Chapter 05
“Okay, I know you told me to stop with the pity party, but I swear this one is for me,” Mason says with his hands behind his back, pulling my eyes away from my screen—not that the script displayed on it had much of my attention, anyway.
He brings forward two beautiful cupcakes neatly sitting in their transparent plastic containers. One’s chocolate and the other one looks like vanilla with a raspberry on top.
“Mace, I told you to stop worrying about me,” I gently scold him. “This is just a mistake. Lex will be fine, they’ll see how they messed up, and he’ll be out in no time.” I’ve told the lie so often that it comes easily.
“I told you—this ain’t about you, sis. I got my heart broken this weekend, so I need comfort.”
“Oh, so it’s over with …” Shit, I can’t remember who he was seeing now. It’s hard to keep up with his “flavors of the month,” as he calls them.
“Christian—but there was nothing Christian about that man, let me tell you. His mama picked the wrong name. Especially with the way he broke my back right after breaking my heart.”
“Breakup sex, really?”
“Always.”
“You’re such a slut,” I say with a chuckle.
“And I’m gonna be a slut until I find myself a good man.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. Mace ignores me and pops open the cupcake lids. “Which one do you want?”
“None, I’m fine.”
“Girl, eat something before your goods are gone and your boyfriend decides to stay in jail rather than deal with the white half of your ass.”
The sass is so brutal that my jaw hangs loose. Mace uses that to shove the chocolate cupcake into my gaping mouth. “There you go, cheers,” he proudly says, tapping his cupcake onto mine.
The buttery chocolate of the topping pulls me out of my shock, and I grab the cupcake after taking a bite. “You’re actually a mean slut,” I correct, chewing on the pastry.
“But you love me for it. Now, let me focus on work and forget everything about the unchristian Christian.”
I hide my smile with another bite. I haven’t been eating much lately, and I suppose my lack of appetite is starting to show.
Those few pounds I’ve been desperate to shed are gone, but not in a good way.
I know Lex would scold me for not taking care of myself as I should, but I can’t help it.
The thought of eating, which used to bring me actual joy, now feels like a chore I can’t be bothered with.
On most mornings, having breakfast makes me nauseous, even.
Mason’s cupcake is good, though, and I appreciate his concern. Lex would definitely hate coming out of jail to find that my ass is gone, so maybe I should eat just for that.
The morning is rather uneventful. Things have settled down since Lex’s arrest. People still stare and whisper, but it isn’t as bad as it was early on. A little before lunch break, though, we all get a note from the internal messaging app.
Kevin Langley: Can you all come up to my office before lunch, please? We need to discuss a few things.
There’s a knot in my stomach as I reread the message. He’ll probably announce that Lex is stepping down, and that won’t fail to revitalize the gossip.
Brian is the first one to stand up, and we all save our work and do the same. As we walk down the hallway, I force myself not to look at Lex’s door. In a few months, he’ll be back in there, and it’ll stop hurting.
Steven is the one who knocks on Kevin’s door, and we all step in once invited.
“Hey, guys,” Kev says, standing from behind his desk and coming around it.
“Thank you for coming.” He leans against the light wood and crosses his arms. “I’m sorry I haven’t been as on top of things as I should have been.
I’ve been pushing back on finding a temporary replacement for Lex, and I know your team has been suffering the most from it.
So, I apologize for that. However, I also want to congratulate all of you for still doing the best you could without clear guidance from a manager. ”
Kev pauses while we nod, and after a deep breath, he continues with, “Lex is resigning from his position as co-CEO, which has prompted me to start looking for someone to take on his workload. We might need two or three people to make up for it. We’re looking into hiring, but I’ve insisted we give a shot to our in-house employees first. From my understanding, Steven and Oliver, you were the leads whenever Lex wasn’t available, right? ”
“Yes, he used to put us in charge,” Oliver confirms.
“Good. For now, would you two be okay with co-managing the dev team in an official capacity?”
“Sure, but I have my three-month leave coming up, so maybe I’m not the best fit right now,” Steven reminds him. Right, we’ve all heard about his trip to Australia in a couple of weeks, where he’ll meet his girlfriend’s family and tour the country.
“Ah, I see … Then we can keep that in mind for when you return. Oliver, can you handle it alone?”
