Chapter 21
G oing back to work on Monday after the best weekend of my life is particularly difficult. Luckily, I work with the reason why my weekend was so great.
I’m not sure I have fully processed what Lex’s revelation entails. In a way, I know there’s gravity to it, and I know there are many implications I’m not fully grasping yet. But at the same time, it doesn’t change a single thing about my feelings for him. Knowing he’s done all that makes me love him even more than I already did. My baby is a fucking badass.
The fact that he refuses to talk about it is more of an issue for me. I’ve asked many questions, but he remains dismissive and adamant about leaving that part of him in the past. And as much as I want to give him that, I’m too curious and intrigued to move on like nothing happened. I meant it when I said I want every part of that man.
So, like any good girlfriend, I took it upon myself to learn everything I could about my boyfriend’s past hobby. As soon as Lex dropped me home on Sunday evening, I took out my laptop and began googling. First, I read the entire Wikipedia page about Nammota to refresh my memory of the timeline and events. Then, I dug out some old articles from when everything was happening and read them from headline to sign-off, along with some of the comments. I remembered it was a lot, but I don’t think I ever realized just how insane thirteen cyber heists really was. That’s over two per year when it would take most people several years to organize and prepare a single one.
Some copycats tried, actually, pretending to be Nammota when they did their hacks. But because of their selfish philosophy—most of them kept the little money they hacked for themselves—and their sloppy skills, they were quickly proven as frauds. A couple of them were even caught and are serving their sentence. No one has ever come close to Nammota’s level of meticulous planning and flawless hacking skills, and I doubt anyone will for a while. Lex really is that unique.
On Monday morning, I’m not in the right state of mind to work—especially since I’m halfway through the Netflix special on Nammota that came out a few years ago, with only two episodes left. There’s something thrilling about watching experts talk about just how good Nammota was and how we’ll likely never know who stole and redistributed all that money. I also very much enjoyed seeing the crowds that gathered after the later heists to celebrate Nammota’s gift to society.
Thankfully, I get my head in the game about an hour in, working with Mace and Brian. We’re doing last checks to ensure everything is in order so my app can go to our beta testers. Brian is in charge of over-clicking buttons and randomly swiping or tapping on the screen to mimic poor user behavior and find potential glitches or issues. The number of problems we encounter is almost scary, but Mace and I correct them as we go, so there’s less and less.
And it’s nice to see the app so nearly finished. The graphics team did an incredible job with the design, and it finally looks like a proper app. The color scheme is joyful and vibrant, and the experience is very smooth, thanks to a fluid design and intuitive buttons and icons. Marketing has been working with a consumer panel to pick the best name and logo for the app, which is closely monitored by Lex and Kev. From what I know, they’ve narrowed it down to four options and are waiting for the final feedback from the panel to announce it.
Then, once everything is ready, which should happen by the end of the week, we’re sending out the app to our beta testers. It’s nerve-wracking, but at least it means we’ll get a bit of a break—some breathing time until we receive our testers’ first wave of tickets. But yes, my code baby is about to be released into the world, and I’m emotional about it. Two and a half years of hard work are coming to an end. Though the app will never be completely done, so I’ll still get to work on it for years to come.
Kevin has been working hard on negotiating contracts nationwide for when the app is officially ready for the public. Several states have already agreed to purchase hundreds of Injin tablets equipped with our OS and the app, to make them available in schools, colleges, hospitals, administrative buildings… People with hearing and speech impairments will finally be understood and included.
Mace, Brian, and I work for a solid two hours before we stumble on a bug we can’t fix. There’s an input system that allows users to correct a signs-to-text transcription, which will allow the deep learning algorithm to better itself over time. But it doesn’t work when Brian returns to the home screen and then comes back, and we can’t figure out why.
“I think we need Lex for this,” Mason says after a while, leaning back in his chair. It’s been twenty minutes, so I also don’t think we can get out of this one without the help of our genius boss.
I hide my excitement at getting to see Lex for the first time today when I suggest, “You two can stay here if you want while I go see him with this.”
“I gotta see how he’s gonna do it. I legit don’t get where the issue comes from,” Mason counters.
“Yeah, same,” Brian agrees.
Well, there goes my time alone with Lex…
Our merry little trio exits the Trolls’ Lair to head upstairs, and Mason’s the one to knock on Lex’s door. We enter when Lex’s command allows us to, and I have to contain my giddiness. God, I’m so in love with that man… His glasses reflect the screen in front of him, and when he sees me, a smile stretches his lips—which were all over me yesterday during our last embrace before he had to take me home.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he wonders as he rolls his chair back a little, specifically looking at me.
