by Katie Ford
“Totally, Mia. You’re so beautiful, you don’t even know it,” she huffed, eyes wide. “And then what?”
I paused again, thinking furiously.
“And then we got to talking, one thing led to another, and soon we were on a date sort-of,” I said helplessly, smiling a little. “We’ve been communicating, and I guess that’s why there are flowers now.”
Jill’s nose wrinkled.
“That’s some communicating,” she teased. “But seriously Mia, this is so awesome. A billionaire wants you, and I’m so jealous. You rock.”
I smiled again but said nothing, merely chewing the Danish pastry as Jill kept on.
“He obviously has a thing for you,” she intoned. “He wants to be serious, honey. Why else with all these flowers?” She gestured expansively. “Honestly this stuff must have cost at least four figures.”
Groaning, I chewed on my pastry puff. “I know, I know. But did you see all the photos I posted of him?”
Jill fanned herself. “Yes! Obviously. The entire world did, you made sure of that as Anonimo.”
I scrunched up my nose. My friend was the only one who knew what I’d done. I’d sworn her to secrecy.
“But that’s the thing, Jilly,” I said slowly. “He sleeps with tons of girls. I’m just one notch among a thousand on his bedpost.”
She cocked her head to the side, eyeing me contemplatively.
“Maybe,” she hedged. “But I doubt he sends flowers to all his notches. I mean, look at these roses. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.”
But I wasn’t convinced. Spending a thousand dollars on roses was just a drop in a bucket for a billionaire, so I couldn’t measure his real interest in me just based on how much money he spent. Theo Wainwright could afford sending roses to all his paramours if that was his MO. At this point, there was frankly no telling.
“Well, you’ll have to tell me everything,” my friend said. “I’m your confidante, and so much has already happened. Everything!” she emphasized.
I laughed, throwing some potato chips her way until the two of us were in a mild food fight, but it turned out that I didn’t have to tell her anything because the gifts just kept arriving.
A few days after the roses, I came home to another surprise. Jill was on the couch munching on something crunchy. Her eyes opened wide when she saw me. “He sent candy, Mia!”
“Candy?” I asked, surprised.
She nodded her head as she crunched. “Peanut brittle, yum. It’s real good.”
I rolled my eyes. God, my buddy was too into my stuff, it was getting unreal. We had to set some boundaries pronto, but reading my mind again, Jill spoke.
“You honestly didn’t expect me to stay away, did you?”
Sighing, I closed the door and looked at the coffee table. There were twenty different kinds of peanut brittle strewn about.
“Eat as much as you want,” I said in a resigned voice. “There’s a ton.”
Jill nodded happily. “Yeah, I know. Read the card, Mia. This guy is really after you.”
I fingered the small piece of paper. The card had a red heart broken in two on the front. Inside, it read, “We’re broken up over here. Make our brittle security indestructible. Help me put us back together again. -Theo”
The message was pretty cheesy, but I was charmed anyways. Hey, this guy knew how to be creative. And as if on cue, Jill opened a box of peanut brittle, holding out to me. “I think this one is my favorite. It’s called Choco Monster Almond Delight.”
What was with the name? But I popped one into my mouth, the velvet melting instantaneously on my tongue. “Mmm. That is good. Wow.”
Was it possible? Was Theo interested in me for more than my technical talent?
That couldn’t be true. The billionaire could have anyone he wanted, bar none, from princesses to supermodels. So why me?
Jill sighed. “Well at least do you believe me now?”
I sighed again.
“Believe you about what?” Opening a different box, I popped another peanut brittle piece in my mouth. Mmm, this one had the nutty flavor of salted caramel. My favorite.
Jill pointed at the card. “Help me put us back together again?” She shook her head. “Come on! He wants you!”
I picked up the card and looked at it again thinking about this man who’d taken over my life in one week. How could this be happening? I hadn’t even known of his existence until recently. Well, I knew Theo existed, but only through the pages of magazines and gossip columns. But now, my days were filled with images of the man, my curvy form tingling at the thought of being with him again. It was amazing, and slowly, my defenses began to crumble.
“Maybe,” I mumbled. “We’ll see.”
“Maybe?” exclaimed my friend. “That’s all? You should join Pictogram. Seriously, Mia, I’m kinda excited about what he might send next, but don’t let the poor guy suffer like this. Besides, he’s offering you so much money and a car. We could use it to explore, instead of always being stuck on campus.”
I frowned. Money and perks aside, I wanted Pictogram to make changes, and it would be easier to do that if I worked there. Plus, there were some security tactics I’d like to try out anyway. The whole point of the hacking attack as Anonimo was to protect Pictogram users. I could do that as one of their engineers.
I held the card close to my chest and smiled at my friend. “I guess I could try it out.”
Jill jumped up. “Yes!” She ran over to me hugging me. “Just give it a go. You never know, you might enjoy it.”
