“You’d be surprised how much they teach you inDinoCode.”
“I promise you I wouldn’t.”
“I bet I could doit.”
“I bet you could not,” he says, adding, “and before you go all fire-breather on me, not becauseyoucan’t do it. Because it can’t be done.”
“A wager then,” I tellhim.
“What are we wagering?” John asks.
“Annie thinks she can import the third-party reviews data to make the report CS is asking for.”
John says nothing but when he looks at me his face clearly states:why would you think that?
“And I think it’s not possible,” Connor says. “Which has instantly made her certain that itispossible, and now she wants to bet onit.”
I stick to my guns. “Martin will agree with me. Martin, don’t you think if we did the same thing as with that other app from last week it could work? It’s notthatdifferent, surely.”
“Umm,” Martin says, leaning back in his chair. “Um um um um. Maybe. Maybe.”
“See,” I say to Connor, spreading my hands. “Martin agrees withme.”
“Would we call that Martin agreeing with you?”
“Are you scared, Connor? Afraid agirlis going to show you up in front of all your little friends?”
“Your trash talk is truly something to behold,” he tells me. “Are these guys my little friends?”
“Take the bet,” Ben says. “What’s the prize? Better yet, what’s the forfeit?”
“Good question,” I reply, thinking quickly. “If I win, Connor has to be my assistant for a week.”
He laughs. “It’s disturbing how quickly you had that ready togo.”
“And if I’m wrong,” I say, “which I won’t be…”
“If she’s wrong, Annie has to go and get us all Krumes for the stand-up on Monday morning,” Ben says.
John leaps up from his chair, punching the air. “Yes!”
“Fine. If I can’t do it, I will go line up at your little cookie emporium on the weekend.”
Connor looks me over, thoughtful. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I figure this out, and you have to do everything I tell you.”
“In twenty-four hours,” Connor verifies.
“In twenty-four hours,” I agree. “But I’m allowed to ask the guys for help.”
“Sorry, Annie,” Martin interjects. “I’m rooting against you now. I really love Krumes.”
“Fine.” Connor nods, then holds his hand out for me to shake. “You can ask for help. In twenty-four hours, if you haven’tfigured out how to integrate the data, you’re waiting in the insane bakery line. I hope you don’t have plans this weekend.”
“It won’t matter,” I say, taking his hand. It’s warm. “I am going to win.”
Fourteen