“We caught a nasty glitch we can’t fix,” Mason explains before I can come up with some witty comeback. Oh, well… It’s safer that way.
“Alright, show me.”
We all move behind him, and I let Mason take the lead, keeping a reasonable distance from Lex. If I breathe him in or accidentally touch him, I might moan, regardless of who’s in the room with us. The way he’s so focused, his brow slightly knitted together, his eyes intense, his lush mouth pinched in a severe line…. He’s being his sexy and nerdy self right now, so I don’t trust myself around him. I can still feel him inside me, my pussy tender from our insane weekend of sex.
Of course, it only takes him five minutes to fix our problem, and we feel stupid for not finding it. He doesn’t taunt us about it, though, but merely rolls back once everything is corrected to say, “By the way, the graphic team sent me the final logo. Do you want to see it?”
I almost squeal at that. “Oh my God, yes!”
Mason and Brian are just as enthusiastic as I am, so Lex leads us to the low seats by the door, where I only now notice a folder on the coffee table. The guys sit on the armchairs, so Lex and I sit on the couch. I try not to think of the naughty things we did on this very spot as Lex takes out the prints.
All thoughts of slex leave my mind as I glimpse at the logo for my app. It’s gorgeous. Oh my God, it’s incredible. Lex spreads the designs on the table, and I admire the team’s outstanding work. They settled on “ The Good Sign” for the name, which was my favorite, and the logo looks like two hands doing an infinity loop, but it’s actually the gesture for “connect” in ASL. I love the colors, too. According to the concept prints, they selected teal for balance, healing, and connection, as it conveys calmness and emotional balance, and warm gold for hope, positivity, and energy to reinforce the uplifting impact of the app.
Mason and Brian seem to like the final results as much as I do, turning some prints around to see them better.
It looks very official and very final, and mixed emotions overwhelm me. After all that hard work, my app, my brainchild, is almost finished. I’m proud, a little sad, happy… My vision becomes slightly blurry with conflicted tears. This is such an important milestone, and I’m finally seeing just how near the end we are.
“Do you like it?” Lex asks me, his focus on everything displayed before us.
“I love it,” I say with a nod and a sniff.
When he turns to me, I look at him as well. Worry flashes in his eyes when he sees how much of a mess I am, but then he understands these are happy tears.
His comforting hand comes to my thigh, fingers draped over the inner side of it, and he gives me a soft graze and a gentle squeeze. This little attention triggers even more happiness in me. I can’t believe I have this man by my side.
But then it clicks in my head at the same time as him, and he rips his hand away. I worriedly glance at the guys and find them both gawking at us with slight shock on their faces. Mason is holding out one of the prints to Brian, hand frozen midair.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck…
After our weekend together, Lex’s hand on me felt so natural that I didn’t think of how terribly wrong it might look to them. Pure panic runs through my veins as I nervously stand up. “Well, thank you for your help and for showing those to us.”
The guys don’t move, still trying to process what they just witnessed. “We should get back downstairs, guys,” I urge them, hoping they’ll forget.
“Yeah, right,” Mason agrees, putting the print back on the table.
Without another incriminating look at Lex, I’m out the door before the guys are even up. But they’re quick to catch up with me in the hallway. Out of nowhere, Mason grabs my arm and pulls me into an empty conference room. Brian is on our heels, and he closes the door behind us while Mason turns me around to face him.
“Sis, are you hitting that?!” he asks, excited and astonished.
“What? I don’t know what you—”
“Don’t play with me, boo. Are you smashing the boss?”
“I—uh …”
Fuck, what should I say? If I say yes, I’m cooked because everyone will know I’m having sex with the boss. But if I say no, Lex is cooked for making an incredibly inappropriate gesture toward an employee. I don’t actually have an option, do I? And we’ve made our relationship official now, so it was only a matter of time before the entire office heard of it. I only hoped it wouldn’t be that early.
Giving up, I wince and look at the ceiling, frightened by what will happen after this. “We’re actually dating,” I confess.
When I dare to look at them again, they seem stupefied, their mouths hanging open, their eyes wide. Can we please go back three minutes in time and pretend none of this is happening?
Mace gets over his shock first. “Oh. My. God! How many times have we talked about how hot that man is? And you didn’t even tell me you were hitting that, you sneaky hoe?!”
I wince, but before I can defend myself, Brian asks, “How long has it been going on?”
“Uh …”
Should I lie? Should I say things started in Seoul? It would make everything easier, but then we’d have to make sure the actual timeline never gets out. I’m tired of lies and secrets. And, ultimately, it doesn’t change anything. “It started a little before the Hello World Con.”
