Geek Mafia | Page 6

he did care. He was worried about his future.
And for that he felt like a coward.
"And then you did the only logical thing under the circumstances,"
Chloe said. "You went and got a drink."
"Yes I did."
"But are you sure they're going to vote you out tomorrow?"
"Oh yeah, they made that real clear. They already offered me two
month's severance, which is more than they have to. Plus I still own
whatever stock I've vested."
"That sucks" Chloe sympathized. "But that last part's good though,
right? You still own part of the company, so if the game takes off, you
should make some money."

"Yeah," said Paul, but he didn't sound convinced.
Neither, it turns out, was Chloe. "Of course there's probably a bunch of
different ways they can screw you on that right? Like in the movie
business where people get a percentage of the profits but no movie ever
really makes any profits because of accounting tricks and whatever. I'm
sure game companies do the same shit."
"Yeah," Paul hadn't had this particular depressing thought until now. "I
doubt they'll pay out dividends or anything as long as I'm sitting on
nine percent of the stock."
"You know what Paul? They've got you bent over good. They're giving
it to you in the ass and all that's left to negotiate is who's going to do
the moving back and forth."
"I hadn't thought of it that way. Thanks for the image."
"Have you ever been fucked in the ass Paul?" she asked, her voice dead
serious.
"You mean before today?" he asked, not sure what she was driving at.
"No, I mean actually fucked in your actual ass."
"I can't say I have no," he laughed. Ok, this is weird, he thought.
"I didn't think so." She leaned closer in, her face just a foot or so away
from his now. "And would you like to be fucked in the ass?"
"Um...no. It's not on my list of things I want to experience."
"You have a list? What's on the list?"
"Well, I, ummm..."
"We'll come back to the list. You're wondering what the hell my point
is right?"

"Um, yeah. Definitely."
"Here's the deal Paul." She put her hands over his where they rested on
the kitchen table. Again, the touch of her skin on made him squirm on
the inside - squirm in a good way. "You've just been fucked over so bad
you wanna scream. Hell, you probably already did scream. But now it's
time pick yourself up and move on. Either that, or get used to being the
bitch, right?"
"Ok, sure," said Paul. No matter how in lust with her he was with her
right now, he sure as hell wasn't about to let her do anything to or put
anything in his ass. Well, probably not. But he didn't think that things
were heading that direction.
"You don't sound convinced," she said.
"Well, I'm new to this." He smiled. "Be gentle, it's my first time."
"Don't worry, you'll learn fast." She took her hands off his, making him
immediately miss her touch, but she needed them to slice through the
air and emphasize her final point. "You know what's better Paul? Better
than lying there and taking it like a bitch? I'll tell you. It's much better
to be the one who does the fucking. Which is why I'm gonna help you
Paul. I'm gonna help you fuck those bastards 'til they can't walk straight
for a year."
"Sounds good," Paul agreed. "But how can you help me?"
"What kind of help do you need?" she replied. "I've got a lot of hidden
talents, but I can't come up with the solution for you. You have to know
what to ask for."
"I think I need a lawyer more than anything."
"Ok, say I'm a lawyer. What then?"
"You're a lawyer?"
"We'll pretend I'm a lawyer. What would a lawyer do for you?"

Paul thought about this. What would a lawyer do for him? In his
experience, not much. Real life lawyers tended to hem and haw and
beat around the bush. They seldom gave straight answers and they were
never the go-for-the-throat sharks you see in the movies. "Actually,
what I really need is someone like a TV lawyer," he said. "Someone to
go in there and threaten the whole lot of them into giving me what I
want. Make them afraid of being in court for the next decade. But that
sounds like it would cost a lot of money and probably wouldn't actually
work."
"And what is it you want, Paul?" asked Chloe. "Do you want your job
back?"
"No, not anymore. I'm pissed at being fired, but I could never work
with them again. No,