My Boss' Revenge (Closed for Shadowlace)

[Rocket1011]

Tom Jansen walked to his professor's office excited that this was his last semester of college. It had been a long haul and now he could see the end, expecting to receive his master's degree at the end of the semester. One of the last assignments was to do an internship in the field of gaming, one of many different uses for his computer science degree. He also figured since this was his last semester, he could slide through the program and it would be a breeze.

Professor Grayson smiled when Tom walked into his office. He recognized him as one of the brighter students with a bright future ahead of him. He was attentive in class and helped some of his classmates when they worked on an assignment together. Even though he thought Tom was ready for the real world, the professor knew Tom had a lot to learn and figured this internship would be good for him to learn from some of the best and brightest programmers and coders.

The professor outlined the internship and was a bit hesitant, afraid he might be taken aback, when he told him he may be required to do some menial office tasks. He saw the disappointment on Tom's face when he mentioned basic office work like copying and running errands. The professor explained that the owners were about his age, never pursured a college degree but were excellent computer programmers and coders and they were not going to trust him until he proved himself.

Tom was a bit dejected but knew he had to do some kind of internship. He told himself to give it a shot and listened as the professor told him he was sure that if Tom put his best foot he might have the opportunity to be hired after graduation as a personal assistant. The professor finished his spiel, telling Tom to keep focused and good things will come of this internship.

The building was in the old warehouse district overlooking the river and downtown. The sign, Dragon's Breath Games, A Subsidiary of Dragon's Breath Software was placed on the brick building's wall next to an entrance door. The sign looked new and he took a moment to gather his thoughts before entering. He was told to report to the receptionist and she would direct him to the right person.

Tom walked into the cool air conditioned outer office, seeing a pretty brunette sitting behind a desk. He introduced himself and she gave him a welcoming smile. "Please follow me Mr. Jansen."

When they arrived at a conference room large enough to hold 20 or more people, she told him, "Please have a seat Mr. Jansen. I will let her know you have arrived."

Tom sat at the large conference table wondering who the receptionist was going to get. He looked around the room at the pictures of who he supposed was the staff and wondered which one was the owner. As he waited, he felt a little nervous, not knowing what he was gettiing into and wondering if he was really qualified for the intership.

 

[Shadowlace]

She was running late. The early morning file dump went longer, and her lovely team had already found a major error. Ginger Jefferson was over it. Now she was having to look over an Intern the Prof had sent her. Though old, he was a great coder. The Prof had always admired her after she updated his work with a solid few lines of extra code. She consulted with him frequently. His breadth of experience helped enhance her self-taught coding skills. So she promised to take on his recommendation for an intern.

This led Ginger to be in this predicament. Lisbeth had texted her that her intern had arrived. Lisbeth was a godsend, but she wasn't a robot, hence the intern. The British lady was part assistant, part older sister. Since her partner Dorian had assigned her the task, Ginger had gone from basement dwelling, failed egirl to the resplendent beauty. It sucked Ginger preferred her Wonder Woman PJ pants and tank top, Dorian and Lisbeth both told her investors don't care to see someone as important as Ginger shouldn't look like a Broke College student. So, Lisbeth, with the company card, got Ginger a whole new wardrobe, corrective contacts, and a stylist. Letting the beauty that was already there bloom.

Ginger honestly wished she had a Lisbeth back in grade school. The red-haired girl could have had more confidence in herself and maybe dared to push back instead of making the game that skyrocketed her to prominence, followed by that her code helped patch another completely unrelated code. So Ginger was hired, which led to the formation of Dragon's Breath Software. It skyrocketed to the height of software charts, and now Ginger has finally gotten her gaming studio. Which was where she needed the most help. One game was done. Her original one is a pixel-based high school horror survival game. Now she was working on an MMORPG. Lisbeth wouldn't be the one to help her with the coders. She also wasn't one to help with the creatives, as she instead kept up with the Software company. The Intern would help with the Gaming.

"He is in the conference room, Ms.Ginger, "Lisbeth says as she passes with files in her hand. Ginger smiled.

"Thanks, Lis, you are the best," Ginger said as she got to the conference and opened the door. She enters, looking down at her tablet and her Spider-Man Coffee mug. Once inside, she sets down her tablet and mug.

