Chapter 1

There’s a retirement party in the office and Clara is serving chocolate cake to employees. We’re a tech company, so there’s an unspoken philosophy that retirements are good because they make way for younger talent. Maybe that’s why Clara is in a good mood.

Later that afternoon I’m called to her office. She’s my boss, the Chief Technology Officer, and I’m her top data analyst. Our location is designed like a campus and she’s on the fifth floor of one of the buildings. When I enter her office, she’s sitting behind her desk with a sour expression, unlike the party earlier.

“Brightening job market,” she says. “At least for the AI market. That’s what’s wrong.”

I sit in front of her desk, she looks straight at me. No smile, nothing.

“Aren’t strong job markets a good thing?”

“It means employees have options.”

Right away I know what Clara is talking about. Tight job markets have people hanging on for dear life. They do everything they can to avoid getting fired, no matter how much shit they have to take from other people, anything beats getting let go.

On the flip side you’ve got booming job markets where people leave like it’s nothing. Hate your boss? Coworkers? Better deal somewhere else? Gone in a heartbeat. You also have ‘revenge quitting’ where people don’t give the courtesy of advanced notice.

Clara clasps her hands together. “Listen, the reason I called you here is because some of our best young talents are leaving. Two have already left. I’m talking about the AI division, the future of all tech companies, and we’re being outspent by competitors. Get what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, I get it. What does the CEO say?”

“Exactly what I’m telling you now. We need to do better on talent retention. Make sense?”

“Makes total sense.”

Clara smiles. “We’d appreciate if you could make the employees feel more welcome around here. Especially the younger ones, they have less loyalty. You know, be friendly. Make them feel appreciated.”

“Sure, but you remember that I work in data analytics, right?”

“You’re also very attractive.”

The unflinching look in her eyes and tone in her voice are suggestive. She doesn’t add anything after that, she lets her statement hang in the air for me to digest. She doesn’t break eye contact either. I’ve always known Clara to be ruthless at business, how else is a woman supposed to climb the ranks? But this?

“Well, then I’ll be serving coffee and donuts tomorrow.”

I give a rosy smile, hoping that’s what she meant, but she doesn’t smile back.

“Be serious,” she says. “We both know what I’m talking about.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Let’s just say I’ve spent time on my knees.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Praying, you mean.”

“Yes, I was praying. Are you on board or not?”

“Anything to support this company.”

For the last few days I’ve looked into the people who’ve left, hearing they went to a rival company that’s pumping more money into AI than we are. I’m also hearing that several of our brightest are looking at accepting offers elsewhere. There’s an unspoken rule between tech companies that we don’t poach each other’s talent, but dangling offers are fair game.

Clara identified three women she wanted me to speak with. They’re young, talented, and they’re adept in machine learning. Like it or not, women are highly sought for tech roles. It makes the company more gender diverse and wards off lawsuits.

Mid-morning after running errands, I approach Josephine Chau for a quick word. She’s typing on her laptop in the open space work area. She’s meticulously dressed in a thin cotton sweater and jeans pants. While others are busy talking from a distance, now is the best time to have this awkward conversation, whatever this conversation is supposed to be.

“How’s everything?” I ask.

She looks up at me and smiles, a warm expression. She’s the shy type, we’ve spoken several times at company parties, but never about work.

“I’m doing well, thank you for asking.”

The awkwardness kicks in and I sit on the edge of the table, scooting closer so the guys in the area can’t hear us.

“Just so you know, you’re a valued member here. We appreciate your contributions. I know that some of your work may go unnoticed, but I can assure you, the future looks bright for you.”

She looks puzzled, but she’s also thinking, like she knows something.

“What made you say that?” she asks.

“Clara wanted me to convey this message, to be honest.”

“Yep, the CTO has eyes on you. You must be doing something right.”

The curious look on Josephine Chau’s face changes into something else…

“So this is one of those deals?” she asks.

“You can say that. The boss likes you.”

Josephine’s mouth hangs a little and her lips move. Her eyes start to come alive. I swear this scrawny computer geek is becoming horny. Maybe I’m misinterpreting things.

“Follow me for a second?” she says.

“Sure, if you want.”

First she looks around to make sure no one is watching. Then she opens the desk drawer and grabs a small box and her phone, then she has me follow her. There’s this giddy expression on her face that makes me question this whole situation.

