Page 6 of Code Mages & Empty Pages
Interruptions usually drove me nuts, but with Dawn, I didn’t mind.
“What’s not working?” I asked, maybe a little too gruff, because she shot me an apologetic look.
“Nothing. Sorry for interrupting you.”
I huffed. “It’s okay. What’s the problem?” I got up, mug in hand, and headed to her desk.
She tried to click the tiny button for the drop-down menu next to a task, but the line was so narrow she kept missing it. “See? It’s annoying. I hit the wrong button, and then a window pops up. If it happens too often, I have to restart the system. It starts glitching even when I pick one of you as the person in charge.”
“I’ll add it to my list,” I promised, already working out a fix in my head. It’d be easy, but I had a few things to knock out first.
Chapter 3
Dawn
When I fired up my software on Monday morning, I did a double take.
Was this some surprise update IT had rolled out over the weekend?
Hang on, we’re IT. Did I click on the wrong program?
The drop-down menus had been replaced by a sleek, modern interface.
“Wait, is this new? That button wasn’t there before…” I glanced up. Luc watched me.
“I fixed it,” he said with a shrug. “It was pretty straightforward.”
“You fixed this? For me?”
“Yeah, I had a few minutes.” He shrugged his shoulders, but I caught the flicker in his ears.
I lowered my voice. “Did you do this on the weekend?”
“What? No, I told you. It was just a few…”
I cut him off. “It took Hector and Maddieweeksto build my website. I’m not an expert, but this wasn’t a quick fix, was it?”
“I…”
He did it on his own time. For me.
“Thanks, Luc.”
I turned back and gave my screen a wide grin. Maybe Luc liked me after all. I was sure he had sort of flirted with me when we’d been alone in the office after the opening of the rooftop café, and I’d seen that concerned look he’d made when he overheard me telling Mia that my engagement had ended reflected in the mirrored wall at the team’s usual lunch spot. Every time this unguarded version of Luc came out, he immediately reined himself back in and I didn’t understand why.
Maybe he just needs some more time to get used to me?
I pushed the confusing thoughts about Luc aside and lost myself in the work. It surprised me how easily I slipped into that old hyperfocus. Writing did that to me, but I’d never expected to find it in a day job. Hours flew past, then days, and before I knew it, I’d been working at Frostfire almost a month.
Just as I finished arranging something with Hailey, one of the members of our remote team in the Netherlands, a voice pulled me out of the zone.
“Hey, Dawn!” I glanced up from my spreadsheet. A smiling Mia waved from the door. “Want to grab lunch with us?”
Holy shit, how is it noon already?
“Yeah, sure.” I stood and headed for the coat rack. Working from home had its perks, but having colleagues who actually included me? That felt pretty damn good.
Before I could reach out for my blue coat, the centrepiece of my work capsule wardrobe, Luc grabbed it and held it up for me.
