Page 26 of Meet Cute Reboot

“MyLittle Ponies,” Drew says.

“You’re coding my entire app. How am I supposed to trust you now? You could be filling it full of bugs for all I know.”

Drew folds his hands on the table. “I do not write buggy software.”

“You just hack your client’s software for a quick buck.”

Luke pulls out the chair next to me and sits. “It’s my fault. This is all my fault. Don’t blame Drew. He’s the best in the business. Or so I’ve been told.” Luke rolls his eyes.

“What? Do you know something I don’t?” I ask. “Because if Drew is all talk and no show, we can end this now.”

“You screwed with my profile, didn’t you Drew?” Luke asks.

Drew shrugs his right shoulder.

“You made my profile match Cassie’s.”

“Do I get my bonus?” Drew asks.

“Fix it,” I repeat.

“He can’t fix anything,” Luke says. “The site is down.”

“The database is not,” Drew says.

“So, you can fix it?” I ask. “Right now?”

“I’m not sure what difference it makes,” Drew says. “He already got what he wanted.”

I can feel Luke’s eyes on me, but I purse my lips and stare straight ahead.

“The date,” Drew says. “He got a date with you.”

“I know,” I say, my jaw fixed.

“Fine.” Drew slides his laptop over and types into his keyboard for a moment. He hits the Enter key with a definitive,Thwack!“There. I updated Luke’s profile ID and deleted the dummy profile. Next time you go onto the app, his original profile will be there.”

“Thank you.” Wait. Why am I thanking the guy who sold me out for a thousand bucks? “I mean, you should be thanking me that you still have a job.”

Luke stands. “And he does. He thanks you very much. Right, Drew?” He rounds the table and ushers Drew out of his seat.

“Whatever.”

“And you’re going to monitor ServeIt and let Cassie know when her app is back up?” Luke says as he shoos Drew toward the door.

“Who is this guy?” Drew says to me over his shoulder. “I thought you were the CEO.”

“I am. And I’ve got this.” I stand. “Drew, I want an update every thirty minutes. You both can go.”

Luke seems disappointed by the prospect of leaving. Did he expect me to invite him into my apartment and fix him dinner? Laughing with him earlier encouraged him. I should have kept my cool.

But it did feel good to laugh.

I follow them to the exit.

“Don’t forget about our slot with I107 tomorrow,” I say.

“I’ll be there,” Luke answers.