Page 130 of The Revenge Game
Oh god. Has she discovered who I really am?
I follow her to the HR office, where Adam is already sitting ramrod straight in one of the visitor chairs, his tie knotted so tightly it looks like it’s trying to strangle him.
Adam’s presence makes me relax slightly. Surely if this were something serious, they’d have the CEO in here, not just Adam.
“Please, take a seat, Drew.” Cheryl settles behind her desk, her usual warmth replaced by something more professional.
I settle into a chair, trying not to notice how the motivational posters on Cheryl’s wall mock me with phrases likeIntegrity in the WorkplaceandBuilding Trust Through Communication.
Cheryl looks down at her notes, then up at me.
“Adam has brought some concerns to my attention about the system optimization you did for the marketing department. I just wanted to discuss this issue with you.”
Relief flows through me. This is not about my identity. This is about Adam’s insecurities. I can handle this.
“What aspect would you like to discuss?” I ask.
“Can you walk me through exactly what modifications you made to their access permissions? There seems to be a few concerns about whether you followed the proper protocols.”
“I did a few things to help optimize the marketing department’s systems before Christmas,” I say slowly.
Adam clears his throat and gives me a self-important look. “As the systems administrator, I can’t have junior staff making unauthorized changes to our core architecture. The marketing optimization could have caused catastrophic system failures. Drew clearly doesn’t understand the complexity of NovaCore’s infrastructure.”
I bite back a laugh that would probably sound slightly hysterical.
“The changes I made were completely safe,” I say. “I tested everything thoroughly before implementation.”
“Testing?” Adam’s eyebrows shoot up. “On our live system? That’s exactly the kind of reckless behavior I’m talking about. A help desk technician shouldn’t be making changes to the system like this.
“I’m not saying you don’t have some skills, Drew. But you have an unrealistic view of your skillset. You don’t have the knowledge or experience to be trying to optimize systems.”
I’m just trying to work out how to reply when the door bursts open with enough force to rattle Cheryl’sExcellence in HRcertificates.
It’s Xander.
“Xander, this is a private meeting,” Cheryl says sternly.
“This is about the marketing optimization Drew did, right?”
Cheryl frowns, but Adam’s the one who answers.
“Yes, we were just discussing Drew’s reckless behavior regarding the database system,” Adam says. He swivels to face Cheryl. “Actually, I think it’s a good idea if Xander participates in this discussion. I’ve seen him put far too much faith in Drew’s ability. He needs to understand that Drew’s behavior could have broken the whole system.”
Xander rolls his eyes.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Drew’s not going to break the system. He created the whole bloody system,” Xander announces.
My breath rushes out of me in a whoosh. I feel like one of those inflatable tube men outside car dealerships, suddenly deflated and flailing.
“What do you mean, he created it?” Adam says.
Xander looks at me. “I think you need to tell them the truth. It’s one thing to make Adam look like a fool on TV—I’m actually quite looking forward to that part—but it’s not fair to make Cheryl look stupid.”
“What on earth are you talking about, Xander?” Cheryl asks.
“He’s Andrew Yates. You know, the guy who designed NovaCore, our database system? And he’s doing an Undercover Boss thing where he pretends to be a help desk technician rather than a multi-millionaire tech mogul.”
Xander’s words hit the room with the impact of a marching band crashing into a silent meditation retreat, leaving nothing but stunned silence and frozen expressions.
