Page 8 of The Photograph

The guy with the straining shirt, Mr. Nerdy, says, “If you’re offering free drinks, then I’m definitely in. Gotta save money wherever you can.”

This team! It’s not like we’re underpaying them. But it’s already crystal clear I’m going to have to do something drastic. Split them into pairs?

Artie and I end up in a dubious Irish bar up the street with seven of the new recruits. It’s all the quiet ones, and no one is making conversation.

“I hate this whole gay thing New York has going on,” one of the guys, Carl I think, says suddenly to Michael sitting nextto him, as he chews on a pretzel. Michael shifts uncomfortably, sips on his beer, and glances around, presumably wondering if anyone heard. I did: Isn’t that enough?

His eyes meet mine, and I try and give him my best supportive smile. They must have realized I’m gay, right? I’m not hiding anything here.

Another guy leans over to talk to Carl. “Hell, yes, they’re everywhere in Manhattan. I have to stand against the wall these days.”

Oh.

My.

God.

Michael’s eyes bug out, and I turn away from the three of them. This is going to be a desperate evening if I’ve got two gayophobes to deal with.

Amy left straight after the meeting, but the other girl, who hasn’t said a word all day, is sitting next to me playing a retro game on her phone like a true introvert, so I lean over to watch what she’s doing. She immediately falters and dies.

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” I say, but she shakes her head, looking close to tears. I’m not far off weeping myself. How to fail at managing a team 101.

“What was that?”

“It’sSpace Invaders. I wrote the software to put it on Android.”

I beam at her. “That’s so cool!”

She shrugs. “There are loads of competitors in the Playstore. I’ve hardly got any downloads, and it took me months.”

“Got to work through the failures, though, right?”

She eyes me dubiously. “You don’t look like you’ve had a lot of failures.”

I grin at her. “Don’t be deceived. Under this beautiful glossy exterior lies a bruised heart.” I’m only half-joking.

This elicits a slight smirk. Thank God.

“Before I joined Jo, I worked in a few nightmare offices.”

She sighs. “Today was intense. I hope this isn’t going to be one of those.”

“Over my dead body,” I say, and this gets me another small smile.Progress.

“I’m Sadie,” she adds. “You didn’t do intros for us at the beginning of the session, so I thought I’d let you know who I am.”

I didn’t? Oh shit, I didn’t. The warmth buzzing through me disappears as fast as it came. I sip on the beer one of the guys bought me: not my normal drink but sometimes you have to do what it takes to fit in.

“Nice to meet you, Sadie. Where do you live in New York?”

“With my mom in Queens, I just graduated. I’ve got no money. College left me with a mountain of debt, and I really need this job.”

“I appreciate your honesty, and that’s cool. New York’s expensive, and we all need our jobs. Work hard and prove yourself, and there’ll be lots of opportunity here: We’re expanding fast.”

Sadie studies her phone screen. “Yeah, I don’t like confrontation with other people, and I find the whole conversation thing awkward. I like living in different worlds.”

Perhaps that was too much honesty. “Are you a big gamer?”

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