“Hey, man. I was in the neighborhood, actually. How’s it going?” I reached out and bumped a fist with him. “Everybody out on a taco run today? I thought that was on Fridays.”
A few people sat at their consoles wearing headphones and testing software and equipment. Since they were busy, none of them had noticed me enter, though I recognized the bright red hair of Katya—our friend and, for the past year, my employee.
“Most of the group is on that field trip to the new backup server facility,” Lucas explained. “It’s on the calendar for today. Wasn’t that your idea?”
Nodding, I rubbed my forehead, noting the beginning of what was going to be an ass-kicking headache. “Yeah, forgot that was today.”
He paused, waiting while I tried to clear my head then rubbed at the pain in my shoulder. Jesus, I was a goddamn mess. Maybe I’d give in and take a sleeping pill tonight. The two- and three-hour nights were finally catching up to me.
After a long and awkward pause where I imitated some cranky grandpa with my aches and pains, he asked, “Anything I can help you with?”
“Yes. There’s a new quest in the game, and I don’t recall any discussion on the implementation.”
He hesitated. “The devs would be able to help with that.”
“I’m well aware, but as you guys run through every quest, you would know, too.”
Lucas nodded toward his workstation, and I followed him over to the table where he’d been working. He sat and logged into the database. “Is it live?”
“Yeah, apparently, or at least the first part of it is.”
“What’s it called?”
“Lord Sisyphus’s Wedding Quest.”
Lucas frowned, hesitated, and then shot a curious glance up at me. He straightened without having typed anything into the database. “Oh, that one.”
“You know it?”
“I tested it,” he admitted, standing from his chair like he wanted nothing more than to bolt from the room.
“And…? Can you give me the background on it? Who implemented, when it was implemented? Its status?”
Lucas shot me a careful look. “It, uh, came down in a batch of orders from development marked important, so I took charge of it and ran all the testing on it.”
“And where did it come from?”
He shrugged. “Where they all come from. Development.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist—or a computer programmer—to realize that he was being deliberately evasive. I folded my arms over my chest. “Is one of the devs pulling a joke on me with this? What does the quest do?”
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Uh. I’m—I’m not supposed to reveal that information.”
I blinked. “What?”
Behind me, I heard someone stand up from their console and slowly walk toward us. I was too busy skewering young Lucas with an icy glare.
Naturally, he appeared increasingly less comfortable. “Yeah, that—um—that came with the order. Confidential.”
Despite my aching head and the general frustration of the day, I smiled. “Come on, enough with the BS, man. You can tell me.”
“Hey, guys,” Kat interrupted us. “‘Sup, Adam?” She landed a faux punch right on the painful shoulder. Suppressing a wince, even though it hurt like hell, I nodded to her. Then I returned my attention to Lucas.
“Actually, you’re the last person I can tell. I was told the quest was put in there for you,” Lucas supplied.
“For me?”
Kat darted glances between the two of us, and I hoped she was wise enough to stay out of the conversation.
Lucas continued, “Maybe it’s a wedding present from the devs to you. I tested it myself last week. It’s a fun one. You should try it.”
I rolled my eyes, putting my hands on my hips. “And when would I have time for that?”
“I’m sorry, Adam. I have it on my work order.”
“I’m your boss,” I reminded in a deadpan voice. You could have heard a pin drop. Kat shifted on her feet, watching Lucas with an expression that was somewhere between concern and amusement. I folded my arms across my chest, still scrutinizing him. “I’m your boss’s boss.”
Lucas visibly paled then cleared his throat. “I think if you—”
“I’m your boss’s boss’s boss,” I overrode him.
“Adam, you’re going over the top,” Kat cut in.
I turned my glare on her. “I’m your boss, too.”
She, however, was not deterred. “But I’m best friends with your boss—a.k.a. the future wife—so I pwn you.” Despite my irritation, I had to admit her usage of the gamer term was well played. Then her nose crinkled up. “You’re so cranky today.”
I stared at her, my irritation suddenly dissipating, or maybe I was too tired to maintain it. Plus, it was a stupid thing to alienate an employee over—a dumb quest and a mystery. Especially if I was meant to figure it out myself.
Kat and I both started laughing at the exact same time.
Lucas appeared as if he might faint with relief. “This is the awkwardest situation ever.” His eyes flitted between us nervously.
My mouth quirked. “If I fired you, I wouldn’t be your boss anymore…”
His eyes went round and he paled. It’d be shame for him to soil himself because of my joke, so I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder. “Just messing with you, man.”
“You better be. Don’t make us rat you out to HR,” Kat said. Lucas and Kat exchanged a long gaze, and in that moment, even I noticed some unspoken message pass between them. I had no idea what it was. They appeared to be fairly good friends. Maybe it was an inside joke.
Once we sobered up, she continued, “You look exhausted. Maybe you need a nap. Or go relax and do the quest. If Jedi Boy says it’s good, then it probably is.”
Lucas’s face fell, and his eyes narrowed at Kat, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“All right, I’m out, then.” I was halfway to the doorway when I turned to face him. “Oh, and Lucas…may the Force be with you.” I gave him a thumbs-up and an obnoxious wink.
Due to his name, Lucas Walker—never Luke, he often emphasized—despised Star Wars references. And the more he despised them, the more he was tormented with them. As I was his boss, his boss’s boss, and his boss’s boss’s boss, he didn’t dare have a comeback for me.