Oli gives it a thought and says, “Like you said, Lex did a lot of work around here. I can try, but I’m not sure I’ll be enough.”
Kevin’s attention then turns to me, and before I can shake my head to stop him, he suggests, “Since the biggest project right now is Andy’s application, maybe she can co-manage with you until Steven returns. I know she’s the most recent hire on the team, but would you guys be okay with that?”
“Yeah, I’m good with it,” Mason says without missing a beat.
“Me too,” Brian concurs.
The guys all agree, and I stare at Kevin, unsure if I want this added responsibility. As if he can sense my reluctance, he adds, “It’s only until Steven comes back. Then he and Oli can be in charge until we find a better solution.”
Hm … I guess I can handle three months of that. And it might actually serve as a nice distraction. “Okay,” I reluctantly agree.
Kev gives me a small smile. “Thank you. Listen, guys, losing Lex is going to be hard on everyone, especially this team. He isn’t great with compliments, but I know he was incredibly proud of his ‘dream team,’ as he called you, and how well you all work.
The best thing we can do is keep on going like he’d want us to and make him proud. ”
Again, everyone nods in agreement, and Kevin pushes himself away from his desk. “Alright, I’ve kept you for long enough. Enjoy your lunch. Oli and Andy, if you could come back afterward so we can hash out the details of your new responsibilities …”
“Sure thing,” Oli answers for us both.
On our way out, I can’t help but feel like a fraud. I’m barely out of the new-girl stage, but I now have to co-manage this team? What even is my life right now?
Probably noticing my silence, Oli bends toward me to whisper, “Do you wanna get out of here, co-manager? Burger and fries, my treat.”
While the food isn’t as appealing as it should be, the idea of eating out is.
Word of Lex resigning will spread during lunchtime, and I don’t want to be here while it happens.
Everyone knows about the situation and his not being able to work, of course, but this is the first official announcement. And it’ll feel very definitive.
“Yes, let’s go,” I tell Oli with feigned enthusiasm.
There’s nothing but talk about the weather and cold temperatures as we walk out of the building and toward the food truck parked just outside. Once we have our burgers and sit down, though, Oli asks, “So, how have you been doing, really?”
I slowly unwrap my burger, using it as an excuse to think of what to say. “I try to stay positive, but to be very honest, I fail on most days.”
“I’d imagine … Have you had any news about Lex?”
“I went to visit him this weekend with Kev. He’s doing as well as he can given the circumstances. Can’t wait to get out.”
“There still isn’t a date for the trial, right?”
“Not yet, no. The prosecution is pushing to delay it so they can find more evidence, and Lex’s lawyers are trying to have it as soon as possible.”
Oli nods before taking a bite of his burger, and I turn mine around, looking for a better entry point. I’m biting down into it when he asks, “Do you … do you know what kind of evidence they have so far?”
Again, chewing gives me time to think of what I’ll say next. He’s probably read the articles from the trial, so he knows what transpired then. I have had no news about additional evidence, but as long as they haven’t found the hidden room, I don’t see what else they could find.
“It’s all very far-fetched,” I pretend. “It’s like they decided Lex was Nammota, so they did everything they could to link him to the hacker. It doesn’t make much sense, so I’m sure it’ll fall apart during the trial.”
It’s Oli’s turn to take a moment to gather his thoughts, silently eating for a while. “Do you really believe that?”
Slightly taken aback, I frown and say, “Of course.”
He seems almost angry as he puts his burger down. I watch, a little disconcerted, as he wipes his hands together to get rid of the crumbs and sesame seeds. “You truly think everything they found is far-fetched?” he asks again.
“Why are you pissed at me right now?” I defend myself.
“I’m not pissed at you. I’m pissed at Lex.”
“Why?”
“Because even now, he’s keeping you in the dark.”
A sudden epiphany dissipates my confusion, but I refuse to believe it at first. Does he know? Did he figure out that Lex really is Nammota?
“What do you know?” I ask.
Probably alerted by my wariness, it’s his turn to become suspicious. His eyebrows come together, and he asks, “What do you know?”
“You first.”
He looks around, making sure no one’s paying attention to us, and leans forward to whisper, “Lex is Nammota.”
So, my intuition was right. “How long have you known?”
“Maybe four years.”
Holy fuck. I thought he’d put two and two together with Lex’s arrest, but apparently not. “How did—how did you realize?”