Page 22 of Glitched Play

Because she knows she's not.

She isn't trying to impress me, in fact other CEO’s might be offended but it’s a rare trait that she’s certain of her own value.

Before I can answer, she disappears through the doorway.

The office falls silent. Yet somehow it feels less quiet than it did an hour ago. I stare at the closed door longer than necessary before finally looking back at my notes.

Unfortunately, every other item on today's schedule suddenly seems significantly less interesting.

Finally, Dara appears. "Well?"

I look down at the notes from the interview, pages of them. More notes than I've taken on any candidate in years.

I don't answer immediately, but something about Maci Hart feels familiar.

Not enough to identify.

Just enough to linger.

Like a puzzle piece from the wrong box.

It’s possible because she thinks the same way as I do.

And for the first time in three months, the thought of a missing pen pal isn't the last thing on my mind.

It's Maci.

five

. . .

Maci

Encrypted Message: Rune

Sometimes leveling up means exploring new adventures.

“Sorry, I need to take this.” I say, sitting in a software architecture meeting pretending to care about cloud migration strategies for a large bank.

My manager stands at the front of the conference room explaining server scalability while someone clicks through a PowerPoint presentation that looks suspiciously identical to the one they showed us last month. I've spent the last three days checking my email every fifteen minutes and jumping every time my phone vibrates, so when an unknown Austin number lights up my screen, my pulse immediately kicks into overdrive.

The room suddenly feels too suffocating.

I practically sprint into the hallway before answering. "Hello?"

"Hi, Maci. This is Dara from Synatrix."

My heart launches into my throat. The woman could've stopped speaking right there and I would've needed oxygen.

I press my back against the wall, staring at the ugly beige paint while trying to remember how breathing works.

"We'd like to offer you the position."

There’s no dramatic buildup or twenty minutes of corporate jargon. Dara gets straight to the point and offers me the job I’ve dreamed of my entire life.

For a second, I genuinely wonder if I'm hallucinating. Maybe I finally snapped during one too many software meetings and my brain created a fantasy where I get hired by the gaming company I've wanted to work for since college.

Then Dara gives me a rundown on the salary which is more than fair and quite the bump from my current pay. She says, “Human resources will explain the benefits in detail, but the coverage is one hundred percent paid by the company.”