“I’m here, Fliss. I’ve got you.” Luke squeezed my hand a little harder.
I smiled my thanks. “I was called down to reception by the coordinator of the conference. I’d left my laptop open, and what I didn’t realise until I set my presentation up, was that Nigel had corrupted the whole thing.” I took a slug of my drink as all the laughter and nasty comments entered my head. Taking a deep breath, I continued. “All that came up on the screen was a series of nursery rhymes, and then the screen went blank. When I tried to recover the information, it had all gone.”
“Jesus, that must’ve been awful. I can’t even begin to imagine how you felt.”
“It gets worse. As I fled the room, Nigel was outside waiting for me with a nasty smirk on his face. I knew in that moment it was him. He wanted to attend this conference too, but his company sent someone with more experience. It was jealousy, pure and simple.”
“What happened after that?”
I sighed. “Well, I cancelled the flights and the rooms I’d booked, rebooked a flight back just for me the same day, and flew home. I have no idea how he got back to the UK, but I really didn’t care after what he did to me.”
“Good for you. Have you heard from that asshole since?”
“No. But a colleague in the games world did tell me that a few months later, he was caught trying to hack into a government site and had been jailed.”
“Karma has a way of finding these people and making them pay, huh?”
“Yeah, but it left me broken. My trust in men vanished, and I vowed never to trust one again. Being angry all the time when guys are around is a good way to keep people away from you.”
“I can understand that. How did it affect your career after what happened?”
“News travels fast in that world, and I was persona non grata for a long while. Now, though, I’m starting to make headway. People are interested in me again. I think word has also got around about Nigel. I don’t think I was the only one who experienced crap at his hands. Not sure if it’s what I want anymore, though.”
Luke pressed a kiss to my hand. “Fliss, I’m so sorry you had to go through this. It’s rough. But I think you’re amazing.”
I smiled, hope and something more blooming in my belly. “Thank you. That’s enough about me. What happened to you?”