Page 43

Two Years Later

Justin

“Are you ready for this?” Leo’s deep voice booms into my ear from my phone.

I blow out a deep breath. “Yeah, I think so.”

When I came up with my idea for what I’m about to do this morning, Leo was the first person I contacted. I knew I’d need a good wingman and that Leo would be up for the task.

Leo’s become a good friend over the past two years. Despite the unorthodox beginning of Andrew and my relationship, he’s never been anything but one hundred percent supportive of us.

Besides, given his own misadventures in revenge led to an extremely unlikely outcome, he completely understands how sometimes the best things in life come from our worst plans.

Which hopefully isn’t an appropriate motto for today. I’m aiming for good things to come from well-laid plans.

“Good luck with everything,” Leo says.

“Thanks.”

I finish the call and then lean back in my chair, surveying my office.

My promotion to deputy head of sales means I now have my own office next to Roger’s. My décor has definitely changed from my cubicle. I still have one lonely Houston Texans pennant, but it’s overshadowed by all the photos that line my walls.

There’s Andrew and me sharing ice cream in Paris, both of us wearing identical brain-freeze expressions. Cassie and Tabitha lounging next to Andrew’s laptop while he tries to work. Us wrapped in scarves at the Christmas markets in Vienna, my nose red from mulled wine and happiness.

We lived together in my apartment for the first year of our relationship. While it might have seemed ridiculous for a multi-millionaire like Andrew to live in such a modest apartment, it had so many memories for us and Cassie and Tabitha were settled there, so moving seemed pointless.

But then Andrew visited me one Saturday morning at Second Chances and met Moose for the first time, and it was instant forever love for both of them.

Unfortunately, my apartment wasn’t big enough to cope with a hundred-and-fifty-pound mastiff, so we found a Victorian townhouse in Richmond with high ceilings and a sprawling garden that backs onto Richmond Park. The previous owners had maintained a pristine lawn, but within weeks, Moose had pretty much destroyed it.

I’d thought the house was fine as it was, but six months ago, when we arrived home from a week’s vacation in Greece, I discovered my incredible boyfriend had arranged for one of London’s top kitchen designers to take all the ideas I’d marked on Pinterest and build my dream kitchen as a surprise.

The best thing about our new house is its large guest room. Andrew’s parents have visited twice, and my mother flew out last summer to spend three weeks with us.

Mom bloomed during those three weeks, like she was finally allowing herself to take up space in the world.

She was already incredibly grateful to Drew because he’d insisted on buying her a house in Texas even though he framed it as an investment property. It just happened to be perfectly suited to her needs with a sunny kitchen, big garage space for her new hobby of upholstery, and within walking distance of her craft store job.

But while she was over here, she and Drew bonded over their shared love of terrible British reality TV shows, both of them giving advice to contestants like they could actually hear them through the screen. By the end of her stay, she’d taught him her secret chili recipe so he could cook it for the nights when I was working late, and he’d helped her set up an Etsy shop for her crafts.

Watching the two people I love most in the world find their own connection felt like everything in my life clicking perfectly into place.

And I think Drew was even happier than I was a few months ago when she tentatively mentioned in a phone call that she’d been on a few dates. Jim is a retired high school librarian who runs the local book club and showed up to their first date carrying a copy of her favorite Jane Austen novel.

I leave my office now, dodging Pete and Dave engaged in an impromptu sales pitch-off using office supplies. Dave dramatically extols the virtues of a half-empty stapler while Pete delivers an impassioned monologue about the revolutionary potential of Post-it notes that have lost their stickiness.

Pete eyes my laptop bag as I walk past.

“Where are you off to?”

“Personal appointment,” I say, trying to sound casual.

“Ooh, personal.” Dave wiggles his eyebrows. “Is this the kind of personal that requires that fancy shirt you’ve been hiding under your jacket all day?”

“At least he’s wearing a shirt,” Pete says. “Unlike someone’s virtual presentation last week.”

“I told you, my camera accidentally turned on while I was changing!”

Leaving Pete and Dave arguing about wardrobe malfunctions, I push the button for the elevator.

It’s only a short walk from DTL Enterprises to the headquarters of ClarityConnect, the not-for-profit Andrew founded to develop apps to help people with different visual and cognitive disorders.

