee. He nodded, a strange look on his face, as Allee made one up and took it over to him.
“Thanks. You're looking very cheerful today. You brighten up the room.”
“That was my intention. Is everything okay?”
“Just some rubbish going on in the forums. I'll fill you in during the meeting.”
“Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help,”
“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.”
Allee walked back towards her office, grinning as she saw Beth and Mark arrive, their eyebrows raised in appreciation.
“Hey, hot stuff, what have you done with our office manager?” Mark questioned Allee with a grin, grunting with exaggerated pain as Beth elbowed him in the ribs.
“Allee, you're looking lovely today. Mark, you're an idiot. Good thing I love you so much,” Beth rolled her eyes and smirked, and Allee realised that it was a long-standing joke between the two. She didn't have long to wait before she heard Noah's laugh as he chatted to someone coming through the door as well.
Sitting back and watching as Noah and Michael passed by her door, she caught Noah's eye and winked. He grinned wolfishly back at her, his eyes alight at her appearance. He kept walking, and Allee concentrated on getting the agenda for that morning's meeting ready.
The weekly meeting started with Craig reminding everyone of the upcoming launch and that media would be present. He quickly handed the reins over to Allee, who detailed the itinerary.
“As most of you already know, Gareth Pengelly is flying up from Melbourne next Tuesday night. He'll come to the office on Wednesday and will want to speak to each of you to prep you for the media onslaught. I can tell you right now, Gareth is a consummate professional; he knows his stuff, but he is also a wonderful guy, so if you have any concerns or nerves, let him know. He'll do his utmost to make it as easy on you as possible. This is all about you and the superb game you've created. He's here to highlight that fact, but he'll also want you to enjoy yourselves.”
“Are we going to need to wear suits and shit like that?” asked Michael, “I don't do suits, and I'd feel uncomfortable being made to dress like that.”
Today, Michael was wearing a studded collar and wrist-bands, along with his signature black jeans and shirt. His hair, shoulder-length when straight, was gelled into a spiked mohawk and the tips had been dyed bright pink.
Allee laughed and shook her head.
“Michael, I think Gareth would be horrified if you looked any different than normal. Your uniqueness is part of the brand, and he doesn't wish to change that, but if you want to consult him regarding what you should wear for the launch event, do it Wednesday. Now, next Tuesday, I'll be taking up most of your morning with information about it all, so unless there are any other urgent questions, we'll get back to normal business.”
Conversations went around the table quite quickly. Everyone was nervous or excited about the launch the following week. When it was Sammy's turn to speak, however, his voice was uncharacteristically weary.
“The community is psyched about the release, and we've had a lot of positive feedback regarding the updater fix. We need to concentrate on keeping the positives to a maximum and ignore those few negatives that are pretty much always around. However, we also attracted a new troll. They seem to want to make trouble. I'd appreciate it if we can give him as little fodder as possible thanks.”
There were several groans and eye-rolls around the table at the mention of a troll.
Craig spoke up, asking, “Can't you just ban him?”
Sammy shook his head and replied, “Been there, done that, got the sock-puppets.”
Craig rolled his eyes, nodded, and closed the meeting.
As they were getting up to leave, Allee touched Sammy on the arm and asked him the question that had confused her.
“Sock-puppet? What’s a sock-puppet?”
“A sock-puppet is a fake account controlled by someone else. It’s done so they can 'converse' with themselves and spam the forums. They're kind of like a hydra; if you cut off one of the puppet 'heads' by banning them, another one just crops up in its place. They’re the bane of moderators everywhere, and most trolls tend to use that tactic. They’re extremely difficult to police and remove.”
