Medrine Habitica 01-05-2023

Prompt: [http://Short_Stories_%26_Prompts:1_Prompt_A_Week/prompt FINISH THE STORY - It was a Monday morning. I was at work, sitting at my desk. Then, suddenly, the phone rang. It was boss, and he said “Come into my office right this instant!” I shrugged and thought to myself, “What did I do now?” I then went to my boss’s office, my palms sweating and my body trembling. I was very nervous, given the fact that my boss had given me a warning last week for failing to meet a deadline. I was given one more week to finish the assignment, and I was nowhere near done. When I finally arrived at my boss’s office, I asked him, “What is it now?” He then gave me a dirty look and replied…]

Out For Blood

[http://Short_Stories_%26_Prompts:1_Prompt_A_Week/prompt It was a Monday morning. I was at work, sitting at my desk. Then, suddenly, the phone rang. It was the boss, and he said, "Come into my office right this instant!" I shrugged and thought to myself, "What did I do now?" I then went to my boss's office, my palms sweating and my body trembling. I was very nervous, given the fact that my boss had given me a warning last week for failing to meet a deadline. I was given one more week to finish the assignment, and I was nowhere near done. When I finally arrived at my boss's office, I asked him, "What is it now?" He gave me a dirty look and replied], "Now? Perhaps, 'still' would be a better choice." His tone was biting and the scathing glare sent shivers down my spine. My nerves mixed with my helpless frustration. Right, I reminded myself. Why should I be so nervous, I was unbelievably fed up with this place. Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury of leaving. As much as I hated being here, I had student loans to repay, child support, and a sick mother in the hospital. Dear God, I could only imagine Vanessa's face if she heard I got fired from my job. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Let the ass-kissing begin. "Listen, Dave. I have been working on this algorithm all week, there is just something off about it. I have approached it from so many angles and...." His face turned beet red and his fist was clenched so tightly, it looked like it might explode. "I don't give a good damn. Do you think the client cares for explanations? No! They want results. You said one more week and you still haven't delivered. So guess what, I am giving the project to Lana." Lana? What the hell? Crap. This was bad. The back of my neck burned. I stared into the boss's furious face and realized there was no arguing at this moment. I would have to try and salvage the situation once he calmed down. Turning, I walked out of his office until I hit Lana's cubical. She looked up sweetly, her brown, doe eyes twinkling with mirth, "Hey, James, listen to this. Trevor just sent a hilarious joke to me. 'Why are obtuse triangles always upset?'" She paused for effect and I shrugged my shoulders. "'Because they are never right!' Isn't that great?" She doubled over in laughter. Despite myself, I felt the corner of my mouth turn up. She was such a dork. I threw myself into a nearby office chair and wheeled over to her. "So, Lana..." I dropped my head in my hands and felt her immediately respond with a hand on my shoulder. "James, what's wrong?" I peeked through my hands and saw her worried expression. My brain started spinning through conversation paths. Guilt rose up but I pushed it down. I had no choice. "Lana, I need a..." I was interrupted by a loud voice. "What's going on, Jamie?" I turned to see Trevor standing behind me. He dropped both hands onto my shoulders and squeezed tightly. I felt Lana release me and sit back in her chair. Dammit. I sat up straight. "Hey, Lana!" He smiled broadly at her. " I was thinking about grabbing a latte downstairs. Do you want anything? She smiled shyly at him and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Sure. I would love a mocha, small, please." She leaned back in her chair and switched her attention back to me. "Actually, why don't we go down with you? I think James could use a breath of fresh air too." "Ah, the 'Hershey' client. Yeah, what a crap assignment," Trevor responded. "Wasn't that due last week?" Lana grimaced, "Actually, I think it was two weeks ago. It happens to the best of us, James." My eyes darted between Trevor and Lana. Crap. They both knew. And now that Lana had put it out there, I lost all my leverage. I ran my hand through my hair. "You know, I think I just want to be alone for a while. I'll pass on the coffee this time." I stood up and kicked the chair gruffly back into place. Lana placed a hand on my wrist and stopped me. "Seriously, James. It happens. Don't let it get to you," she reiterated. I glanced over my shoulder at her sincere eyes. I knew she meant well and she was just doing her job but I was having a hard time keeping my temper in check. This was all Trevor's fault. Why did he have to interrupt? To help Lana out or from simple jealousy? Either way, his timing could not have been worse. I walked away muttering under my breath, "If he screwed up my career just because I was chatting up Lana, I'll..." But I could not think of an empty threat to follow. "What a dick," I finished.

I punched in the code to my condo and cracked open the door. "What a day," I complained as I tossed down my bag by the worn, grey shoe cupboard. To make matters worse, I knew my daily call was coming. I made my way to the living area and dropped into a black leather chair. Kicking my feet up on the glass table, I waited, watching the clock. Click, 7:00 PM popped onto the screen. As if connected by a magical thread, a buzzing notification alerted me to the incoming call. With a groan and a flick of my forefinger, I answered. "Hey." "James? You there?" A small voice whispered. "Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?" "Oh, not much." The voice cracked weakly. "How are you feeling today, Mom?" I tried to stifle a yawn. "Pretty crappy." "Oh?" I tried to act surprised. "What's wrong?" "Well, I'm still here." I heard a grunt like she was struggling to sit up. "Every day I pray I won't wake up, but I guess God still wants to keep me here." I heard this refrain every damn day. If she really wanted to die, all she had to do was stop taking the thousands of dollars of medication, I thought. Instead, she waited for some higher power to make the decision for her. "I'm sorry to hear that," I responded. "But you know, I am happy you are still here." There was a minute of silence before she finally continued. "Well, I guess you can be happy then." I was struggling to continue this today. "Mom, I'm really sorry. I had a tough day at work and I still have quite a lot to get done. Mind if we cut this short today?" "Oh, sure, Baby." The voice had become suddenly stronger. As though realizing a mistake, she quickly retreated back into the safety of her fragility. "I'm sure I'll still be here tomorrow." "Okay, then. Love you." "Love you too, James." I waited just long enough to ensure the end of her goodbye and hung up. Pinching the bridge of my nose to alleviate an oncoming headache, I sprawled out in the chair and absorbed the silence. Maybe if I managed to finish up the algorithm by tomorrow morning, I could keep Dave from handing it off. Technically, I had already started the hand-off. I set the files up with permissions for her but I had yet to send her the encryption key. Then again with how booked up she was, what were the odds that Lana had time to start it already? I massaged my glabella. The headache started to subside and I felt like I was drifting off. After the day I had, I decided to embrace the rest.

