Page 41 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

The evidence is getting harder to ignore. If Mac is really our anonymous blogger, why is she working so hard to actually fixthings? The latest @MizzByteMyAlgos posts have shifted from critiquing Drake Enterprises specifically to addressing industry-wide issues.

"Sir?" Emma interrupts my thoughts. "Mr. Dixon and Mr. Reeves are here to?—"

"Intervention time!" Grayson bursts in, followed by Connor, both looking entirely too pleased with themselves.

Looking like Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dickead, my college roommates from Stanford march inside my oversized office, Grayson’s dark head of hair bobbing alongside Connor’s dark blond overly-styled strands.

And just like that, my productive morning derails.

"This is an ambush," I inform my two best friends, who have apparently conspired with Emma to hijack my schedule. They sprawl in my visitor chairs like it's our old dorm room, complete with Connor propping his feet on my desk until I glare them off.

"This," Grayson corrects, "is a strategic assessment of your obvious feelings for your corporate culture consultant. Who, by the way, has transformed your company faster than my SecureMatch algorithm finds dating matches."

"I don't have?—"

"Save it." Connor grins. "We've seen the reports. Hell, the whole tech industry's seen them. Drake Enterprises is becoming the model for corporate culture reform, and everyone knows it's because of her."

"Which brings us to our concerns about the bachelor pact," Grayson adds. "You're showing classic signs of violation."

"I'm not?—"

“We already got the goddamned scoop. We already know you got trapped in a meditation room with your corporate culture consultant," Connor interrupts, grinning. "During a storm. That's like, pact-breaking violations right there."

"How did you even?—"

"Brad's wellness journal has gone viral in the Seattle tech scene." Grayson holds up his phone. "My cybersecurity team flagged it as 'potential corporate espionage,' but it reads more like a romance novel."

Fan-fucking-tastic. That’s what every forty-something CEO wants. Their love life becoming tech industry gossip.

"Don't you two have better shit to do?” I check my watch. "Empires to build? Employees to terrorize?"

"SecureMatch's developers can handle themselves for a few hours," Grayson cards a hand through his nearly black hair. "Besides, testing our new AI dating app is the perfect excuse to check on you. You could be our first case study in 'how not to handle midlife dating.'"

"And Reeves Technologies practically runs itself these days," Connor adds, propping his feet back on my desk despite my glare. "The AI division's latest project is so advanced, I barely need to show up."

"Which explains why you're both here, harassing me instead of running your multi-billion dollar companies." I eye Connor's feet until he removes them. “I thought you had an AI ethics board meeting today, Connor?"

"Rescheduled. This intervention is more important." Grayson pulls out his phone. "Besides, I need your input on SecureMatch's dating app. It's specifically designed for successful people over forty who don't have time for traditional dating. Sound familiar?"

"I'm not beta testing your dating app, Gray."

"Why not? Scared you'll actually find someone worth breaking the pact for?" Connor grins. "Besides, Gray needs all the test data he can get before the app launches next quarter."

"Besides," Grayson adds, "this is more important. You're showing classic signs of pact violation."

"Name one."

“Heard you smiled at your consultant during a board meeting."

"I did not."

"You did," Emma calls from her desk outside. "I have it noted in the risk assessment matrix."

“Backstabber,” I mutter.

"She's just doing her job." Connor stretches. "Unlike you, who's apparently too busy making eyes at her to notice that Keith guy from DevOps has started a Communist book club in the break room."

I start to deny this, then pause. "Wait, he what?"

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