“Wait, that’s like, months ago,” Mason protests.
“We were on a break for a while.”
“But that means… That morning at the convention, when we talked about how Lex spent the night with a woman…” Brian slowly starts, making me tense all over. Fuck, I forgot about that. “It must have been awful for you to sit there knowing Lex slept with another woman.”
I blink a few times, confused. Wait, what…?
Mason sighs and gives him a smack upside his head. “Man, you trippin’. Andy is the woman he spent the night with, you dumbass.”
“Oh,” Brian lets out, massaging the back of his skull. The dots connect in his brain, and he looks at me with bewilderment, his mouth a perfect circle. “Ooh… um… Mazel tov.”
Right, I was the woman he and Steven heard getting railed by our boss, which makes this very, very awkward. Maybe I should have lied after all and said Seoul triggered our affair. What’s another lie in comparison to what’s happening right now?
“Guys, we haven’t even disclosed it to HR yet. I don’t want the whole office to know.”
“Babygirl… Brian was able to guess. Y’all are bad at keeping it a secret. ”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brian protests, pouting.
“It makes sense that I guessed because I have a third eye for those things, but you… you’re not very intuitive.”
“Again, it started months ago,” I remind Mason to take him down a couple of notches.
“That was my brain preserving itself from accepting that the man of my dreams was taken. And by my boo, of all people?! Bitch, you’re lucky I love you.”
“Do you love me enough not to tell anyone about it?” I hopefully ask.
“Girl, you got ’till lunch break to get your ducks in a neat little row. Beyond that, I can’t make no promises. I was born to gossip, and you just handed me the hottest tea this office has ever been served.”
I check the time on my phone and hold back a groan. We have a little under an hour before the whole office starts to hear about our affair. I need to talk to Lex so we can do some damage control.
“Okay, I-I need to go back so we can—”
“Make out in his big-ass office?”
“Mason, I swear to God.”
“Have you two done it on his desk already?”
“I will break your nose,” I threaten.
“Nah, I bet you’re a pillow princess who needs comfort, so it was on his couch.”
I’m bright red as I reply, “That couch is nowhere near comfortable.”
Although I meant it in a general way, it only confirms Mace’s suspicions, so he smiles broadly and says, “Okay, I see you, Dee. I see you…”
“Oh my God, will you shut up?” I try again, plastering my hand over his mouth. Brian also loves this and eats up everything that’s happening. “I’m serious, guys. Please, don’t ruin this for me.”
“I ain’t gonna ruin anything for you, boo. Imma live vicariously through you.”
“Yeah, same,” Brian agrees. “I mean, I won’t ruin it for you, not the other thing.”
“Does it mean you won’t tell everyone?” I insist, hopeful.
Mace agrees with a grave nod. “As hard as it’ll be, yes. Because I’m a good friend.”
Phew, okay. Lex and I have a few days of respite before the word gets out. But we still need to anticipate that rumors might spread at some point, so we need to handle everything with HR as soon as we can.
I love Mason, but I don’t trust him with such a secret.
M y chest is tight, my heart slamming into it with force as I pace the length of my office. I can’t believe I did that. I’m a fucking idiot. A moron. Andrea has always had a talent for breaking down my walls and lowering my guard down, but this… This is another level of losing control.
I ruined it again, didn’t I? Last time, she resented me for exposing what we had to Oliver, but this is even worse. It was two people this time. I betrayed her cardinal rule again and allowed two of her colleagues to guess what’s been going on between us. The mere thought of her breaking things off with me has frantic panic wrecking my mind. It was an accident. She has to believe me.
The door opens without a knock, so I stop my nervous walk to see who it is. It’s Andrea. She’s returned. Is it to argue about what I did? I can’t take another talk like the one we had after the Oliver debacle. I messed up then, blinded by jealousy and rancor, and I own that. But this time, it was nothing but love and tenderness, and while I’m sorry for the results, I can’t be sorry for wanting to touch her all the time. She’s my woman, and I can’t turn that fact on and off like a switch.
I step toward her once she’s closed the door, ready to atone and do whatever it takes not to lose her. “Fuck, Andrea. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. It happened before I could think.”
There’s no trace of anger on her face or in her voice when she says, “It’s okay, Lex. I know it’s hard to hold back.”
“Did they say something? Did they guess?”
She bites her lower lip with a grimace. “I had to tell them. It was either that, or you’d be in trouble for sexual harassment.”