And so week later, I started at Pictogram as a consultant. Driving my brand new Tesla over to Mountain View, I told myself that I was only working at Pictogram strictly because of my talent. That was why Theo had recruited me so fiercely, and not because of our romantic interlude. In fact, I hadn’t seen him in weeks now. Knowing the alpha, he’d probably already moved on to some other girl. Our one night of hot and heavy sex was one and done, I was sure.
But my brain kept roiling because despite my desperate efforts at self control, Theo was all I could think about. That flashing white smile. The funny quips. The way he gripped my shoulder, eyes intense while pounding me from above.
Oh yes, my billionaire. The man who’d seized my heart after one short encounter.
And now my boss too. Or more accurately, my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss, if that was even accurate. He was the king on his throne, whereas I was merely a lowly consultant, a paid gun.
But I put the thoughts out of my mind because driving on Pictogram’s campus, I was stunned by how vibrant it was. I turned onto Picto Way, which brought me right through a mini town made just for employees. To the right, there was a large expanse of green grass where people sat at picnic tables or sprawled on blankets with their laptops. A game of Ultimate Frisbee was underway while another group of people practiced Tai Chi.
Parking my car in the lot, I mused over all that I’d seen from the short drive through Picto Town: restaurants, a beauty salon, a café, and a movie theater. Pictogram employees rode around on pink and red striped bicycles. It was a small community, incredibly insular.
And frankly, I was excited to be a part of it. The hairs on my arm rose, breath coming fast. This was paradise for engineers, filled with eggheads who knew how to code speak.
And I was one of them.
With quick steps, I reported to the main building walking uneasily to the front desk. The entrance had a high ceiling with a skylight open to the bright blue sky above. To the left, a receptionist sat across from a large screen flipping through the recent trending Pictogram images. As I walked to the expansive counter, I felt like cringing as my Picto-famous photo scrolled past. Apparently, I was still trending.
Oh god. So embarrassing.
But different rules applied here in Picto-land. The woman looked up, greeting me with a radiant smile. “Mia Smith?” she chirped.
I nodded, trying for a smile. “Yes, that’s me.”
The bubbly receptionist couldn’t
get enough. She jumped up and walked around the desk with her arm extended. “Oh wow! The Mia! My name is Amanda. I’m a big fan!”
She jerked her head to the large screen with the trending photos. “I’m not a programmer yet, but you’re my hero,” she confided. Her voice dropped an octave. “I’m learning on my own, but totally love your message. Fuck brogrammers, fuck ‘em right and left.”
I smiled carefully, looking around. We were in Picto-land with thousands brogrammers walking around campus. It paid to be careful, even if Amanda and I were alone at the moment.
“Um, thanks,” I said halfheartedly. “It was more of a game than anything else.”
But the young woman was unstoppable, nodding happily.
“Well, your photo was inspirational. So thank you! And I almost forgot.” She glided back to her desk and reached over for something, presenting it to me with exuberant flair, “Tada!”
It was my Pictogram ID attached to a pink and red lanyard. For my photo, they’d chosen my infamous middle-finger image. Really? Instead of a traditional headshot, we were going with this?
Amanda nodded happily again.
“I took the liberty of using your trademark photo for your ID.” She beamed at me as she pulled the string down over my head. “Do you like it?”
Cringing inside, I held my ID in my hands. “Um, I love it. Thank you!” I lied with a forced smile. Amanda was so sweet. I didn’t want to explain to her that this very photo had caused me more problems than humanly possible, but who was I to burst the young girl’s bubble? Life would happen, sooner or later, and there was no need to pour rain on her sunshine.
“Okay Ms. Smith,” she burbled. “I’m going to take you to your desk. Follow me, please,” she said, almost doing a pirouette on one pink high-top sneaker.
And quickly, we made our way down the polished hallway. Everything was a glossy, opaque white, like we were in a giant starship. It was cool but intimidating too with a lot of reflective surfaces.
But Amanda kept up her friendly chatter, turning at intervals to smile at me.
“This building only has one restaurant, Mexican,” she prattled. “It’s fish taco day, by the way. Do you like tacos?”
“I love tacos,” were my words.
Her eyes lit up. “Me too! We should have lunch sometime.”
I paused. This was starting to get a little crazy, but I didn’t want to be rude. So instead, a smile crossed my face.
“Sure,” I agreed. “Just not today, it’s my first day and I don’t know what they have planned.”
“Your group will probably take you out to lunch,” the blonde said again, nodding her head knowingly. “You have a couple choices because there are a total of six restaurants on campus. Plus two cafes, laundry and dry cleaning facilities, a beauty salon, a music studio, a video arcade, a woodworking shop, and don’t forget, a full-size movie theater too.” She paused, catching her breath. “I’ll email all this stuff to you of course, with a map of facilities. It’s a lot to remember but Pictogram just wants the best for its employees.”
Hmm, that was definitely true, as well as convenient.
“How much are the laundry services?” I asked thinking about all the quarters I had to scrounge up before I ever did a load.
Amanda laughed, her blonde bun bobbling. “It’s all free, silly!”
That got me.
“Free?” I asked in astonishment, eyes wide. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yes. Everything’s free: food, the video arcade, getting your nails done, absolutely everything.”
