Page 12 of The Revenge Game

Even hearing my voice didn’t clue him in to my real identity. Granted, I probably didn’t actually speak much around Justin in high school because my single mission was to do everything possible to evade attention.

My accent has also changed a lot in the last ten years. When I was at MIT, I quickly learned to disguise my Texas twang by mimicking my professors’ clipped consonants and measured cadence. Changing my voice helped me feel I was leaving high school Andrew behind.

I’m both relieved and annoyed about Justin treating me like I’m just a new IT guy he’s never met.

Relieved because executing my plan relies on Justin not recognizing me. When his technology starts to turn on him, I don’t want him to suspect I’m behind it.

But I’m still angry he doesn’t recognize me. It feels like he’s rubbing my nose in the fact that I was so insignificant to him that it wasn’t even worth remembering my face.

I didn’t matter.

I’m going to make it so I do matter in Justin Morris’s life, even if he doesn’t know it.

With that vow, I take stock of my workstation.

Aside from the standard-issue laptop, my desk is currently spartan. Harriet, the previous occupant of this cubicle, left behind a drawer of paperclips arranged in neat color-coded piles and a stress ball shaped like Thomas the Tank Engine that’s been squeezed so many times its face has gone slightly demented.

Cheryl comes over to find me studying the stress ball.

“Sorry, Harriet, who used to sit here, must have forgotten to clean everything out. She left in a hurry.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. She’s one of those train-spotting junkies, and she got headhunted out of the blue to work in the railroad industry, so she leapt at the opportunity.”

I try to stop the blush creeping up my neck.

Because yes, for the record, I do now own a medium-sized logistics company specializing in railroad freight.

But I needed to create a vacancy at DTL Enterprises. And from stalking the IT department members on social media, all of Harriet’s selfies showing her beaming next to various locomotives meant her love of trains wasn’t that difficult to deduce. I actually liked seeing her unironic enthusiasm—it’s rare in adults—so I made sure she got offered her dream job with triple the salary she was previously on and a corner office with a view of the railyard. Which then created a vacancy in the IT department at DTL Enterprises.

It’s a win-win scenario.

Once Harriet resigned, it was simple for me to produce a résumé where I had just the right amount of experience for a help desk technician in a sporting goods wholesale company. My résumé contained glowing references from my previous employers, backed up by actors I paid a handsome amountto wax lyrical about my patient demeanor when dealing with password resets and my knack for explaining technical issues in ways that don’t frighten small children or confuse CEOs.

You should never underestimate what throwing a bit of money around on Fiverr can achieve.

And the whole visa situation? Let’s just say immigration lawyers earn their exorbitant fees. A carefully structured shell company called Technical Solutions Unlimited meant DTL Enterprises could hire me as a contractor without asking too many questions. The paperwork listed my legal name in microscopic font at the bottom of page seventeen, whileDrew Smithappeared prominently. Sometimes, the best hiding places are in plain sight, tucked between legal jargon and clauses.

“So, here’s the manual you should read through.” Cheryl hands me a hefty folder. “Xander and Adam will arrive soon, and I’m sure once Adam arrives, he’ll have lots of advice to give you.”

She rolls her eyes before she retreats, leaving questions in my mind and nerves growing in my stomach.

I’ve actually never been an employee before.

I started my company when I was at MIT, and by the time I graduated, I already had ten employees.

I’ve never had to handle internal politics before, figure out the complex dynamics of who gets the good chair in meetings, or master the art of looking busy when your boss walks past.

And even though my main aim involves using my tech skills for nefarious purposes, I’m still determined to be a good employee for DTL Enterprises.

I turn my attention to the manual Cheryl gave me.

I scan through the chapters titled things likeWhy Turning It Off And On Again Really Does Fix 90% Of ProblemsandWhat To Do When Someone Microwaves Their Laptop To Dry It Out. That’s apparently a real thing that happened. Twice.

My eyes feel scratchy under the contact lenses I’m wearing, but I continue to plow on.

When I get to the explanation of the operating system of DTL Enterprises, my breath catches. Because it turns out DTL Enterprises runs NovaCore SecureFlow.