Emma vs. The Tech Guy (4 page)

Lizette had been an intern turned copy editor who appeared to be pleasant and eager to learn. One day she didn’t show up for work, and we never heard from her again—until we saw her name in an issue of our biggest competitor,
We Women
magazine. Once we realized what had happened, we scanned back through the last few issues of both magazines and found disturbing similarities. She must have been feeding them our stuff from the very beginning. Too bad we didn’t have any proof.

“So nobody else knows this?” I asked.

“Only us here in this room, and we need to keep it that way.”

Great. Another secret to keep. That was just what I needed. If there was one thing I’d learned in the last few years, it was that secrets are like farts; they almost always end up coming out, and most of the time they can do some serious damage to those closest to you.

Chapter 4

A five-thirty alarm yanked me from my reoccurring dream where I replace Angelina Jolie as the gorgeous superstar, doting mother, and world philanthropist. Brad and I strolled on the beach with our gaggle of tots who were all so adorable and perfectly well-behaved. I couldn’t understand that dream, as I had never been one to yearn for children. I always told Pop I’d never get married and never have kids. But being raised as an only child without a mother was pretty lonely. So maybe my unconscious mind and my biological clock were teaming up against me. Kids are kind of like Las Vegas. It’s a nice place to visit. There’s lots to discover and keep you up all hours of the night. But you really wouldn’t want to live there.

When it became clear that I was not part of team Brangelina and that I actually did have to go to work to face my new partner, Inspector Gadget, I pulled the covers over my head and whimpered like a dog staring at an empty bowl.
Really?
I hated whiners and wanted to kick myself for letting this Guy situation make me forget that. Realizing I was the one holding his little puppet strings, I began to formulate a plan. All I really needed to do was keep close tabs on him and what he was doing. As long as he didn’t go digging into my personal life, all should be right, even fantastic, in the world.

I heard the shower going, so Howard was either running late or working from home this morning. The scent of blueberry floated under my nose, so I assumed it was the latter. Either way, he needed a shout to get moving so I could get in there. I took a deep breath and threw the covers off.

“So, what are you gonna do?” Howard asked when we were both finally in the dining room. His wardrobe said “basketball,” but he sat in front of his laptop. He often wore his company’s clothes when he worked, whether he was on a call or not. Looking good in the product helped sales, and Howard was in great shape.

“Do?” I said casually. “Do about what?” My reborn confidence beamed across the room. I strolled to the bar area to grab a blueberry muffin from the batch Howard had just pulled from the oven.

“About Guy. Last night you seemed so stressed about it.” Howard turned to his computer and rattled off a few clicks. Just as accomplished at multitasking as I was, he could update reports without even looking. As a power couple we might give Brangelina a run for their money.

“So I panicked a smidge. But it’s all under control now.” I ripped off a chunk of the luscious pastry and popped it into my mouth, forgetting I hadn’t been to the gym in more than two weeks. “I’ve got a plan.”

“What are you? Lucy Ricardo?”

“I’m serious.”

“Do I even want to hear this?” Howard said. He kept his eyes trained on the screen.

“No, you don’t. But don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated.”

He turned to me and shot a serious expression my way. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Howard, the voice of reason, always seemed to be my GPS for a conscience. I’d never been closer to anyone in my life, and sometimes the mirror he held up to me reflected an image that wasn’t pleasant. His intense gaze told me the wheels were spinning.

“You know, Em. Maybe we should think about—”

“Hey, there’s no time for thinking,” I interrupted, coming out from behind the counter. How many times would I be able to dodge that bullet? “I’ve gotta run, but don’t worry. I’ve got this.” I gathered my things and headed for the door.

“Where have I heard that before?”

I grabbed the door handle and paused. “Shut up. You know you love the drama,” I said, letting my naughty smile escape.

“Yeah, as long as that drama doesn’t get us both in trouble.”

