Page 6 of The Hacker
“What’s that all about?” her client asked, staring in the direction of the racket.
“We can find out or you can start on your burpees.”
He draped a sweat towel around his neck and grinned at her. “What do you think?”
She leaped to her feet with a mock glare. “Fine, but you’ll have to do five extra to make up for the break.”
They walked into the big space swirling with the motion of customers of all shapes and sizes, dressed in outfits that ranged from knock-your-eyes-out neon to gray sweats. Now the only sounds were the hum of treadmills rolling and the metallic clunk of weights being lowered.
“What was the celebration about?” Dawn asked a trainer who was restocking the towel shelves.
“The Wi-Fi’s normal again. Everyone’s streaming on the machines.” He gestured to the pulsating glow of the built-in screens.
Her disappointment was more than a twinge this time. It was a downright sinking feeling. All because of that damned “kindred spirits” comment.
“Yeah!” Her client pumped his fist. “I run a lot longer when I’m distracted by the news. Sometimes it makes me so mad that I go even harder to blow off steam.”
Dawn knew all about sweating off emotions. That’s what had drawn her to the gym in the first place.
“Okay, back to burpees,” she said, waving toward the training room.
“At least I got to catch my breath.”
“You’ll need it.”
As soon as she was done with the session, she headed for the break room, where it was usually quiet at this time of the evening. The staff was busy since many people trained after work. She wanted to be able to focus on her last communication with Leland. Plunking down on a white bean-shaped chair in the corner, she pulled out her phone.
There is great joy at the gym tonight. The Wi-Fi has returned to full speed. Who knew that people were so dependent on distraction from their sweating? They literally cheered.
Again, thanks for taking the time to email with me about this matter. I’m sure you could have fixed it in a lot less time than it took Vicky’s boneheads to finally come through.
Dawn
She was sure he would answer her immediately. She might be flattered by that if she didn’t suspect that he was always at his computer. Although he must be working on other projects, so it waskindof flattering. Of course, her messages took him mere seconds to respond to. He didn’t need to weigh each word and phrase like she did.
I am less joyful than your patrons. Out of curiosity, I took a quick, cursory look at the general data inflow/outflow at the gym earlier today. The amount of traffic passing through it was extraordinary. It’s no wonder that the streaming had no bandwidth to utilize. Now I am thoroughly intrigued but have no authority to intervene. Perhaps the problem will recur, in which case I am eager to be at your service.
Dawn rocked back in the puffy chair. He’d already looked into the problem ... and found something weird. She didn’t know what caused “traffic” on a Wi-Fi router other than streaming videos and gaming. There was no use pursuing that now since it must have stopped.
The words that she came back to were: “I am eager to be at your service.” Was that just his southern courtesy or did he mean it?
It didn’t matter because Vicky had gotten the Wi-Fi fixed.
Thanks for taking a look at the issue. The traffic is weird but I guess it’s gone now. I appreciate your time. I’ll let you know if there’s any more trouble.
And that was the end of that. She waited a minute but Leland must have agreed with her because he didn’t respond. What more was there to say anyway?
Leland rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers as he reread Dawn’s email. Nothing to indicate she wanted anything further from him. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment before he hit the delete key. He had the idle thought that a delete key in his brain would be useful too. He’d like to erase the disappointment he felt at not having a reason to communicate further with her. Their exchanges had given him a surprising amount of entertainment.
An internal message from Derek popped up on his screen.
Leland, can you come to my office in ten?
Leland glanced at the programs running on his screens and sent back: “Yes.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he hoped like hell this wasn’t another well-meant but misguided intervention from his partner. Both Derek and Tully had the idea that he was working himself too hard because he was trying to somehow forget his mother’s death three months before. They didn’t understand that he was honoring her. She was the one who had taught him his work ethic. Every project he completed was a tribute to her.
Ten minutes later, he braced himself mentally and sauntered into Derek’s corner office with the wraparound windows that showcased the towers of Manhattan, now blazing with myriad shades of artificial lights. Leland had a similar office that he almost never used, preferring his computer cave. Tully’s office faced the Hudson River because he liked to watch the boat traffic.
Tully was already seated on the leather sofa with his sock-covered feet propped up on the coffee table, his cowboy boots resting neatly side by side on the carpet. Derek sat in a chrome-and-leather chair opposite him, looking like a casting director’s image of the perfect consultant in his custom-tailored navy suit, albeit without a necktie.
