Page 50 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

He must hear something dangerous in my voice because he scrambles up, tinsel trailing from his protest sign. "Of course, Comrade Gallo. Though I feel compelled to point out that this acquiescence to authority undermines our revolutionary?—"

"Keith."

"Right. Coffee first, revolution later."

I'm halfway through my desperately needed espresso when Lucia bursts in, waving her tablet. "You need to see this."

"If it's another viral post from Brad's journal?—"

"Better. Look what I found in the shared drive while setting up the holiday party scheduling."

She shoves the tablet at me, and I nearly drop my coffee. On screen is a spreadsheet titled "Drake's List" with columns for names, meeting times, and... mentor assignments?

"What is this?"

"Keep scrolling."

I do, and my heart does something complicated. The list contains names of female developers, engineers, and project managers from across the company, each paired with senior mentors. Notes in the margins track their progress, promotions, and accomplishments.

"Check the creation date," Lucia prompts.

"Three years ago?" I look closer at the notes. They're detailed, personal, clearly written by someone who cares about these women's careers. Someone who...

"These are Alex's notes," I realize. "He's been personally mentoring female developers. Since before the takeover."

"Before you threw champagne at him," Lucia confirms. "Before your blog started criticizing tech culture. Before all of it."

My phone buzzes – a notification that the anonymous tech blogger's latest post about industry gender gaps has gone viral. The post I'd written last night, unable to sleep after three days of replaying our dinner conversation.

"Mac?" Lucia waves her hand in front of my face. "You okay?"

"I need to..." I motion towards the door, my carefully constructed worldview tilting sideways.

"Have an existential crisis about the fact that your nemesis might actually be one of the good guys?"

"Something like that."

I head for my office, mind racing. The halls are decked with holiday decorations – someone (probably Brad) has gone overboard with the tinsel and mistletoe. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, snow falls steadily, adding to the four inches we'd gotten overnight.

Three weeks until the Christmas Gala. Three weeks to figure out what to do with this new information about Alex. Three weeks to?—

I round the corner and nearly collide with the man himself.

"Ms. Gallo." He steadies me with a hand on my elbow, and I definitely don't notice how warm he feels or how his cologne mingles with the coffee I'm clutching onto for dear life. "Running from another revolution?"

"Just Keith's latest protest. Nice tinsel additions though."

"Ah yes, the festive sit-in. Emma's added 'seasonal rebellion management' to her job description." He shifts, and I realizehe's holding a folder. "Actually, I was looking for you. The annual Winter Strategy Summit at Cascade Lodge is next weekend."

My heart definitely doesn't skip. The Summit is legendary in Seattle tech circles - three days at an exclusive mountain resort where Drake Enterprises' leadership plans the coming year's initiatives.

"I've seen the agenda," I say carefully. "Keith's already submitted a proposal for 'Democratic Coffee Distribution Strategies.'"

"I'm more interested in your proposals." He hands me the folder. "As our Corporate Culture Consultant, your presence would be... valuable."

Is Alexander Drake actually nervous? No, impossible. Must be the caffeine deprivation affecting my judgment.

"The Summit's traditionally for senior leadership," I point out.

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