Pike didn’t do homesick. He really didn’t. Growing up, they’d moved fairly often from one fixer-upper to the next as his mother squirreled away cash from each sale into his college fund. He hadn’t really had time to get attached to any one house, and then there had been university housing, but no one really got homesick for dorms and off-campus apartments. His West Hollywood digs with Landon had been pretty sweet, but he’d never really missed it when he’d been gone.
Strange then that in the middle of the War Elf headquarters, he was almost overcome with a visceral sense of loss. It might be the senior chief’s house, but he and Zack had been building something there, something special. And now it seemed pulled from beyond his grasp, no way to get it back, and here he was, waiting for Hector and wondering if a fresh start could ease this ache in his chest.
Pike had visited War Elf as part of his PhD research, meeting several times with Hector, but interviewing for the senior market research analyst position was a whole new thing, complete with meeting the CEO and several VPs. As a young intern with purple streaks in her blond hair gave him a complete tour of the facilities, a strange restlessness came over him. Above the snack and coffee area, a large stainless-steel clock announced that it was almost three o’clock.
I should be teaching Intro to Stats right now. Maybe his students were unhappy or stressed. He wasn’t sure whether Cynthia had stayed to teach the class or if she’d simply given the students the weekend off. He hoped the students weren’t disappointed that they wouldn’t have more time before next week’s test. And why the hell was he worrying about them while being shown the array of freebies available to employees? All his favorite sodas and energy drinks, there for the taking.
“Everyone puts in such long hours, it’s nice to have a place to let off steam.” The intern gestured at two foosball tables and a ping-pong table lining the edge of the break area. She had a way of making everything seem trendy and cutting edge. “And in addition to the row of treadmill desks, there’s a gym on the lower level.”
Sure enough, this place had a sweet setup, but Pike couldn’t seem to appreciate it.
“So everyone works late?” He’d figured as much from Hector and the other executives, but he felt more comfortable asking the intern.
“Oh yeah. Seems like there’s an expansion pack update deadline every few months, major marketing pushes monthly, fan events and cons regularly...always something around here. On weekends, people tend to be more casual—roll in late or take Sunday off, but there’s usually people around most days.”
Damn. Long hours would make any thought Pike had of regularly jaunting off to San Diego for the weekend...
Stop it. A long-distance thing with Zack? No way. They didn’t have a thing yet, not a real one, and they lived in the same house. No way were they surviving long distance.
Can’t rehab a house with those kinds of hours. And when on earth had home started mattering so much to him? As long as he and the cats had a roof over their heads, he shouldn’t complain.
He tried to get it together for his meetings with others from the marketing and research divisions, including those who would be reporting to him. Now, there was a novel thought—he’d spent so many years being the low man on the totem pole that the idea of having underlings was almost comical. Undoubtedly Hector would be talking to these people after Pike left, and he had a hard time imagining anyone saying, “Yeah, him. That one. Let’s make him in charge.”
Hell, he couldn’t even sort out his own life. Who would make him the responsible one? But everyone listened attentively when he talked about his research and the algorithms he’d uncovered to mine more usable data from user habits.
“You’ve got dinner plans?” Hector beamed as he showed Pike back to the main area.
“Yeah, my mom’s coming down from Berkeley to eat with me.”
She’d been thrilled at the impromptu visit, happy to battle the traffic over the bridge to come down to Palo Alto. But she was also his mom, and she’d instinctively known that something was wrong, and he knew he’d end up pouring out the whole story to her over noodles at the Thai place they were meeting at.
“That’s terrific.” Hector clapped him on the back. “Moving should be a snap for you with family in the area, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure HR puts a nice relocation bonus in the contract for you. Expect to hear from us next week. But I don’t think I have to tell you that I’m thinking it will be good news.”