"Welcome, I'm Ginger Jefferson, CCO of Dragon's Breath Software and CCO of Dragon's Breath Gaming. You are the one recommended by The Prof...I mean Professor Richard Grayson, and you...are...Tom?" Ginger said at first, confident, then, when she got a good look, it was Tom. One of the bullies in high school. He wasn't a computer nerd; Tom was the opposite of a computer nerd. Why would Dick send him? It was unnerving but she quickly composed herself. She had had worse meetings since.

" So you went into IT. Good for you. Now you are to intern here," She paused as she held out her hand to shake and began to think. She could use this to her advantage. Tom would be her intern, and she could make him do all the menial and disgusting jobs around here.

"So tell me, Tom, what led you to IT, What are you looking for out of this internship, and how can you benefit this company?" She asks, offering a seat next to her so she can hear him. As well as give him a good look at her new look and style.

 

[Rocket1011]

Tom could feel his hands becoming a bit clammy as he waited for the person who would welcome him to his intership. When the door to the conference room finally opened his mouth dropped open when he saw the young redheaded beauty walk into the room. He was still process her beautiy when he heard her tell him welcome and introduced herself as Ginger Jefferson, CCO of Dragon's Breath Software and CCO of Dragon's Breath Gaming.

He listened as she told him about Professor Richard Grayson's recommendation. There was something about her facial features when she said, ".... and you...are...Tom?" The emphasis on his name was as if she knew him. But he was sure he didn't know her. His mind zipped through the last few years of college and he couldn't recall any girl at the college looking as beautiful and sexy as her.

He remembered Professor Grayson telling him the owners of the gaming company didn't get a college degree. They were young and very smart when it came to coding and programming. As she seemed to hesitate, he reckoned she was about the same age as himself. In that moment of silence her again tried to remember if he had met her somewhere but then he was pulled from his thoughts when she started asking questions.

He smiled when she told him "So you went into IT. Good for you. Now you are to intern here," Taking her small hand when she offered it to him, he felt how soft it was and how it fit nicely in his hand. He saw something strange again in her eyes as they looked at each other. Again in that very brief instance, he racked his brain trying to figure out if he had ever met this beautiful woman.

"I got a real interest in IT when I went to college. I took a few business classes and realized I liked computers and wanted to learn more about how they worked after playing a lot games. I saw that they were becoming more sophiscated and that led me into computer science where I met Professor Grayson." He took a moment to recall how the professor took a liking to him in the lower level classes.

"The professor seemed to take a liking to me and I found it very easy to talk to him after classes. We spent a lot of after class time in his office giving me tips on how to become a better coder and programmer." Tom took another moment and then added figuring it would show he knew a little about the company, "he used to mention your company and how it was one of the leaders in gaming."

Tom could see her studying him as he thought about her questions. "I'm looking to gain more experience with gaming and with what the professor taught me, I think I can be of a benefit to your company." He knew he had to say more and then added, "Ms. Jefferson .... you will find that I am a very hard worker and I will do whatever is asked of me to learn the business and become better at coding when I search for a job after I graduate in a few months."

He wanted to tell her he would hope to work for her company but it was way too early to talk about future employment. Tom stopped talking and looked at Ginger Jefferson, thinking the name sounded familiar from his past but he couldn't put his finger on if he knew her. He took a gamble and asked, "Ms. Jefferson .... have we met before? ..... you look so familiar to me."

 

[Shadowlace]

Ginger listened. Though it was odd. Tom to her was like Dr. Psycho, if he were handsome and a jock. The tables, though, have turned. Here, one of her Nemesi required her. Still, she couldn't hire him just to get her long-overdue revenge. Ginger would do her due diligence and pull up the files on Tom sent from the Prof. Pulling her Tablet close, she tapped out her passcode, from there she began to read over the resume.

"Yeah, The.." She stopped; she had to keep it professional, both Dorian and Lisbeth would scold her otherwise. "I mean, Professor Grayson is a great coder. I met with him via correspondence in high school. Lead me into a group where I honed my skills and started Dragon's Breath Software with the co-founder Dorian, and once our Software began to become global and make millions, I was allowed to branch out and do Dragon's Breath Gaming. My real passion. You see, this part of the company focuses on the development of games to help bring in that sweet subscription and gotcha money like Epic and other triple-A studios get. At least that's what Dorian and the board want. Which I will deliver, and if you get this internship, you will aid in delivering."

