Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
I smiled to myself, feeling warm from the inside out. Because suddenly, this job just got ten times better, the CEO at my side. Plus, my welcome at Picto-Town had been a surprise. I hadn’t been sure what my new co-workers knew about me, or what their reaction would be when they found out I was Anonimo. I’d just caused them a huge headache, after all, and maybe they wanted to bury me before we even started.
But going on stage with Theo had been amazing because instead of getting booed like I’d half-expected, they were cheering my name.
That was real strength. Acknowledging your weaknesses and welcoming a competitor because she’d make your team that much stronger.
Not just any competitor too, but a woman – a female hacker who’d already breached your systems.
So filled with the warm fuzzies, I went back to my desk feeling empowered. I didn’t want to let Pictogram down. Anonimo had set out to destroy the company, but by being here, I was Mia again and not just some faceless hacker. This was a community I wanted to invest in, and not the other way around.
A purple haired girl strolled over to my desk, clutching the Marc Janow ad in her hand. “Mia?”
“Hi!” I said with a friendly smile. What now? The girl was so cute, dressed like a classic computer nerd. She had on a black t-shirt with a black Javascript logo. Her flared tulip skirt was a perfect mix of casual and hip, finished with cute kicks. I’d never looked so stylish in my days as a programmer.
She pushed her glasses up with her bright neon blue nail.
“Hi, I’m so glad to meet you. My name is Sophie. I’m on the front-end team. I just wanted to say how inspirational you are.”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “I like your shirt, by the way.”
She looked down and laughed.
“Thanks. I’ve got so many free t-shirts like this from conferences and hackathons, it’s pretty crazy. I should buy some real clothes for a change.”
“Me too,” I replied cheerfully. “But free is always good.”
We both burst into laughter then because free clothing was a thing for engineers. A lot of people wore free stuff from their companies even when their options were worth millions. So to see the Javascript logo was a bonding point, especially since I was really good with Java.
And suddenly, I thought about Jill. Jilly has been my partner in crime since the beginning, screaming eff you at all those brogrammers. Jilly would like it here with the Amandas and Sophies who were competent, yet cool. Jill would be relieved to find some women just like us.
At that moment, another woman holding an adorable brown yorkiepoo in her arms came over. “Mia, you are so inspirational to women engineers everywhere,” she said, smiling. “I’m Eunice from the data algorithms team, and this is Mr. Dooey.” She ruffled the dog’s fur.
Mr. Dooey? What kind of name was that? But I smiled my welcome.
“Thanks,” I replied. “Glad to be here.”
Sophie’s voice dropped to a whisper then, her eyes looking around.
“Can we let you in on a secret, Mia?” she said confidentially. “It isn’t just that you broke through the security weaknesses in Pictogram, you also exposed Theo for who he is. A total player.”
I frowned on the inside, but tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Oh? What do you mean? I thought everyone knew he got around?”
Eunice, stroking the yorkiepoo, mused, “Yeah, everyone knows, but you brought it to life with those orgy pics. I mean, he runs through those poor models like he’s trying to win a relay race.” Her cute little dog yelped as if in agreement, panting with its mouth open. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Dooey?”
Sophie giggled. “It was all conjecture before. You know, rumors? But you found the truth, Mia, and those pictures made it concrete. Ha. Serves him right!”
Eunice leaned closer, whispering confidentially again. Clearly, these ladies had no idea that Theo and I had had two passionate sessions by now.
“Not that he has ever inappropriately crossed the line with any of his employees,” she said. “But those poor women. They were nothing to him, just big zeroes.”
I tried to laugh it off.
“Well, from what I saw in the photos, they weren’t exactly victims. The girls seemed to be having a good time.”
Both Sophie and Eunice giggled in unison then.
“That’s true. Some of those girls were in a lot of pictures from different sessions. They clearly went back for more.”
I nodded before taking a breath to speak.
“I appreciate your comments, but in all honesty, that’s not why I did it.”
The women’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“It isn’t?” asked Sophie, brows wrinkling in confusion. “Then why? Was it just for fun? Lots of hackers do stuff just to be annoying, but posting those orgy pictures was pretty far out.”