***

A beautiful lavender plant greeted me in my office. I instantly knew who it was from. Only Eleanor would remember my favorite color. She was probably the only one to realize Bill should have told me sooner about Guy. I could picture her smacking him on the head after we’d left their house.

“Good morning, Emma.” I heard Bill’s voice behind me. I turned to find him holding a coffee cup and heading to the lounge.

“Thanks for the plant, Bill.” I flashed a forgiving smile and sent a tiny wink his way. It never hurt to pump up Bill’s ego—or any man’s, for that matter.

“Bribe or apology?” Jayne said, entering my office and noticing the plant.

“Probably both,” I laughed. Then I plopped down in my chair. “Wow, you look super cute today, Jaynie.” She had on a baby blue skirt and matching short jacket with a patterned top. Before it hit me why Jayne was dressed like she just stepped off the runway, she executed a slow turn. Personally, I found the skirt to be a bit too short, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. Over her shoulder I spotted Guy in the doorway, chatting with Marty. “Oh, I get it now. C’mon, Jayne, you don’t have to try that hard.”

“No, honey,
you
don’t have to try … at all. You look like a supermodel in your bathrobe. Me? I need all the help I can get.”

I never did have much trouble attracting men, but something about me made it hard to keep any relationship going with males or females. Professionally, there was no stopping me. But socially I was just out of the gate.

In school I was like the extra fork on the table. Everyone knew I was there. And at times they even turned my way. But they didn’t ask me to join in and I didn’t try. I was just there.

My relationship with Howard was the longest I’d ever had. He was one of only two people I’ve ever really loved in my life. He and Pop mean the world to me. I know I’m supposed to say I loved my parents and I guess I did at one point, but it’s hard to remember. When I think of my mother, I feel sad, cheated. When I think of my dad, I feel … I don’t like to go there, so I don’t know what I feel.

But Jayne was way off base here. She had that sexy librarian kind of look going for her. It didn’t matter what she did to herself, that was her look. And she had plenty of boyfriends, because God knows she wasn’t picky. But it killed me to see how she let men dictate her self-worth, especially her latest on again/off again.

“What about Hank?” I asked.

Her shoulders, and her expression, dropped. “Well … he didn’t come crawling back like he was supposed to.”

“Oh, Jaynie, I’m sorry.” Though I was actually thinking,
Good you’re better off without him
. But I did my best to keep my two cents out of it, because when men and relationships were involved, I learned it’s best to say as little as possible. Who was I to give advice?

She shrugged and then glanced in the direction of Guy and Marty, who were still talking geek. “Onwards and upwards,” she said.

“Down, girl. You’re panting.”

“Check out Marty over there,” Jayne said.

“I know. Looks like he’s handing over the reins to the
Starship Enterprise
. Geez, he didn’t even do that much. What the heck do they have to talk about?”

“Shall I go check it out for you?” Jayne smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her skirt.

“No!” I didn’t need Guy coming in here before my morning coffee. “We’ve got work to do, in case you’ve forgotten. How’s the story coming along? Have you heard from DJ?”

“Yeah.” Jayne looked at me as if she wanted me to read her mind. Usually that meant someone was going to piss me off.

“Well?”

“She needs more time.” That came out more like a question which confirmed my suspicion that I hadn’t hardened Jayne up enough yet. She was simply too nice and in this business nice didn’t cut it.

“So what’s the hold up?” I was counting on seeing that story before lunch so my patience was thinning faster than Donald Trump’s hairline.

“Well, she had an emergency waxing appointment this morning.”

“Jaynie! How the hell is waxing an emergency?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s got a big date or something.” Jayne glanced over to Guy and Marty who were still gabbing it up. When she turned back her face brightened. “She did say she was getting the thumbprint. Maybe I ought to get one of those.”

“Geez, that’s disgusting.” I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what that was, but the visual I had in mind gave me a pretty good idea.

“It’s supposed to be sexy. It’s the latest thing.”

“When we’re done here, call her back and tell no later than two.” I glared at her though I could have easily laughed. “Be firm.” Sometimes I wondered which of us was changing more, me or Jayne.

