Page 38 of The Revenge Game

Luckily, when I make it down to the IT department, the technological apocalypse has abated, giving me breathing space for the first time this morning.

All of the revenge pranks I planned against Justin scroll through my brain. But reflecting on them doesn’t help meanswer the biggest question occupying my head for the last few days.

Do I really want to keep doing this?

I bring up the next bit of code I’ve written. With a few keystrokes, I could make Justin’s next presentation go viral for all the wrong reasons. My finger hovers over Delete. It would be so easy to just…stop. To let it go. Work out my notice at DTL Enterprises and go back to figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

“So…” Xander’s voice breaks through my internal debate. He’s wheeled his chair to my desk, his expression uncharacteristically focused.

“That speed-running code you used earlier…”

My stomach drops. “What about it?”

“According to my research, only one person has ever managed to crack Dragon’s Sphere Level Eleven that fast.” He leans forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “It was Andrew Yates. You know, the guy who built NovaCore?”

My heart stutters.

Shit. Why didn’t I think through how using that code would prickle Xander’s suspicions?

I’d completely forgotten how tech journalists had used my Dragon’s Sphere prowess as a humanizing story, along with all my speed-running records and the fact I named all my servers afterStar Trekcharacters.

“Nice to know I’m in good company.” My voice comes out squeaky.

“Do you know what the funniest thing is?”

I get the feeling I really, really don’t know what Xander finds amusing about this situation.

“What’s that?” I force myself to ask.

Xander leans even closer, his wheels squeaking against the floor. “It turns out Andrew Yates looks exactly like you. Well, besides the fact he wears glasses.”

Double shit. Who knew Xander had actual detective skills hidden under all those Dragon’s Sphere T-shirts?

My heart races.

Is he trying to bribe me? What can I say? My mind spins faster than a hard drive struggling to defrag while running seventeen instances of Chrome.

There’s only one thing I can do when confronted with the truth.

Lie my ass off.

“Okay.” I make a big deal of glancing around before leaning into Xander. “Can you keep a secret?”

Xander nods so enthusiastically that I worry his head might detach.

“I’m…doing a reality show. LikeUndercover Bossbut with a tech twist. The whole premise is when a tech designer goes undercover to see how the system they designed works in everyday life.”

His eyes go wider than his monitor. “No way.”

“Way. But if you tell anyone, you’ll ruin the whole show. And probably get me sued by the production company.”

“Holy shit.” He wheels back slightly. “That’s why you dress like that!”

Uh…I find it disturbing that someone who wears the same Dragon’s Sphere T-shirt every day with bonus food stains is critiquing my clothes but now doesn’t seem like the time to lodge a protest.

“Exactly.” I fidget with my tie, which suddenly feels like it’s trying to strangle me with the weight of my lies. “So…we’re good?”

“Are you kidding? This is amazing!” Xander’s practically vibrating with excitement. “Dude, you’re worth like…what? A bazillion dollars?” His voice drops to an awestruck whisper. “The tech magazines call you the next Zuckerberg, except, you know, without the whole evil robot vibe. And here you are, fixing Dave’s email!”