“Wow,” I said, impressed. “That’s a lot of benefits.”
At that moment, we passed by a large abstract painting. Lines of code swirled around a mix of bright vibrant colors and dark bold lines. I stopped to admire it, the rush of reds and oranges bold and beautiful.
Amanda said in a hushed tone, “Mr. Wainwright did this one.”
Turning to her, I asked, amazed, “Theo?”
She nodded confidentially. “Oh yes. There are several of his pieces around campus. It’s one of the CEO’s hobbies.”
I was impressed and a little intrigued. None of the articles featuring Theo shirtless said anything about his artistic talents. More like they were focused on his pecs, abs, and of course, the billionaire’s playboy ways.
But finally, we were at the destination. Amanda stopped before a gray metal workstation, part of a long table in an open room. Engineers sat all together in one open space. The cement floors and exposed fluorescent lighting gave off an industrial feel, but I liked it. The open space made me instantly feel like I was part of Pictogram.
And after putting my backpack down on the floor, Amanda chirped, “You have a meeting with Mr. Wainwright now.”
“Really? The CEO?”
Amanda nodded importantly.
“He asked. It’s not standard company procedure, but you are the Pictogram girl,” she said importantly. “Come on, I’ll show you the way. He’s right up there.”
And with that I turned to crane my head upwards, peering at the third floor only to see Theo standing near the windows on the phone. The billionaire was magnetic, even from afar, that masculine physique athletic even in a light gray suit. His smile flashed, bright white and charming. It’d been weeks since I’d seen him since the night he took my virginity, and yet from one look, my body temp rose. Oh god, it was him again, and my insides went loose, desperate to see the man.
“I can walk you up there,” Amanda said with a knowing smile. “He’s hot, right? Most tech billionaires are tiny midgets with hunchbacks, but Mr. Wainwright’s something else.”
I nodded, cheeks flushing bright red. Oh god, she didn’t know, did she? Hopefully, Theo didn’t tell anyone. But I swallowed and put another smile on.
“Sure, let’s go,” I said. “Off to meet the emperor.”
And with that, Amanda and I took a high speed lift to the third floor, although it was hardly necessary. A beautiful redhead sat primly at a desk, typing at something or other.
“Penny, this is Mia Smith,” chirped Amanda, beaming as always. “Here to see Mr. Wainwright.”
Penny looked up from her laptop, squinting jade green eyes at me.
“This is Mia Smith?” her voice drawled, coated in poisonous honey.
Amanda maintained her smile. “Yup. Mia the Great.”
I cringed internally. Obviously, the redhead hated me on sight and Amanda’s fawning adoration wasn’t doing me any favors. But there was nothing to be done, so I greeted the woman with a friendly smile.
“Hello,” was my polite voice. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Penny didn’t even respond, at least not directly.
“I’m Theo’s personal assistant – slash – secretary – slash – best employee – slash – right hand woman,” she said, directing her words at Amanda, although the information was meant for me. “Everything having to do with Mr. Wainwright goes through me.”
At that, those emerald green eyes swung my way, pinning me in place.
I swallowed.
“Um, yes, I understand,” I said. “Yes, of course.”
“Good,” she said perfunctorily. “Mr. Wainwright has been waiting for you. Please go right in.”
But before I could move, Amanda held out her hand again.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said sincerely. “Lunch soon, right?”
And grasping the younger woman’s hand, I gave her a genuine smile.
“For sure,” I said. “Anytime.”
And with that, the blonde skipped off, my promise making her day. It felt nice to do good, even though her adoration was misplaced. Again, the photo of me had caused major turmoil, at least from my point of view.
But other folks didn’t know that. To them, I was the sassy, curvy female out to make a point about women in tech. And with the #meToo movement underway, my timing had been just perfect.
“If you’re ready,” Penny drawled from behind, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Mr.
Wainwright is waiting.”
And fixing a smile on my face, I walked straight ahead through the white double doors. They swooshed shut silently behind my form, but I was unable to move forward because the billionaire’s blue gaze had me pinned from the get go.
Oh god, he was breathtaking. Absolutely magnificent, his muscular form shown off perfectly in a gray suit. Long, long legs complemented broad shoulders and powerful arms, arms that had held me tight, protecting and soothing me after the scare.
Those blue eyes gleamed knowingly.
“How are you Mia?” he growled. “I see you made it here in one piece.”
I swallowed, breasts heaving with excitement. Why wouldn’t my body behave? This was so inappropriate given that we were in a work environment. So I made myself smile professionally.
“I’m good,” I said. “It’s amazing here. The campus is incredible.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I hired two consultants from Disney to make it feel whimsical, but not childish. A mix of work and play. What do you think?” The billionaire seemed to genuinely care about my opinion.
“You definitely achieved what you were going for. A mix of work and play.”
Theo smiled, lounging back in his chair like a powerful lion at ease. “Thank you,” he said. “I spent a lot of time trying to get the right atmosphere for this company. I want my employees to love working here.” He turned around to look down at the working space below. “I want it to be more of a community not just a job.”