Once we finally got our heads on straight, and our bikini lines off of our minds, we piled through my to-do list and got our tasks for the day outlined. Thankfully, Guy and Marty walked off, which gave me a bit of quiet time to get things done.

Going through emails, I did my daily routine of reading, tossing, responding, or saving as new to handle later. One email stalled, and almost derailed, my efficiency train.
Oh
, g
reat! Is it that time already?
A message from Adam outlined the schedule for our yearly basketball tournament against some of the other local companies—a couple of other magazines, advertising and marketing agencies, and distributors. A ridiculous display of sweaty egomaniacs. Very few women joined in, but in our office we were required to be there as supporters. As tempted as I was to hit the delete button, I knew it was a waste of time. Soon the men would be wearing headbands and going to the gym after work to practice. They all thought they were Kobe, but most of them looked like they were shooing away an invisible bee or trying to kill a fly on the backboard. I shivered and shook my head to erase the image of Marty with his milk-white skin in uniform.

When nine-thirty rolled around and Guy was not busting down my door, I almost started to worry. Then I turned my attention to a message from Bill entitled “Guy’s Schedule.”
Here we go
, I thought. As I scanned through the details of what Bill wanted and when, those panicky feelings started to creep in.
You’ve got this, Emma.
I’d always been so careful, so meticulous in my planning that I was sure I hadn’t made any mistakes.
Would he be able to find anything?
I really couldn’t be sure.

“How are you?”

Startled, my head shot up to the door. “Oh, hey, Guy.”

“You got a minute?”

“Sure,” I said pointing to my chair. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” Guy sat, but then scooted his chair closer to my desk as if we were about to exchange trade secrets under the cone of silence.

“So I see you met Marty,” I said.

“Yeah, cool guy.”

“Well, don’t count on him too much. He threw on a bandage from time to time, but that’s about it.”

“Looking at your main server told me that already. No worries, though. We’ll get it all straightened out.” Guy folded his arms straining his already snug black t-shirt around his biceps.
So that’s what water polo does for you
.

“I was just looking over Bill’s schedule.”

“Any problems?” he asked.

The schedule called for both individual and whole server backups and upgrades along with new software installations. “No, why would there be?”

“I don’t know. Some people get nervous when I start poking around in their computers.”

“You shouldn’t have any problems here. Our staff is professional and hardworking.” I paused for serious contemplation effect. “But … will you do me a favor?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Come to me first if you find something you’re unsure about. We’ve got a great company here, and I’d hate to start pointing fingers at people I count on every day.” I meant every word even though I was deflecting attention from myself. A lot of hard work went into building these relationships, and it’s not easy gaining respect from people that were there before you. Howard says I’m like a steaming Jacuzzi. When you first get a feel for the water, you might wince and recoil. But once you get inside and get used to it, it’s comforting and you don’t want to leave. I love that about him. He knows me better than anyone else and always seems to find the good in me.

“Of course. I totally understand,” Guy said with a reassuring smile.

“Great, thanks.” Then an awkward pause put a halt to our first sincere conversation.

After a couple of moments, Guy eased himself out of the chair. “Okay. I’ll let you get back to work now. I’m just going to check in with Unc, I mean, Bill.” Then he inched toward the door.

“Well, let me know if you need anything.” I turned to my computer, but still felt his presence. I looked up again. “Was there something else you needed, Guy?”

“I, uh, wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings between us. About the other night?” He glanced from side to side, looking for anyone within ear shot.

Hadn’t I just been accommodating and polite
? I thought. “Not at all. It caught me by surprise, that’s all.”

He let out a breath and offered a grin. “Great. I wanted to make sure, since we’ll be working so closely together on everything and we’ll need to spend time together on the launch.”

“No, it’s all good,” I said, brushing him off and turning back to my screen.

“And especially with us doing MediaWest together,” he said as he backed through the doorway.

“Yeah, I—”
What?

Chapter 5