She… came clean? She told them? But more importantly, she seems okay with it? “How are you not mad at me?”
The question takes her by surprise, but after a moment of reflection, she gets where I’m coming from, and her face turns soft. “You didn’t do it on purpose, right?”
“I didn’t, Andrea—I promise. I always force myself to think before acting or talking. But the closer I’ve gotten to you, the harder it gets.”
“And that’s exactly the way I want you, Lex. Unfiltered and true to yourself. I can’t blame you for being exactly that.”
“So… I didn’t ruin everything again?” I insist, troubled.
As if she can feel how worried I am about this, she smiles and lays reassuring hands on my jaw. “No, baby, you didn’t. Besides, it was always going to happen. It came a little sooner than we expected, that’s all. ”
To mark her words, she pulls me down as she stretches up and presses her soft lips on mine. I’m still somewhat tense, so I hold back at first, but I give in when she demands more by tugging me closer. My hands snake their way around her petite frame, and I kiss her with all the love I hold for her, keeping her close.
When we pull away after a moment, there’s a sparkle in her eyes. “Hi,” she whispers.
“Hi.”
“Did you have a good weekend?”
“I had the best weekend. You?”
“It was tiring.”
I chuckle, softly rubbing the tip of my nose on hers. “Even though I did most of the work?” I remind her.
“Mh-hm… How do you feel about a little more work this morning?”
This time, I laugh. “Do you want even more people to discover our naughty little secret?”
“I meant paper work,” she counters with a smile. “We need to head to HR and make this official before we get in trouble.”
I can’t believe that I was convinced she would blow up at me for what happened minutes ago, but here she is, suggesting we use my mistake to take this even further. Once HR knows, there’s no going back. We’ll be scrutinized and put under a microscope, and as someone who values his private life, I’m not looking forward to that. But there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, so I nod.
“Alright, let’s make this official, Walker.”
My hand itches to rest on her back as we walk together to the HR department, but I hold back. Only a few more minutes and we’ll be allowed mild public displays of affection. My heart’s in my throat as I knock on Karen’s door, which isn’t something I’m used to. I’m the boss. I shouldn’t be so stressed about what we’re about to do.
I open the door when Karen invites us in, and I ask, “Do you have a minute?”
She looks at me, then Andrea, and nods. “Sure. Is everything okay?”
We step in and sit in the chairs in front of her desk. “Andrea and I have been seeing each other, and as per the company’s policy, we’d like to disclose it to HR.”
The utter shock on her face is a glimpse of what we can expect from everyone else at Kelex. What we’re doing isn’t unheard of, but it’s rare enough to cause surprise and questions.
“You two are dating?” she asks, to be sure.
“Yes. And it’s getting serious, so we want to make it official with you. ”
She takes a moment to gather herself and figure out how to proceed. I glance at Andrea, who looks even more nervous than I feel.
“I’ll print out the form, but first things first—can you both confirm that this relationship is entirely consensual?”
We confirm it without hesitation, and she follows up, “When did it start?”
“A couple of weeks after we bought Andrea’s app.”
Her jaw slackens. “That was months ago.”
Andrea chimes in, “We had a fling for, like, a month, but it ended. Then, with the Seoul trip and everything, the flame reignited. We want to do it right this time, which is why we’re here.”
Karen presses her hands to her temples and stares at her desk for a moment. “My God, you two just went to Seoul together,” she recalls. “You’re making this very complicated, you know.”
“I had nothing to do with Andrea accompanying me to Korea,” I explain. “It was Kevin’s decision to have her replace him, as she was one of the best-suited employees for the role. Her performance with the executives at Injin Electronics speaks for itself. And since her app is the reason we got the deal with them in the first place, we can all agree she wasn’t there out of favoritism.”
“Alright. It’s good that we have it on record that Kevin initiated that. It’s also good that it started after Kelex bought your app, Andrea. We might still do an internal review to keep everything transparent—just in case.”
“I made sure Kevin handled the acquisition since he was more impartial than I was,” I add.
She frowns slightly. “So, did things start before the sale?”
“No, but conflicting feelings were growing on my side, so I determined the app’s worth and then took a step back.”
“I see… That was smart.”
A couple of minutes later, Karen has printed out three copies of the consensual relationship agreement. As Andrea and I fill them out, she asks a few more questions.
“Andrea, has Alexander ever used his position of authority to coerce or pressure you into this relationship?”
“No, not at all. I quickly realized I could get a promotion out of it,” Andrea quips.
Karen almost gasps, unfamiliar with Andrea’s unique brand of humor. “Andrea,” I mutter through gritted teeth.
