Page 42 of Phishing for Love
Okay, so that’s how he gotJoelle. “But there are also numbers after my mom’s name.”
“Yes,” he says on a reproving sigh. “One-two-three. One of the most commonly used numerical passwords.”
I shake my head in disbelief. I was so proud of my password. “I can’t believe I lost the bet.”
Aaron stands. “See you tomorrow, minion,” he says, almost affectionately.
I stare at the back of his tall, broad-shouldered body strolling confidently through the cubicles.
A wisp of something important is hovering around the edges of my brain. For the life of me, though, I can’t quite grasp what’s bothering me.
Am I a sore loser? Is that it?
I stare unseeingly at my laptop, retracing the last twenty or so minutes with Aaron.
My mind rolls back to the first thing Aaron did when he sat in my chair—his gaze taking in everything on my desk and cubicle walls. I recall the way he gleaned my password from my mom’s birthday photo on my desk.
I finally catch the elusive thought I’ve been chasing.
Aaron asked me all those personal questionsafterhe guessed my password.
Confusion flicks through me.
No, that can’t be right. If he’d already guessed my password, what was the point of all those questions? What was he attempting to achieve?
As my confusion mounts, I close my eyes and choke back the indignant stream of words I’m itching to hurl after him.
I have the deeply unsettling feeling I’ve just been expertly played.
[GROUP CHAT]
Kenzie:I heard EVERYTHING!
Sofia:WHAT? What did you hear?
Tess:Nothing!
Sofia:Ooh, it must be big.
Kenzie:The most outrageous flirting between Aaron and Tess.
Tess:Stupid, useless cubicle walls.
Tess:And there was no flirting. I have a boyfriend.
Kenzie:That man is so into you.
Tess:Nathan?
Sofia:Please. Nathan’s only into himself.
Tess:Sofia!
Sofia:Sorry.
Sofia:Not sorry.
Kenzie:Tess lost a bet to Aaron and now she has to be his minion for the day.
