Page 1 of Free Agent

ONE

AURORA

I was in my happy place.

Most people kinda gave me a look when I explained that tuning myself into debug logs and code repositories and sandbox mode and all the other developer fixings was where I found the most peace.

Kinda nerdy, sure, but… I was a nerd, so that tracked.

What the hell is that?

Eyebrows lifted, I pulled my gaze away from the lines of code filling my screen, reluctantly releasing the deep focus state I’d been in for… shit, I didn’t know how long. My eyes darted around the view in front of me, leaving me confused when I couldn’t find the source of a nagging, discordant sound that wasn’t coming from the buds nestled deep in my ears.

The only sound there was Vanity, and whatever this other thing was, this non-bassline thumping, it was fucking up my vibe.

I narrowed in on my main notification bar, noting that it was set to ignore interruptions, just as I preferred.

Not the culprit.

Annoyed, I pulled my earbuds out, killing their sound-dampening effect on my environment.

Oh.

Oh.

Someone was knocking.

Cool, cool, cool.

Except, my “hot and ready” light was not on, and not interrupting me unless it was, was one of very few “rules” I had around here.

“This better be important!” I called out to whoever was on the other side of the door as I unwrapped my legs from their folded state so I could stand up.

A soft hiss escaped my lips as that too-familiar tingly feeling exploded over my skin, from the blood rushing back into full circulation after being choked off for however long I’d been sitting there crisscrossed.

Whew.

It was probably good for me to take a break anyway.

“Important enough for you?” Shannon asked as soon as I opened the door, shaking a fragrant paper bag of food in my face.

Immediately, my stomach growled.

“Barely,” I teased, taking the bag from her to look inside. There was no logo or anything, but as soon as the crinkly paper sides parted, the aroma told me instantly what it was. “Okay,” I amended, already taking the bag into my office. “This is actually the most important thing all day.”

“Greedy ass,” she laughed, following me inside. “You don’t feel like those damn tacos have too much of a hold on you?”

“Not at all.”

I stared her down as I took a big bite of the Korean BBQ steak taco I’d already fished out of the bag, tearing through the wrapper like a raccoon.

I was hungry.

Starving, damn near.

Did I have breakfast today?

Shan rolled her eyes, watching me chew with her arms crossed, trying her best to hold a stern look on her face. “Why do you do stuff like this? Is this your first meal today? And have you eaten literally anything besides this exact meal for the past week?

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