“Sorry, sorry—that was a joke,” she quickly apologizes. “I was the one who initiated everything.”
Karen sighs and turns to me. “Alexander, has Andrea ever used any leverage to coerce or pressure you into this relationship? ”
“No. Everything has been genuine and consensual from the start,” I explain, then turn to Andrea and whisper, “See how it’s done?”
She squints at me. “It’s easy for you not to be stressed. You’re her boss.”
“Exactly. I’m the boss. You’re not in trouble.”
“Yeah, you’ve become pretty hard to fire,” Karen notes dryly. “Alexander, however… We’ll need to ensure there’s no perception of favoritism. Unless we hire someone as head of the dev team, we’ll have to closely monitor everything since you’re her direct supervisor. Any decision you make about Andrea—projects, promotions, work trips—will go through me first.”
“Noted.”
“Also, I’ll print out the PDA rulebook. I want you both to read it and follow it to a T. No slip-ups, no exceptions, and no messes for me to clean up, alright?”
Andrea and I nod in agreement.
The whole process takes about fifteen minutes. The urge to crack my knuckles grows distracting. It only hits me when I’m tense, overwhelmed, or underwhelmed, and I’d say I’m all three at once right now. So, I don’t fight it. I grab my index finger and pull it back until the joint pops. I crack each knuckle in slow succession, chasing the fleeting relief it brings. The rhythm keeps me steady, keeps my expression neutral. When I’m done, my fingers flex once before I let them fall still.
The fact that I’m Andrea’s superior makes it much more complicated than a relationship between colleagues, and I’m not sure I anticipated just how procedural things would get. But I can’t risk Kelex’s future, so I’m ready to comply with whatever rule Karen wants to set. It’s her first time handling such a situation, so she explains she’ll come up with a complete list of do’s and don’ts by the end of the week.
As Andrea and I walk back to my office with our signed contract in hand, I wonder what comes next. It seems she has the same questions, because she asks, “Do you think we should… get ahead of things and tell people, before Mason slips up or something?”
“You want to go downstairs and tell everyone?”
“Well, maybe not everyone. But the dream team, at least. They’re my friends, and I feel like they deserve to know first.”
“If we tell them, the entire company will know by the end of lunch break.”
“Let them. I’m tired of hiding. They’ll eventually hear about it, anyway.”
“Aren’t you worried about what they’ll think of you anymore?”
She ponders, her lips pressed together as she frowns. “A little, yes. But you’re ridiculously attractive, so I’m sure they’ll realize I wasn’t sleeping with you to get a promotion or something. ”
“You’re right. I’m also very rich, so maybe that’s why you—”
She shoves my shoulder with a soft jab. “Idiot,” she chuckles. She gets pensive for a moment, then meets my eyes. “No matter what they think or say, I don’t care anymore. We have something worth fighting for, so I can take it.”
“If someone says something, I’ll fire them.”
Andrea laughs again. “I’m sure Karen would have a lot to say about that.”
We’ve reached my office now, so I get inside to drop the papers off on my desk. When I return, Andrea looks anxious, hands fidgeting around her rolled-up contract. “Do you really want to do this?” I softly ask.
“Yes. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“Only if they know you’re mine in return,” I answer, laying a possessive hand over her hip.
“Oh, they’ll know, baby.”
The tension as we make our way downstairs is palpable, but there’s also determination in our steps. We’re all in. No going back. A few faces turn when we enter the Troll’s Lair, where there are also two people from the design team—one sitting with Oli and one with Steven.
“Do you want me to do it?” I ask Andrea. She gulps hard and nods. “Everyone, if I can get your attention for a minute,” I demand with a clear, firm, and confident voice. “Andrea and I have been seeing each other and will continue for the foreseeable future. HR has been notified, and I shouldn’t need to say this, but I will not allow the spreading of nasty rumors. If you decide to share the information with your colleagues, do it with decency. Is that clear?”
Everyone in the room nods, and while I can tell some of them are shocked by the revelation, no one says a thing or asks any questions. Before they can, I rest a hand on the middle of Andrea’s back and suggest, “I’ll come back in half an hour for lunch, alright? We’ll eat together.”
She gives me a tense nod, her eyes still on her colleagues, and I graze her back discreetly, hoping it can help soothe her nerves. There’s officially no going back now. The world knows, or at least, our world knows, and all we can do is move forward.
I need to tell Kevin. If he hears we took the leap through anyone other than me, I’ll never hear the end of it. Beyond that, I’m actually eager to share the news with him. God knows he’s been waiting for this moment.