"As for familiar, maybe you've ever gone to E3. I did a demo a couple of years ago and have been a staple until it ended. Oh, wait, was it Comic Con? I did a panel last year on Game World Building." Ginger covered as she then looked at him.

"Anyways, what about you, Tom? Do you have any codes for me to look at? Game influences? Questions?" Ginger says as she begins to press a bit.

 

[Rocket1010]

Paul could smell the aroma of perfume as the beautiful redhead said, "Yeah, The.." he thought for a moment she was going to answer his question about meeting her sometime in his past. Instead she started talking about how Professor Grayson was a great coder who she met in high school. Evidently he was wrong about possibly meeting her in the past as she spoke about how she acquired her coding skills.

As she talked about her skills and starting Dragon's Breath Software, he remembered Professor Grayson telling him about a group of young coders who bypassed college and set up their own company. She continued on about her real passion, Dragon's Breath Gaming and how it focuses on game development and subscriptions. He saw the sparkle in her eyes as she told him she would deliver and he would too, if he got the internship.

His ego was a bit deflated when she indicated he might get the internship. Were their others vying for the position? He was under the assumption from his conversations with Professor Grayson that he had the internship. "I was supposed to go to E3 the professor and a group of students the year they cancelled it. Unfortunately it was never reorganized."

He thought for a moment and wondered if he was being tested for his knowledge as to what happened after E3 closed. "As you probably know E3 was replaced by the Summer Game Fest held every year. It's a prominent platform for game announcements and reveals." He hesitated for another moment and added, "I hope to attend the show this year since it has become the go-to event for publishers and developers to showcase their upcoming projects."

Tom wondered again for an instance if he had the internship or did he have to fight for it. "And I have never gone to Comic-Con but I hear there are conventions all over the world and it's a great time for cosplay and other related things."

He felt he needed to add something to tip the internship in his direction if he was competing for the opportunity. "As for codes for you, I'm afraid I don't have any specific code ideas for what you are working on. Professor Grayson said you are working on some highly secretive games that if got out would compromise your efforts. I do however have some coding that I did in class but it's nothing very complicated like the work I hope to do with your company."

He smiled at Ginger, feeling a bit more comfortable. "As for game influences, they can come from a wide variety of sources that can affect the storyline and the players. There can be narrative and storytelling about certain situations. Visual and audio designs that can be drawn from everyday experiences. Then there are influences for visual and audio experiences that can influence the behaviour of the player as they move through the game." He stopped for a monent and licked his dry lips. "And then there is the constant building and rebuilding of an original game that can influence the designer and the player."

Tom leaned back in his chair, hoping he had said enough to convince Ginger that he was the one for the internship. "As for questions." He looked into her eyes and again had the feeling he had met her but where .... on the street .... in a bar ... somewhere .... but where.

"Who would I be working with and when can I start? As you know I have the recommendation of the professor and can begin work today if you so desire it." He took a breath and looked at Ginger, staring at him. Did he do enough for her to give him the internship?

 

[Shadowlace]

"Well, for me, I am looking to do an MMO, classic Pixel meets Modern. Think Ogre Tactics meets Elden Ring. You have a Pixelated map, but Combat is Elden Ring."Ginger said once more, talking about the game she was working on. The Pixel would help keep the transitions cheaper yet still impressive. As the Combat would be more entertaining. The map opens up the scene for the MC to interact with the area, fight the monsters, collect goods, and then continue.

"As for who you will work with, Lisbeth told you didn't she. It's me. You'll help deliver my mail, bring me food, run errands, double check things excetra. You will work with Lizbeth, too." Ginger stated as she pulled up the contract on her iPad and then had it sent to one of the tablets on the wall. She points at it.

"The contract is there to sign. It will be sent to our legal department and approved. You get a small stipend to get any clothes and tech you'll need. This also includes your intern wages. It's minimum wage, but you get simple benefits. Should you prove valuable, you'll be up for any positions we have available. Honestly, this was all you needed. I trust the Prof. Just one can never be too careful." Ginger says. deflecting the question as she gestures to the printer.

"It should print out in a few minutes. Give it all a look over, sign the physical, and we'll fax it to legal, they will file it fax it back so you have a copy," Ginger says, still deflecting, then finally smiles.

"As for start, I say show up at 5 am tomorrow, talk with Lizbeth. She'll get you set right."