refreshed by the stimulus as the coffee.
There hadn't been time last night to resolve his theory of about Alice, although this had been a bit deflated by her appearance at poker. He clicked on the intranet chat application and called up the only contact on it, Uno. Uno worked in another section of the building, developing web applications. A video feed showed him, clean shaven, neat hair, shirt and tie.
"Hey. You free for lunch?" said Uno.
He always asked Martin to come out for lunch but Martin never did. The repeated question had devolved into a joke of sorts. Even with his hacking obsessions, Uno managed to maintain a pretty sociable lifestyle and lunch would have been a shared activity with many colleagues.
"Nope. Just to let you know, I didn't buy the jest last night, but it was well executed. Nice work." Martin smiled.
"Don't get ya. Once more?" Uno said, clearly genuinely puzzled.
"Good Morning Martin," came a voice from behind.
Martin swung round and looked up from his swivel seat. Gavin, his boss, was the epitome of everything Martin loathed about business. The immaculate suit, shirt and tie. Hair styled in a generic cut used by all of his rank.
"I hope everything is going well?" Gavin asked politely.
Martin gave a small shrug. He was aware that any indication of the status of his work to Gavin could be used against him. He reluctantly cut the link with Uno. A sigh deflated Gavin's posture. Pulling up a chair from nearby, he sat down. Martin stiffened. This looks bad, he thought.
"Martin, how long have you been with us?" Gavin sat forward slightly.
Martin turned to his computer and pulled up his calendar. He typed in a search and the date of his joining the company appeared. He ran up a small application and typed in the date. The answer he wanted was revealed.
"6 years, 8 months and 5 days, not including today," he replied.
Gavin had sat back in his seat by the time Martin had finished.
"That's good Martin, thank you. You have done some excellent work for us and I appreciate all of the extra effort you put in."
Gavin appeared genuine, but Martin eyed him suspiciously and said nothing.
"I am a bit worried however," Gavin added.
Here it comes, Martin thought to himself.
"I had asked for a proposal for the demonstration on Thursday, but I haven't received anything."
At this comment, Martin's throat went dry and his heart began to thud in his chest. He controlled his breathing to quell the panic attack. Seemingly only he could do the demo because of the technical content. All the escape ploys of the preceding weeks had failed. He had actually prepared meticulously, slideshow and notes finished days ago, but he had stalled in admitting this to Gavin. Somehow the act would form a commitment he couldn't take. He hoped ridiculously for the chance Gavin would forget or the world might end.
"I really think you need to get someone else." Martin didn't add an explanation as he had tried them all already.
"I need you to do this for me, we have discussed that fully. I am sorry if you are finding it difficult but let's just get it done and see how it goes." Gavin's voice was kind.
Martin looked at the floor. He couldn't get out of this. He turned back to his computer.
"I want you to have a break until the day. Take it easy. You work too hard and we owe you plenty of time. Remember, I will be there to help,"
Martin shrugged and remained gazing at his code, faking that he was engrossed in some sort of problem. Gavin left without further comment, seeing Martin was not going to be receptive. Martin took a deep breath as his body relaxed. It was a true phobia. He had shifted and squirmed and wangled his way out of most encounters with public speaking over the years. Strangely, there wasn't a time he could remember when anything horrible had happened. It was irrational and that vexed him.
As he looked at the screen, lost in thought, a pattern appeared in the columns of numbers displayed that he hadn't seen before.
There hadn't been time last night to resolve his theory of about Alice, although this had been a bit deflated by her appearance at poker. He clicked on the intranet chat application and called up the only contact on it, Uno. Uno worked in another section of the building, developing web applications. A video feed showed him, clean shaven, neat hair, shirt and tie.
"Hey. You free for lunch?" said Uno.
He always asked Martin to come out for lunch but Martin never did. The repeated question had devolved into a joke of sorts. Even with his hacking obsessions, Uno managed to maintain a pretty sociable lifestyle and lunch would have been a shared activity with many colleagues.
"Nope. Just to let you know, I didn't buy the jest last night, but it was well executed. Nice work." Martin smiled.
"Don't get ya. Once more?" Uno said, clearly genuinely puzzled.
"Good Morning Martin," came a voice from behind.
Martin swung round and looked up from his swivel seat. Gavin, his boss, was the epitome of everything Martin loathed about business. The immaculate suit, shirt and tie. Hair styled in a generic cut used by all of his rank.
"I hope everything is going well?" Gavin asked politely.
Martin gave a small shrug. He was aware that any indication of the status of his work to Gavin could be used against him. He reluctantly cut the link with Uno. A sigh deflated Gavin's posture. Pulling up a chair from nearby, he sat down. Martin stiffened. This looks bad, he thought.
"Martin, how long have you been with us?" Gavin sat forward slightly.
Martin turned to his computer and pulled up his calendar. He typed in a search and the date of his joining the company appeared. He ran up a small application and typed in the date. The answer he wanted was revealed.
"6 years, 8 months and 5 days, not including today," he replied.
Gavin had sat back in his seat by the time Martin had finished.
"That's good Martin, thank you. You have done some excellent work for us and I appreciate all of the extra effort you put in."
Gavin appeared genuine, but Martin eyed him suspiciously and said nothing.
"I am a bit worried however," Gavin added.
Here it comes, Martin thought to himself.
"I had asked for a proposal for the demonstration on Thursday, but I haven't received anything."
At this comment, Martin's throat went dry and his heart began to thud in his chest. He controlled his breathing to quell the panic attack. Seemingly only he could do the demo because of the technical content. All the escape ploys of the preceding weeks had failed. He had actually prepared meticulously, slideshow and notes finished days ago, but he had stalled in admitting this to Gavin. Somehow the act would form a commitment he couldn't take. He hoped ridiculously for the chance Gavin would forget or the world might end.
"I really think you need to get someone else." Martin didn't add an explanation as he had tried them all already.
"I need you to do this for me, we have discussed that fully. I am sorry if you are finding it difficult but let's just get it done and see how it goes." Gavin's voice was kind.
Martin looked at the floor. He couldn't get out of this. He turned back to his computer.
"I want you to have a break until the day. Take it easy. You work too hard and we owe you plenty of time. Remember, I will be there to help,"
Martin shrugged and remained gazing at his code, faking that he was engrossed in some sort of problem. Gavin left without further comment, seeing Martin was not going to be receptive. Martin took a deep breath as his body relaxed. It was a true phobia. He had shifted and squirmed and wangled his way out of most encounters with public speaking over the years. Strangely, there wasn't a time he could remember when anything horrible had happened. It was irrational and that vexed him.
As he looked at the screen, lost in thought, a pattern appeared in the columns of numbers displayed that he hadn't seen before.
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