Page 23 of Meet Cute Reboot
“Sure,” I say. “I’ll brew another cup.”
Luke gives me the thumbs up and then his head vanishes.
A smile tugs on the corner of my mouth. He always did have a sense of humor. It’s one of the things I loved about him.
Loved.
I did love Luke. Once.
With a sigh, I fumble through the top cabinets for a bag of coffee beans. Luckily there’s a half bag stuffed in a far corner. I have no idea how old it is. Since I don’t even remember putting it up there, this probably won’t be the freshest cup of coffee.
I fire up the coffee pot, brushing off the dust first. Sarah and I prefer the Keurig. It’s quick. No mess. Not as good for the environment, but I save seconds where I can. They’re all valuable.
After the pot is brewed, I pull down a mug and pour.
Luke’s head pops in again. “Cream. No sugar.” He salutes and then disappears.
I was so distracted by my sudden feelings for Luke that the full implications of Luke’s investment in my company didn’tcompute. Now they tumble into my head with breathtaking velocity. I steady myself against the counter.
He could demand sexual favors.
If I don’t give him what he wants, he could pull his funds.
He could kill my dreams with a simple phone call.
He could hover, micromanage, force himself into my life.
Wait. He’s already done that.
To say it complicates things is an understatement. Bottom line, I need that money. I need Luke.
I curse.
He orchestrated this. He forced my dependency on him. How conniving. How manipulative. How...generous?
Conniving. Definitely.
My anger swells, eclipsing the split-second physical desires I had for him. He crossed a line and ignored boundaries to get what he wanted. Typical.
I tug the refrigerator door with more force than necessary and grab the coffee creamer. I hope Todd likes his coffee diluted because I accidentally fill the mug to the rim. After emptying some into the sink, I head out of the break room.
Luke, Todd, Bethany, and Drew are huddled around Sarah’s desk. I join the group and hand Todd his mug.
“None for you?” he says.
I look down at my hands. “Oops. I forgot.”
Bethany raises an eyebrow at me.
Todd takes a sip and then says, “Okay, Drew. We’re all here. Lay it out for us.”
Drew claws his fingers through his floppy bangs. He’s a head taller than me and twice as wide. His faded navy T-shirt depicts an evolutionary line of apes ending in a Transformers-like robot choking a human. An unflattering pair of gray joggers covers his bottom half, capped by a pair of worn-out Crocs. He folds his arms over his stomach and leans backward.
“Someone is orchestrating a DoS attack using a botnet,” he says, punctuating each “t” with a puff of air.
He peers down his nose at us while we wait for him to continue.
“What is a DoS attack?” Bethany asks.