Page 64 of Cocky Tech God
Mia paused, giving me reprieve. “What’s been going on? You have been…off this week.”
“It’s been an unusual week.” What else could I say? I didn’t know how to stop thinking about Hansen. Or stop wanting him. Since Marcos broke my heart, I hadn’t let myself fall for a man because I was scared of being rejected due to my inability to have a child. Now Hansen knew my truth and he still fought for me. At first, I wasn’t sure how to deal with that, now I wanted to fight for us too. And I was winded with the notion of moving through the unchartered waters of being vulnerable and trusting someone.
“What is it?” Her voice came through the speaker, clear and firm. “It’s about Hansen, isn’t it?”
I sighed. “When my phone was off part of the day yesterday…”
“Yeah…”
“I was with Hansen.” The sound of his name on my lips gave me butterflies. “We went on an excursion together.”
“Are you serious?” Her voice went up several octaves.
“Yes.” I needed to get this out of me. All of it. If I didn’t, it would rot inside me, kill me slowly.
I told her every bit of our story, leaving nothing out. Like me, she was crying when I’d finished. I needed her to soothe me. Say anything to take the pain away.
“Do you love him?” Mia’s question was sobering.
“Yes. I do.” Not a doubt in my mind about it. I loved Hansen, and I would not deny myself of something that could be a gift.
“Don’t let the pain of that asshole Marcos keep you from love. I know that’s what you want most. I’ve always known that about you, despite you having kept men at a distance from your heart. I know you’ve just been scared to let anyone in. I mean, how long did it take for you to let me in?”
I dropped my head in my hands. “A long time, Mia.”
“You’re so cool and casual, and you can charm the pants off anyone. People love you. But you always have a wall up.”
“I know.” I didn’t want that wall anymore.
“Tell Hansen how you feel after the presentation. Whatever happens, happens.
I reached a breaking point then, and it was freeing in a way I’d never expected. Cathartic. So what if I was left heartbroken again? If I could survive a miscarriage, a broken engagement, and the knowledge that my own father abandoned me, I could survive anything. Couldn’t I?
“Now, go splash some water on your face and crush that presentation. Steal it from Hansen’s pretty, yet masculine hands.”
God, she had no idea just how pretty and masculine they were.
“This is what we’ve been working on for months, Luce. You are an amazing software engineer, and an even more amazing woman. Let them know it!”
Mia was right. I’d spent my whole software engineering career working up to a moment like this.
“Now get up and go kick some serious ass,” Mia said in finality.
This was my mission. To impress Graham with how innovative my product was, and how perfectly it filled the gaps in Morgan Financial Holdings’s cadence of cybersecurity tools already in place.
My confidence grew in strength with every second I walked to the conference room. I was ready to claim what was mine. The contract and Hansen.
The conference room was packed with attendees wanting to see a showdown between four cybersecurity software companies vying for the Morgan Financial Holdings’s contract. High on a stage, I found a cardboard tent with my name and company name on the table near a podium and projector screen. All the seats were filled with the competitors except for one: Hansen. He hadn’t arrived, and the presentations would start in a matter of minutes.
I focused on navigating through my computer, pulling up my slide show when it was my turn, which I understood was to be third. Hansen was scheduled last.
My focus waned. My mind wandered from my presentation to Hansen. I glanced at the door continually with the expectation that he’d show up. He hadn’t, and this made my stomach tight with knots. Where was he? Why had he not shown up to the most important presentation of the conference? Had something happened to him?
“Good morning, everyone.” The moderator leaned against the podium. “We have a special event today. You’ll get to witness four cybersecurity companies pitch their software to Morgan Financial Holdings. Up first is Graham Morgan to say a few words before we start.”
The crowd roared. Graham nodded at me on his way to the podium. “Good morning, fellow conference attendees. Have you all had as an amazing time as I have?” The crowd roared again. “Good. Now, today I thought it would be useful to see a live presentation pitch, of course with consent from the competitors. The purpose is to showcase skill in presentation, and perhaps pique interest of company representatives who may be in the market for a product the competitors offer.
“Once we’ve heard all the presentations, I ask you to vote for who you thought had the best product for our needs. This is totally anonymous, so be honest. The winner of the contract will be notified today as soon as the votes are in by email. In addition, the winner will be given a spotlight in the World Tech Conference quarterly journal.”