Page 29 of Paradigm

“You got me.”

“Oh, please… I had you from the moment our hands touched.”

“Maybe,” Eline said with a laugh. “But when you realized that we were in the same program and both wanted to be software engineers, you started bragging about some app you’d built, and you then spent an hour showing it to me over dinner. You were so cute and proud of yourself.”

“Well, if it worked once, I guess, maybe I should try it again. Do you know how insanely complex it is to build a language translation app with as many languages as we offer, as well as all of the features?”

“No, I had no idea,” Eline said sarcastically.

“Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn’t, because the only one you’ve built has been riddled with bugs that I then had to report,” Eline teased.

“Oh, I see how it is.” Arlowe chuckled. “That’s how it’s going to be?”

“Who’s running your QE team? Or do you even have one? Hard to tell because things keep slipping through those very wide cracks in your code, Arlowe Romano.”

Arlowe shook her head and said, “Think you can build it better?”

“I think I might be able to at least fix a few things that might have escaped your notice, yes,” Eline tossed back.

“Oh, yeah? Want to make a little wager on that?”

Their drinks arrived then, but Arlowe didn’t look up at the waitress, who also set a menu down on the table between them.

“A wager?” Eline asked.

“Yeah. We skip the drinks. I can make us some at my place, but we go back there, go into my garage where I’ve got some old stuff set up, and we see what you can spot in my code.”

“You want to skip the drinks we just ordered?”

“You always liked my drinks better than the ones we got at a bar anyway.” Arlowe raised her hand in the air, and the waitress, who hadn’t gone far, walked back over. “I’m sorry. Can we get our check? Something came up, and we’ve got to run.”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

“I didn’t even say yes, Arlowe,” Eline said, laughing.

“You were going to. I could tell. I’ll even pull up a random game level that you haven’t seen yet. It’s in QE now, and I’ll give you the specific section that I built. If you find even one thing in there, I’ll make us margaritas, which I know you like more than these.”

“That’s the wager? One drink?”

“If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears.”

Eline squinted and said, “You can’t steal the salt off my glass.”

Arlowe laughed, remembering how she used to pinch her fingers together and take the salt from the rim of Eline’s glass just to mess with her.

“I’ll even give you extra salt and not touch it.”

“What do I get if I win?”

“The knowledge that you’ve found an error in my code,” Arlowe suggested.

“Honestly, that would be a good prize that I can hold over you forever.”

Eline winked at her, and Arlowe liked how she had just used the word forever. She nodded in response, and when the check came, she paid it.

CHAPTER 10