When she leads me into the bathroom I try keeping an open mind. Maybe she has a personal gripe with someone and wants this confidential. Maybe there’s a sexual harassment situation and the bathroom is where she can be honest. But when she looks at me, she’s trying to hide a nervous smile.

“Okay, so I’ve heard about this deal,” she says. “Honestly I’ve always thought you were so pretty. Can we work out a deal perhaps?”

“What did you have in mind?”

Josephine opens the box to reveal a small device, a bright rose flower that looks battery-powered. I know a vibrator when I see one. I’ve just never seen one with that shape or design. An actual design of a rose. And she’s presenting it to me.

“This is something we use in the office, you know, between the girls. It can be remote controlled with an app, which is a lot of fun.”

“Why are you showing this to me?”

She looks borderline terrified, as if she’d misjudged the situation, which she has. She composes herself, stands upright and tosses her raven black hair behind her shoulders, knowing she has a degree of leverage.

“I’ve always wanted to control someone,” she says. “Usually I’m the one who gets buzzed at work. It would be kinda cool to try it on someone else.”

“Does upper-management know?”

She gulps. “I thought there was an understanding. I assumed that’s why they sent you… or have I made the biggest mistake of my life?”

I look at the flower-shaped toy that Josephine Chau holds in her hand. She’s like a deer in headlights wondering if she’s ruined her career and reputation. I could destroy her if I wanted. One report and she’d be done in this industry. But I’m not like that. I want to climb the ladder as much as anyone else.

And I realize my boss sent me here for a reason. For this. What an insult.

“Does it hurt?” I ask.

“No, no, not at all. It looks scary, but it’s designed for comfort. Are you going to try?”

I stare at the thing, having never used one before.

“Maybe another time,” I say.

Josephine closes the box and holds it behind her back, like she revealed a secret she shouldn’t have. Her face blushes and her eyes dart around, looking anywhere except at me.

“I’m sure we can find another way to accommodate you. I’ll talk to Clara.”

We leave the bathroom trying to act normal. Of course, it’s easier for me than her, Josephine is the one dealing with the shame of holding a vibrator in a box. She goes to her desk and pretends like nothing happened, but I can tell she’s jittery.

There was a compromise of sorts. Josephine and a few women in the AI department were given a private workspace to do their thing. To my knowledge, that was enough to convince them to stay, instead of leaving for a better salary.

I thought my role was done until I get a text from Clara telling me to visit them. Something about making sure the ‘brats’ are behaving in their private world. At least this breaks the monotony of looking at the screen all day in my office.

Fourth floor. Down the hall. Engineering building. The place has glass walls with frost, so you can see people’s shoes if they’re inside, but you can’t see what they’re doing.

I knock and open the door, a nude blonde with massively-framed glasses is sitting behind a laptop. Lexi. She’s a young engineer and her style of glasses are recognizable a mile away. Three other young women are also nude and they’re standing around Lexi’s laptop discussing something. There’s a board with formulas written. Coffee and electronics are scattered across the table.

Their jaws drop when they see me and I can hear their gasps. Their hands cover their breasts and crotches, one girl grabs her clothes from the table and starts getting dressed.

“Oh my god,” Josephine says. “We… we didn’t know you were coming.”

I turn my head away. “Should I wait outside?”

I step into the hallway, listening to the sound of clothes ruffling, footsteps, the wheels on the chair moving around. It makes sense why they wanted an office for themselves. I understand what they get from their deal. The ability to work freely on their project, and the ability to… whatever…

Josephine steps into the hallway with me in disheveled clothes and she’s breathing heavily from rushing. She’s also holding a box. I peek into their workspace and see two naked girls staring in my direction with bewilderment.

“Sorry about that,” she says.

I take a closer look at the box she’s holding. From an internet search the other day, I found that it’s a Mooligirl device, rose shaped vibrators that can be controlled via phone apps. For sex partners to play erotic games. So why is she holding it now? Right in front of me.

“There must be a misunderstanding,” I say.

“Clara said you’d be interested.”

“Why is that a conversation topic?”

“Ummm… because we requested an office sub,” Josephine says. “That was a term we had. Or else, you know, we’ve gotten good offers at other places.”