to handle that kind of traffic. Surely a large music magazine was prepared to handle a fan war.
“This might be off base, but—” I hesitated. I wasn’t a real developer. “I’m wondering if you’ve captured the SQL and tuned the queries. What you described of the increased load last night—”
Ajit interjected. “That was actually going to be my first avenue of investigation.”
I sighed with relief. He hadn’t laughed at my suggestion.
“Would you like to sit with me while I look over the snapshots?”
I grinned at his invitation. I loved troubleshooting. “I’d love to.”
As the meeting came to an end, Byron asked me how my requirements doc was coming, reminding me my responsibilities lay in product management. The truth was, I was happy with that, too. My own site was a one-man operation, and I could do anything they asked of me, coding, testing, writing, marketing, provided they gave me time to learn.
“I should have something ready by tomorrow.”
He nodded, and I near sashayed back to my desk, so happy to have a purpose, I forgot to check my phone until lunchtime. When I did, I discovered another text from Shane.
You should skip out early and come hang out with us at rehearsal.
I stared at the words, wanting to say yes. Regretfully, I had to turn him down. Really wish I could.
That was no lie. I didn’t want to play hookie from the world’s best job, but it killed me to miss out on an even rarer experience to witness a band while they jammed out on their own music. It was like I’d scored tickets to a great concert yet envied the people with a backstage pass.
Except this time, I literally held a backstage pass I couldn’t use.
Poor me.
One glance at the office where Lars Cambridge worked reminded me that I had enough going on right here. I checked my lack of gratitude and conjured up the excitement of knowing that just sitting here constituted a dream come true.
Shane’s next text made me laugh. Dooo it!
Rain check? God, I hoped there could be a rain check.
When do you get through? Time is both dragging and fleeting at the same time. How is that possible?
Adorable.
I wrote back: I leave at five.
I turned back to my work, grinning like a maniac, until a voice harshed my mood.
“What’s got you so happy, Red?”
Sigh. Gabe peered over the cube wall. Thankfully, I had my requirements doc pulled up, so he didn’t catch me wasting company time on my website.
“What’s up?” I didn’t bother to stop my fake typing.
“Are you free for lunch?” He moved into my cube, nearly touching my chair. “I enjoyed our conversation yesterday about my review.”
“Did you?” My eyes flitted up to check for traces of sarcasm. My recollection had been that we’d argued.
“Especially since all of a sudden, I’m being viciously maligned online.” Such drama. He needed a fainting couch.
I was tempted to say, “So, you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” Instead, I faced my Word doc, masking my reaction. “Are you?”
“Come out and cheer me up. We could talk about what you liked about my writing.”
I felt a little guilty for having kicked a hornets’ nest his way, but if he’d been the one PMing me during the night, then he could suck it. “I don’t think I’m your girl.”
He pouted. “Why are you being so mean to me, Layla?”
Considering I’d known him only two days, that was a good question.
“I’m sorry. I’m going to work straight through lunch.” And go read these vicious comments. “Maybe another time?”
“How about after work then?” His eyebrow rose slightly, like I wouldn’t be able to resist his invitation.
I tilted my head, trying to find a way to say no without pissing him off. Who knew if he was the kind of guy who might retaliate after a rejection? On the other hand, I didn’t want to keep giving him a flimsy pretext every day either. I wished I had more experience dealing with people face to face or knew how to handle men pursuing me.
The best I could come up with was: “I promised Jo I’d spend the evening with her. Sorry.”
“One of these days you’ll run out of excuses.”
My stomach knotted up, but I smiled to keep things light. “Thanks for asking. I’ve really got to finish this doc.”
I put my head down and focused on doing just that.
The afternoon flew by, sitting in with Ajit and occasionally Dave, presenting my ideas and learning more about the