“So, Daniel, how’d it go?”


    His boss, Max Scott, looked at him from the comfort of his chair, on the other side of the large desk that took up most of his office. This time, he hadn’t called him to the big conference room like before, where others were expected and where his blonde secretary had eyed him with her greasy stare. Now they were in Max’s office.


    It wasn’t a huge space, but it was arranged so Max could do everything without moving much or bumping into unnecessary objects. Behind him was a window with the blinds drawn to keep the sun off his screen. In front of him sat a laptop and a wide, mostly empty desk. Across from him were chairs, one of which Daniel occupied. Near the door was a small sofa, where Daniel imagined the secretary had sat more than once—probably without underwear.


    “At the park, Mr. Scott?”


    “Please, just call me Max or Scott. Drop the ‘mister.’ We know each other.” He smiled, satisfied. And that was never a good sign. “Yeah, the park. Which part were you in?”


    “The Wild West one. You got off after us in the modern section, right?” Daniel preempted him.


    “Oh, yeah, you saw. It was great. I didn’t believe the robots would feel so real. But after the first day, it got a bit boring. There wasn’t much to do. And the robots started getting pushy, sticking their noses where they didn’t belong. Honestly, I wouldn’t go back.”


    “Uh-huh,” Daniel replied, not eager to recount his experience or discuss the park. He was waiting for the real reason Max had called him here.


    Max leaned forward.


    “I want to ask you, man to man, not as a colleague… Did you try anything with one of the robots?”


    “For what?” Daniel knew what he meant but played dumb. He wanted to be sure.


    “You know what.” Max grinned and winked. “Look, I’ll tell you—” He glanced around as if worried someone might overhear in his tiny office. “I slept with one of the robots. It felt… How do I put it? Weird, but damn close to the real thing.”


    “What about the one you were with?” Daniel knew it wasn’t polite to ask, but he did anyway.


    “Brooke? Please. It’s like going to the beach in summer with your wife. Pointless. Brooke was…” Max paused to think. “A backup, just in case.”


    “But you were with her.”


    “Yeah. She had a good time too. Spent all day lounging by some pool while robots brought her cocktails. From what I hear, she took one—or sometimes two—of those robots back to her room. She enjoyed herself.” Max looked down, then up again with his sly grin. “By the way, it was weird seeing robots in swimsuits with black gloves. They need to figure out how to fix that. It’s… illogical. With those big ball gowns in your section, it might’ve been less noticeable, but in ours, it stood out. Especially in spots where there wasn’t much clothing. The robots aren’t perfect yet. Maybe Barnes is working on it. I hope he is.”


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Max Scott might not have realized it, but Daniel had zero interest in listening. If Max thought they were buddies, Daniel was far from that idea. But he doubted this was why he’d been called in. There was something else. So he nodded and waited for Max to get to the point.


    “Daniel, I’m not mad at you.”


    Daniel looked up, confused.


    “For the tickets.”


    “I couldn’t give them to you.”


    “You could’ve. You just shouldn’t have asked the company. But it’s done now. I’m really not mad. I think you wanted to, but they wouldn’t let you. That’s it.”


    “Yeah. I even asked.”


    “Right, right. Listen, Daniel, there’s something else.” Max pulled some papers toward him and started folding their edges with his finger. “While you were gone this week—and me too, I guess—some changes happened at the firm.”


    Here it comes. Daniel didn’t even want to hear it.


    He’d either double his workload, chew him out for something, or dock his pay. Max Scott was that kind of person and boss. He always played the friend card with everyone. Daniel had seen through him long ago.


    “Do you know Stella McIntyre?”


    “Stella? She’s in my department.” Of course he knew her. He’d been gone a week, not years. Though a lot had happened in that week.


    Max studied him.


    “Well, Stella found a firm somewhere that’s willing to trust our services. A very serious firm. They talked to my partners, and it all seemed legit.”


    “Yeah, she mentioned that to me before I left. But she didn’t call it a firm—just some friends of hers.”


    “Right, right. Same thing, pretty much. They’re her friends, but they’re also a serious company ready to invest big in a mobile app. And they want us to handle everything.”


    “That’s great. I’ll talk to Stella about getting her a team.”


    Max smiled and leaned back. His look wasn’t friendly anymore. He was pleased about something, and Daniel was about to find out why.


    “Stella’s already been spoken to last week. I know it’s over your head, but things have to move even when you’re not around. No one can wait for the team leader to finish his fun, right?”


    Daniel wished Jasper were here. He always had the right words for moments like this—usually not the kindest ones. Max Scott’s arrogance deserved a response, but Daniel couldn’t deliver it.


    “So now what?” he asked, though he knew the answer.


    “Well, I tried to help you, Daniel. But Stella’s friendly firm wants to work mainly with her.”


    “And you’re promoting her.”


    Max shook his head.


    “For now, just on this project. Which means you need to step aside.”


    If he could compare this to the moment he read Emma’s letter saying she was leaving him, this hurt more. Not because of Stella—he respected her; she’d never wronged him—but because of Max Scott. He was sure Max had a hand in it. And it definitely tied back to not giving him those tickets.


    “I know this sucks for you,” Max said calmly. “So I can offer to move you to another team.”


    “As what?”


    “As a team member. Sorry, Daniel, but I can’t replace another team leader with you.”


    “But you can make Stella take my spot.”


    “We can. The company comes first, above all of us. Tomorrow, this could happen to me. The client’s always right.” Max sat back, hands clasped over his chest. “To show you I’m still good to you, I’ll raise your pay. Not by much, but it’s something.”


    “In exchange for going back to where I was five years ago?”


    “Well, yeah, if you put it that way. But with a better salary.” He spread his palms.


    Max Scott’s smile was one of the things that stuck in Daniel’s mind long after that conversation.