The messages they’ve received from around the world show that the apps they have developed over the last two years are making a major difference in people’s lives. From the teenage girl who can finally recognize her friends in school photos to the older man who no longer feels lost in his own neighborhood.

And ClarityConnect is not the only charity Andrew’s established in the last two years.

He’s also started the Man Enough Collective, where he has assembled a remarkable coalition of men at the top of their fields who aren’t afraid to show their whole selves.

NFL stars talk about going to therapy, CEOs talk about their struggles with anxiety, and scientists discuss how asking for help made their breakthroughs possible. They visit schools, businesses, sports teams—anywhere toxic masculinity might be taking root—and show through their own experiences that being a man isn’t about dominance or control. It’s about having the courage to be vulnerable, support others, and admit when you’re wrong.

“Bobby Ray learned that behavior from someone,” he pointed out when he explained his idea. “The most important thing is to break the cycle, teach men that there are so many different ways to be a man and that real strength isn’t about making others feel small.”

Every time I watch Andrew work on the charity, seeing him help other men unlearn the same toxic lessons that nearly broke us both in high school, I’m reminded of exactly why he’s the most amazing person I know.

And it definitely wasn’t a coincidence that the Man Enough Collective’s pilot program was first rolled out at a steel mill in Texas, where the new owner insisted on mandatory attendance at the weekly talks from high-achieving men who challenged the toxic masculinity narrative.

And yes, my wonderful boyfriend does own controlling stakes in a steel mill where an employee called Bobby Ray Porter is on the payroll. Because my boyfriend is smart, and he learned a lot about revenge and karma and how to actually bring about the change he wants to see in the world.

Although the word boyfriend is starting to feel wrong to describe everything that Andrew Yates is in my life.

Which is why I think it needs a system upgrade.

Drew

It starts with an urgent voice message from Xander.

“ Hey, boss, I need help with the Singapore team’s code merge. They’re throwing around words I’m pretty sure they made up, and I need your genius brain to translate what they are talking about into actual requirements .”

When I was building my team for ClarityConnect, I decided on a whim to offer a job to Xander. After all, I’d seen lots of evidence of how well he could work when he was highly motivated, and I had a suspicion that most of his initial laziness was because he wasn’t being challenged.

And Xander has thrived in the role, bringing the same intensity he used to reserve for gaming achievements to solving accessibility challenges. Though he still insists on calling our weekly stand-ups “raid planning sessions.”

I’ve deliberately kept my ClarityConnect team to only twenty people, outsourcing where needed because I want to keep the collaborative spirit alive and maintain that spark of innovation that comes from people actually talking to each other instead of just their screens. It’s harder to ignore someone’s instant message when they’re close enough to throw stress balls at your head.

When I arrive at Xander’s office, Annabel, another member of the team, is hovering nearby, both of them suddenly very interested in a blank monitor.

“So, what’s happening with the Singapore code merge?” I ask.

“Oh, I think we’ve actually got that sorted now,” Annabel says.

Xander has a look on his face that I vaguely recognize from our DTL Enterprises days when he was performing for the cameras. It makes me narrow my eyes in suspicion.

“What was the problem?” I ask.

“It turns out it was just a cultural misunderstanding,” he says.

“A cultural misunderstanding that fixed itself in the two minutes it took me to walk over here?”

“Yup.” Xander gives me a toothy smile.

Hmm.

But I can’t exactly stand here interrogating them about their suspicious lack of problems.

I give them both my best I-know-you’re-up-to-something look before heading back to my office, unable to suppress a smile. Because, honestly, I love this job. It’s rewarding to know we’re making a difference in people’s lives.

And every time we hit a wall or I have a challenging day, I have the ultimate motivation. I just remember Justin’s face when he first saw the features of Recall+ and realized how it could help him.

I’m also much better at keeping my work life in perspective now that I have the most happy home life imaginable.

When I get back to my office, my suspicion levels shoot straight past raised eyebrow to they’re about as subtle as a marching band .

Because on my screen, instead of the user feedback analysis I’d been reviewing for our newest app launch, there’s a simple message.

ERROR DETECTED.