A dull buzzing woke me. I fought my eyes open and, as my conscious state woke, I realized I was receiving a message. Retrieving the message, I groaned upon recognition. "Oh, great. Vanessa," I muttered. I quickly read through the contents. 'James, we need to chat. Kaiden is going on a school trip next month. As per the agreement, you are responsible for 50%. Please deposit $580 into his account by the 20th. Feel free to notify me if any complications arise.' I huffed. The joy of joint custody with a lawyer. Still, why had Kaiden not mentioned the trip? I pulled up his contact and sent a quick message. 'Hey, Bud. Your mom told me you have a trip. Where are you going?' I only waited a few seconds before a reply came. 'nowhere exciting. some place in CA? I think...' I rolled my eyes. This kid had no idea how to enjoy things. "Spoiled child," I muttered. I tossed the phone aside and grabbed my laptop. I booted up and waited for the company security screen to pop up. I entered my credentials and accessed the server. Clicking on the 'Hershey' file, I waited for the Password screen to load. My fingers danced across the keyboard, entering the familiar password. I heard a ping as an unexpected window popped up. 'Incorrect Password' I broke out in a cold sweat. A realization swept over me. These buttwipes locked me out. A red haze clouded my eyes as my blood pressure rose. Dave... Suddenly, a sweet realization swept over me and I felt incredibly at peace. Oh, Dave... Oh, Dave. Looks like the joke was on him. I regularly encrypted all my work. And not just this client, but all of my clients. So without the key, without all the keys, they had nothing. I sneered. My skin prickled at the idea of walking into his office tomorrow and making him beg for the key. I logged out, gently shut the laptop, and went to seek a pleasant night's sleep.

The next morning, Dave called me into his office as predicted. I entered and saw Lana lounging in the corner chair. "Morning, James," she said. She had a bright smile on but was clearly exhausted. "James, take a seat," Dave barked. I slid into a chair next to Lana and smiled broadly at her. I was thrilled that she was going to witness to Dave's begging. "Morning, Lana, Dave. What's going on?" I asked innocently. I watched as Dave sneered. He gestured to Lana. "Lana started on the 'Hershey' files yesterday, James. Or should I say, she tried to start on them." I sat back in the chair patiently. Yesterday, this guy had me sweating buckets, but looking at him today I wondered why I had been so scared of him. Say it, Dave. I will not offer anything for free, I thought. "I need the encryption key," Lana stated brightly. I turned to Lana and grinned back at her. "Oh, right, the encryption key. I actually logged on yesterday to finish the transfer, but I realized I was locked out, Dave." My eyes stayed locked with Lana's as I spoke. The smile ebbed from her face. "Why the hell do you even have it encrypted in the first place?" Dave screamed. I turned to look at him. He was turning purple. "We have important clients. It is only responsible to encrypt. People's lives depend on it, right?" Dave's eyes were shaking in anger. A vein popped on his forehead. "Give Lana the damn encryption key or you are fired!" Dave stood and leaned onto his desk. I could see spittle flying from his mouth like a rabid dog. I could not help myself. I started laughing in his face. This dipwad still thought he had the power. "You know, Dave. Like I said, I encrypt all my work. You fire me and all of that work it lost. How are you going to explain that to your clients?" I smirked at him and crossed my leg. "Somehow, I don't think you should be threatening me." "James..." Lana's voice quivered. "Seriously, the people on board that space station..." I turned to Lana and interrupted her. "Of course, but nothing will happen right away. Dave just needs to start asking nicely and stop threatening me." I turned back to Dave and added. "He needs to realize that he can't fire me." Dave collapsed back in his chair. He was huffing. He was studying me, trying with his pea brain to solve the problem. Finally, he gestured surrender and took a deep breath of resignation. I smirked. That's right, Dave. I won. "You're fired," he stated calmly. My brow jumped. "Whu- what?" My face flushed. He issued a false laugh. "You will give us all of the encryption passwords as you leave because, number 1, you wouldn't let anyone die and, number 2, if you don't, you will never work in this industry ever again." He leaned back. I jumped out of my chair and marched out of the office. As I left, I screamed back, "You'll regret this!"

I sat on my black leather chair watching the news and felt my phone buzzing. Another message from Vanessa. I groaned. I did not even need to read it to know what it was about. Kaiden was leaving for his trip today and she had been very upset about my inability to cover half of the cost. She used every opportunity to remind me of my current financial deficiency. I ignored the message and waited for my call. I watched the clock switch to seven and heard the phone buzz. I answered. "Hey, Mom." "James, you there?" "I'm here. How are you?" "Oh, I am not doing so well." I opened my mouth to respond when a small blurb ran across the bottom of the screen. ~ The ISS has had an emergency system update after a small system failure. No one was injured. ~ "I'm sorry to hear that, Mom."

THE END