It was too soon.
I needed a few days to enjoy my righteous victory before speaking again.
I didn’t like it.
It filled me with a strange sort of dread.
Fifteen minutes. That’s all I had. That wasn’t enough time to make an excuse about leaving the coffeepot on and rush home.
Another email came in, causing my phone to buzz on my desk. I grabbed it, scanning the message.
From:[email protected]
Subject: Other offers
Date: March 3, 2016 09:41
Ten minutes.
That damn smiley face again. I should insist that he stop using it. It was seriously annoying.
Ten minutes. That’s all I had. The reminder felt threatening.
Toxicwrath was being uncommonly pushy.
I glanced around the room again. It was subdued. Barely anyone spoke. Holt IT Solutions wasn’t the most invigorating place to work.
I made sure Kyle was firmly ensconced at his desk. The last thing I needed was for my nosy buddy to pop up behind my shoulder.
Then I did something that I never did.
I set up a VPN tunnel before firing up the IRC client on my work computer. Having a virtual private network was essential. Being untraceable was the only way to last.
Even with the VPN it was incredibly risky. I had never mixed my worlds like this. I knew it would be so easy to be caught. To be exposed.
But just like all those years ago as I had sat and watched Rose hack into our college’s grading portal, beneath the fear was something else.
Excitement.
It was thrilling to be so forward. So bold.
It took me another five minutes to find the right channel. By the time I logged in, I was annoyed and flustered and way too paranoid, which was not a good color on me.
09:55 What took so long?
Why did I feel like I was being scolded? Our partnership had never felt so demanding.
09:56 Now is not the time to be having a chat.
Clearly my mysterious cohort needed a reminder. I was the one who called the shots. I was the one who let whoever he was attach himself to my crusade. Not the other way around.
09:57 Not much time. Last night went well. Nicely done.
My ego preened under the compliment. Of course it had gone well. I didn’t fail.
Not ever.