It’s definitely a suspicious error message though. It doesn’t have the usual font, and since when do system errors come with little animated hearts in the corner?

I tentatively press a key, and my screen populates with new text.

ERROR 404: BOYFRIEND NOT FOUND

LOCATION: THE DTL ENTERPRISES KITCHEN, 947 DAYS AGO

DESCRIPTION: SUBJECT DISCOVERED ATTEMPTING TO PREVENT FATAL MUG-RELATED INCIDENT

A smile tugs at my lips. The time stamp matches the moment I first saw Justin at DTL Enterprises, when he warned me against using Marleen’s sacred coffee mug.

I try to access the system logs, but another error pops up:

SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: EXCESSIVE FELINE INTERFERENCE DETECTED

LOCATION: APARTMENT 26A

DESCRIPTION: TWO UNAUTHORIZED AGENTS (CODENAMES: CASSIE & TABITHA) COMPROMISING SYSTEM INTEGRITY VIA STRATEGIC DEPLOYMENT OF PURRS

The image attachment shows Justin and me on his couch, Cassie sprawled across my laptop while Tabitha supervises from her perch on the back of the couch.

My fingers fly across the keyboard, trying to trace the source of these oddly specific “errors,” when another pop-up appears:

CRITICAL ERROR: M&M SORTING ALGORITHM FAILURE

DESCRIPTION: brOWN M&MS DETECTED IN SEQUENCE. EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ENGAGED

SUGGESTION: EMPLOY BOYFRIEND WITH PERFECT M&M SORTING CAPABILITIES

I push my glasses up my nose, a grin spreading across my face. Okay, so it’s probably poetic justice that Justin decided to mess with my technology. Though I get the feeling he didn’t do it alone. This has Leo’s fingerprints all over it.

But before I can do anything, another message appears:

WARNING: REVENGE PLOT SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFORMED INTO LOVE STORY

LOCATION: COYOTE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

DESCRIPTION: SUBJECT DISCOVERED THAT REVENGE IS BEST SERVED WITH A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND A KISS

The attachment is a photo from our reunion kiss that was widely circulated on social media by one of our old classmates. We’re completely lost in each other, oblivious to the crowd around us.

“Need help debugging something?”

Justin’s voice behind me makes me spin in my chair. He’s leaning against my doorframe with that smile that still makes my heart skip.

I lean back in my chair. “I seem to be having a few technological errors.”

“Have you tried turning it off and on again? I hear that works wonders,” he says.

I can’t help laughing. “Do I want to know how you managed to hack into my system?”

“I did have a bit of help,” he says.

“Leo?” I guess. “And Xander must have been involved somehow.”

“Turns out Xander is very susceptible to bribes involving Dragon’s Sphere premium memberships.”

“Who would have thought,” I say as Justin comes forward. He leans down to kiss me, a simple greeting kiss that quickly turns delicious.

When he pulls back, his smile turns slightly nervous. “There’s one more message you haven’t seen yet.” He nods at the screen.

I click my mouse, and another message appears:

FATAL SYSTEM ERROR: MARRIAGE PROPOSAL IMMINENT

ACCEPT Y/N?

My breath catches. When I turn back, Justin is down on one knee beside my desk.

He holds out a simple platinum band that catches the office lights.

“So,” he says, his voice shaky but his eyes steady on mine, “what do you say, my Techno-Genius? Want to debug life’s code together?”

There’s a lump in my throat the size of a Rubik’s Cube. Oh my god. My favorite person in the world is asking me to spend the rest of our days on this planet together. How did I manage to get so lucky?

My glasses seem to have fogged up, so I can barely see, but I manage to choke out, “You realize this means I’ll have to include this security breach in our next system audit?”

Justin’s laugh is bright and beautiful. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” I say, pulling him up to me. “Though I hope you know I’m expecting you to create our wedding invitations in PowerPoint format.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he murmurs against my lips before kissing me.

When we finally pull apart after our first incredible kiss as fiancés, Justin reaches over to my laptop and hits a button, and the screen flashes one final message:

SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE: HAPPILY EVER AFTER

INSTALLATION SUCCESSFUL

And there isn’t a single error message in sight.

A Message from Jax!

Hi! Thank you so much for reading The Revenge Game !