Page 77 of Decoding Emma
Asher drew back and—no other word for it—assessed me from head to toe.“One surprise after another.”
“Another subject for Friday night discussion at Whistle Spot.I know it’s only been about a half hour since the briefing.Any more information?And are those fleeces on the rack by the door for everyone?”I prompted.
I could feel Asher’s eyes on my back, the heat welcome in the cold.
“Yep.Feel free.It’ll take a couple of days to get one with your name on it.The conference room is out the door to your right, in the back behind the glass wall.Let’s go hunt down a hacker.You scored the first hit, so after you, Emma.”
***
I stood and stretched.It was almost midnight.Asher had been called up to brief John Boyd, about an hour after we arrived on the server floor.Boyd authorized any resources we might need to find the intruder and repair any damage they’d caused.Food had been brought in, and we ate while we worked.At one point, someone Asher introduced as Jackie, the president’s executive assistant, brought some paperwork that turned out to be a detailed addendum to my contract.It’d been electronically signed by Manning and by Boyd, and apparently it was my turn.This time, after a side-eye to Asher, I read every word before initialing each page and signing on the dotted line.An open-ended extension, and latitude limited only by FI tasking.
I was surprised at how quickly this modification happened.The back and forth to arrange for me to come to FI for the project had taken nearly three months.Were Greg and his gang trying to throw roadblocks to my promotion?It’d definitely be something he’d pull.Something to keep in the back of my mind.
Ben, Will, Tim, and Asher had divided up the activity logs and had been analyzing every line.I was put on examining code, line by line.By the ten-hour mark, I was nearly cross-eyed and my brain was turning to mush.Time for a reboot.Asher was bent over a printout.Margin notes in different colored ink framed the printed text.When I tapped his shoulder, he jerked, startled.He looked distracted but smiled at me and squeezed my hand.
“I’m going topside for some fresh air.I need to reboot.It’s all running together.Want to join me?”I whispered.
“Excellent idea.Red Bull or water…or both?”
“Just water.I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to last.I’ll see where my head’s at after some fresh air and a walk.”
“Another good idea.Let’s meet in the atrium.I’ll get the water.”
I looked around to make sure no one was watching, then kissed my finger and tapped his cheek.“See you upstairs.”
He stroked my cheek and headed for one door; I went out the other.
I stopped in the ladies room by the elevator.It looked like it had never been used.No surprise since there were no other women on IT staff.I let that marinate while I humored my body and gave in to its demands, and when finished, I washed my hands and splashed cold water on my face.While drying my face and hands, I took a long look at the woman in the mirror.Same as always, but different too.This time, I didn’t look away.
When I first started working in the Batcave, I thought I was imagining some kind of change.I couldn’t put my finger on it and attributed it to my imagination.Then, the longer I worked with Ben and his team, I realized I hadn’t imagined it.
There was a mountain of data to go through.As we dug deeper, Will, Tim, and their technicians on the mid and night shifts weren’t shy about asking me questions.Their interactions with me were no different than with their coworkers and Asher.They didn’t talk over me or interrupt.When I answered their questions and made suggestions, their attention was fully focused on my answers and suggestions.
Tri-O-Tech’s environment was the opposite and not in a good way.I was one of three women on the IT staff and the only female developer.I hadn’t been on the staff a whole day before one of the network techs, Greg Webster, told me to refill his coffee.I didn’t move, and he made the mistake of ordering—not asking—me and demanding to know why I hadn’t moved.I wanted to leave smoldering ashes but decided to just lightly scorch him.He never made the coffee move again, but in meetings, he and his clique made it a point to interrupt and mansplain.On the floor, he’d make snide comments about my clothes and hair, always out of hearing of others.I refused to play his game.One day, he’d trip himself up.His kind always did.In the meantime, I’d keep my head down and wait for the inevitable.
Alex was a bit better.I suspected one of the reasons he—I heard later—reluctantly sent me on this job was because he knew it would probably be necessary to build unique software to facilitate the merging of FI’s divisions, and my skillset made me perfect for the job.He also told me that I was on the short list for director of the department.First woman in that position with Tri-O-Tech, cracking the glass ceiling, more yada, yada, yada.I could see where that was going to end up.
Webster was also on that list, and when he found out I’d scored the Fantasies, Inc.project as well, he had to drop his two cents.“We don’t have to wonder how Palmer got this assignment, do we?”
The elevator doors opened and interrupted my musings.As I drifted to the atrium doors, a mental lightbulb popped on.
Maybe going for that promotion wasn’t such a good idea.It would mean having a team of men reporting to me, and the odds of gaining their respect weren’t good, closer to the not gonna happen range.Why hadn’t I thought about that before?
Probably because until I worked with Asher and his team, I hadn’t experienced a different environment.They treated me like an asset, an equal.The level of respect Asher’s entire staff had shown me was a little overwhelming, but it was also eye-opening.What had Cassie said once… “Sometimes you don’t know how good or bad it is until you experience the bad and the good.”I understood what she’d said at the time, but now I’d lived it.She was right.I’d been existing in my own little world for too long.
“Are you okay?”Asher asked.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t see Asher until I almost walked through him.
“I’m good.I got so caught up in my own head, I wasn’t paying attention.It’s kind of cool tonight, but the air feels great.”
“I understand the head thing.You look wrung out.”
“Yeah.I feel like it.”But I knew we needed to push through.
“I think that’s enough for tonight.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he shook his head.“We’ve secured everything as best we can for now.The logs and code aren’t going anywhere.It’s not going to do anyone any good if we don’t have fresh minds to solve the problem.”
