“Can we let you in on a secret, Mia?” she said confidentially. “It isn’t just that you broke through the security weaknesses in Pictogram, you also exposed Theo for who he is. A total player.”
I frowned on the inside, but tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Oh? What do you mean? I thought everyone knew he got around?”
Eunice, stroking the yorkiepoo, mused, “Yeah, everyone knows, but you brought it to life with those orgy pics. I mean, he runs through those poor models like he’s trying to win a relay race.” Her cute little dog yelped as if in agreement, panting with its mouth open. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Dooey?”
Sophie giggled. “It was all conjecture before. You know, rumors? But you found the truth, Mia, and those pictures made it concrete. Ha. Serves him right!”
Eunice leaned closer, whispering confidentially again. Clearly, these ladies had no idea that Theo and I had had two passionate sessions by now.
“Not that he has ever inappropriately crossed the line with any of his employees,” she said. “But those poor women. They were nothing to him, just big zeroes.”
I tried to laugh it off.
“Well, from what I saw in the photos, they weren’t exactly victims. The girls seemed to be having a good time.”
Both Sophie and Eunice giggled in unison then.
“That’s true. Some of those girls were in a lot of pictures from different sessions. They clearly went back for more.”
I nodded before taking a breath to speak.
“I appreciate your comments, but in all honesty, that’s not why I did it.”
The women’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“It isn’t?” asked Sophie, brows wrinkling in confusion. “Then why? Was it just for fun? Lots of hackers do stuff just to be annoying, but posting those orgy pictures was pretty far out.”
I took a deep breath.
“I know, but it was a weird revenge of sorts. I was really mixed-up myself, to be honest, because I never wanted my Marc Janow photo to trend. I never wanted to be Picto-famous or any of that. All I wanted was to be left alone, and that was taken out of my hands when Mr. Wainwright sold my photo.”
Sophie called up the ad campaign on her phone.
“Honestly, it’s an amazing shot,” she said, nodding with appreciation. “We love it. I love it because it shows your power as a woman.”
Eunice agreed. “Power as a female programmer too. That’s really rare.”
But I wanted to make them understand.
“I totally get it, and I’m happy it’s had this result, but honestly, I never intended it to blow up like this,” I explained. “My best friend Jill and I were goofing around on a sunny day, that’s all. But when Mr. Wainwright sold my image, I lost my privacy in one fell swoop.”
Both women nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, that’d be rough if you didn’t see it coming,” Sophie mused, slowly shutting off her phone.
“Now that you’ve phrased it like this,” Eunice agreed. “I don’t feel sorry for our fearless leader anymore. Maybe he had it coming. Karma can be a bitch, and you can’t be a player and never get burned. That’s just not how the world works.”
On the one hand, I appreciated their words because they were the words of female solidarity. But on the other, I wasn’t convinced because what I’d done was pretty heinous. There was a big difference between my Marc Janow sassy pose and nude orgy photos. Player or not, should the press vilify Theo for having sex with willing super models? Did he deserve the severe punishment Anonimo had doled out?
So I tried to change the subject.
“How is he as a boss?” I said curiously. “Nice? Mean? Easy to work for, or hard?”
Sophie sighed. “Both, if that makes sense. Theo is awesome because he works harder than anybody here. If you’re working fifteen hour days, then he’s working twenty. Plus, the man is dead serious about equal pay and equal work for men and women.”
Eunice nodded thoughtfully.