Page 9 of Decoding Emma

“I’d like that.”I turned my chair toward him, and our knees bumped.A jolt went through my body at the touch.What was wrong with me?

Asher looked unaffected and totally relaxed.The mischief in his gaze gave him away.“Fantasies, Inc.is a company that…just like the name says, fulfills people’s fantasies.”

“Fantasies?Like wanting to be a vampire or werewolf?”

He laughed.

“I like paranormal fiction.”

“What I mean is sensual fantasies.”

“Oh.”I felt a flush creeping up my neck to my face.Sexual fantasies.That was new.

“Nothing illegal.”

“I hope not.”

Does Tri-O-Tech have any idea what this company is about?

I glanced at Asher, and he was watching me, curious with just a hint of concern.

“Let’s start with the customer service department.Cassie Adams is in charge of it.She and her team work with focus groups, compliments, suggestions, and any complaints.”

“You get complaints?”Really?

“Occasionally, if something doesn’t go as the client expects or if something isn’t quite right.The complaints are few and far between, which is a good thing.”

I tilted my head.Made sense.“What are you trying to accomplish with the program?”

“As much automation as we can.Right now, Cassie and her team do manual reports, and I want to automate them.”

“I’m surprised things aren’t more automated.”

“Well, the company kind of took off before we could get a lot in place.”Asher shifted in his seat.“There were only three of us when we started this gig.”He was justifiably proud.

“How long ago was that?”

“Five years ago.Most of us have been here since the company started.”

I thought back to five years ago.So many things had been happening in the world at that time.Government upheaval, political crisis, new laws.“The Sexual Freedom Act,” I whispered.

“Yep.With the passage of that act, companies like ours became legal.”

“The company is regulated, isn’t it?”

“Yes, we do have regulations—a lot of them—that we have to follow.Inspections once a year, and regular reports we have to submit.So far, we’ve had no issues.”

“Sounds like you’re expecting something to go wrong?”

A company built on facilitating sexual fantasies.This project was going to be a lot more than interesting.My dry spell had been going on for a while.I wonder…

He rubbed his forehead.“No.Getting the reports together takes more and more time each year.I want to cut it in half or more.”

“I can do that.”

“Wecan do that.”

I couldn’t suppress a smile.Developers were so protective of their work.Helicopter parents had nothing on us.When integration or modification of applications, especially those I’d built, was necessary to achieve or enhance compatibility, I wanted to be the one to do it.