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“I bet they’re the reason Jason lost his shit on the phone the other day. I heard him shout things like ‘takeover’ and ‘layoff’ when I was about to go into his office to get his approval for the new implementation feature,” Nat whispered like we were high-school girls gossiping during class.

“Takeover?” I questioned. “You don’t think they’re here to buy the company?”

The startup was relatively small and new. With about twenty-five employees including Jason, IP Innovations wasn’t quite as green as some of the other startups out there, but we were by no means a huge force in the tech world yet.We had made a splash on tech blogs with our facial-recognition software, which could track the locations of people photographed by mobile phones. Facial-recognition software already existed but lacked accuracy for faces of women and people of color. The government had their own version of the software, but ours was the first with a ninety-seven percent accuracy rate. We’d formatted it for social media use, allowing platforms like Facebook and Instagram to recognize faces more inclusively. As a result, it would make “checking-in” easier for users and garner more ratings and reviews for local businesses.

Jason had even been interviewed forForbes’s “30 under 30” list as a result. I guess it was expected that a startup could be bought if they produced successful products, but I hadn’t been expecting it to happen to IP Innovations so soon. I had assumed that when the time came, a social media company or even the government would buy our feature and implement it.

IP Innovations had only been up and running for about six months. I liked the other programmers I worked with—minus Jason and his creepiness toward me—and the work itself. I liked it so much that I spent hours coding at home, sometimes well after midnight.

I dreaded being acquired by some enormous tech corporation where we would go from being people with names to just employee numbers. Programmers often lost their passion and drive when these mergers happened, since they were no longer a part of a small, close-knit team.

Nat’s voice pulled me from my train of thought. “Well, whatever happens, I wouldn’t mind workingunderone of those new bosses…or both!” She licked her lips in the most obscene way, probably playing out some sort of orgy fantasy in her head.

I rolled my eyes. “You have problems!” I redirected my focus back to my laptop monitor and started typing out code.

“No,youhave problems, missy.” She pointed a finger in my face. “You’re like asexual! You barely even date. When was the last time you even got laid?” Everything was about sex and how she could get some in Nat’s world.

“Hey! Idodate,” I protested. “Last week, I went out with that guy from the advertising company next door, remember?”

“Did you fuck?” she asked, raising an accusatory eyebrow.

“Oh my God, Natalie!” I prayed she would lower her voice before anyone else heard what we were talking about. “I’m not telling you anything,” I whispered, hoping she would lower her voice to match mine.

Ignoring my hint, she continued at her regular volume, “That’s because there’s nothing to tell, or you wouldn’t be so uptight right now!”

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. The advertising guy was cute, but I was so bored at the bar with him that night. He kept talking about himself and barely asked me anything about my life. At one point, I gave up trying to participate in the conversation and instead planned out new coding algorithms that I could use at work in my head. I ended the night early and rushed home to code until four o’clock in the morning.

It wasn’t like I was avoiding sex. I was not exactly a virgin, but my experience was fairly limited. I had given a blowjob or two and had some “okay” sex with past boyfriends. I hooked up with a few guys when I first moved to the city, but nothing ever lasted longer than two weeks. I had never experienced anything like the stories Nat would share about her escapades. She was a freak and was into really wild sex. The most adventurous thing I had done was give my high-school boyfriend a blowjob in the backseat of his car after we left the movies one night. To be honest, my orgasms came easier when I was left to my own devices—devices like my vibrator.

I found it difficult to find a guy who could understand my personality. I was an introvert, so putting myself out there and dating was not comfortable for me. The guys I did go out with took advantage of my quietness and overtook our conversations. I didn’t think I was socially awkward, but I always doubted myself after dates. Maybe I really was the problem? Maybe I was sabotaging my sexual encounters, and that was why they weren’t exciting? Maybe I wasn’t capable of being adventurous in bed because I too much of a recluse? I wished I could be more like Nat—assertive and carefree.

Sensing my discomfort, Nat eased up on me. “Come on. Let’s take an early lunch and check out that new taco truck down the street. Jason’s not even going to know we left,” she offered. I was relieved to drop the topic of my sex life—or lack thereof.

Chapter II

Amelia

Jason’s meeting with the two handsome men had lasted well past when Nat and I returned from our two-hour lunch. After the men left, Jason seemed too preoccupied to resume scolding me, but his bad mood had continued through the day. He’d snapped at Nat for a minor bug in her code, then hovered over the other programmers’ shoulders, nitpicking our work. Tammy, his secretary, bore the brunt of it. He’d had her running around the office, printing out documents and organizing them into manila files.

After Jason’s outburst yesterday, I made sure to get to work on time today.

Now, it was a little before lunchtime, and the air in the office was still tense. Jason stepped out of his office and addressed us with his hands clasped in front of his waist. “If I could have everyone’s attention. I have some news. IP Innovations has been acquired by Sethi Tech.”

Sethi Tech was a giant in the industry. They were notorious for buying promising start-ups. Only the brightest programmers were hired to work for them. They usually required years of experience before even considering applicants.

This meant that the two men who were here yesterday weretheSethis of Sethi Tech. I didn’t realize it when Tammy announced them, but now it started to make more sense. I had always assumed the owners would be a lot older and perhaps not as dreamy. They were probably playboys, since they had more money than God and were incredibly good looking. Women probably threw themselves at them.

Jason continued, “I was hoping that we could have delayed an acquisition for a little longer, until we polished our software, but the owners were adamant about making this happen as soon as possible. With that said, they want us to complete all code reviews and debugging of the new software by the end of next week.”

Murmurs spread through the work area. “How are we supposed to work that fast?” one of our testers asked, voicing everyone’s biggest concern.

“I realize this is going to put a lot of pressure on all of you, but I’m afraid we don’t have a say in this,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “They want all of the code completed before some of you are relocated to their headquarters.”

“Someof us?” Nat asked in frustration as she stood up from her seat. Apparently, the layoff rumors were true.

“Nothing is set in stone, but it seems as though they’ll only be keeping a few of you on board after we deliver the final product and the merger is complete,” Jason replied with a resigned look on his face.

Silence settled over the office. We all were mute from shock. We had poured our hearts and souls into this product. The office felt like a family. The idea of this team breaking up made my heart hurt. This software had quickly become a passion after I started at IP Innovations. If I were laid off, I would feel so lost. I could probably find a new job at a different startup, but I just felt like I wasn’t finished with my role at IP Innovations yet. All of this made me feel depressed.

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