The Mina Marz Incident

CHAPTER ONE

Dean Zigaz stopped to catch his breath at the doorway of TNT Tower, the open-air office space on the thirteenth floor of ExpoTronics Incorporated. Leaning against the jamb, heaving, he cursed himself for signing the No Elevator Challenge contract.

Sloan Maddox was to blame. The manager of the Human Resource Department was adamant with her every demand, this one being his least favorite thus far.

Despite Dean's position of company power, he knew not to argue with the woman. It was pointless. Now, two weeks of stair climbing later, he plotted her payback with every single step. He wasn't ready to crumble, but a long Friday with only coffee for sustenance had his determination fading.

During his needed pause, he scanned the room. He was delighted, but not surprised, to find Melinda, Kenzie and Mina working late. Being the only women on his top-level programming team made them stand out daily, but that wasn't the reason for his focused gaze.

For many years now, his eyes misbehaved. No matter what he said to himself, what rules he created, professional guidelines he recited... his challenge remained the same. Melinda pulled his attention like she was a neodymium magnet.

She was actually the first person he met here at ExpoTronics, and the only one on floor thirteen programming staff he hadn't hired. In fact, it was Melinda that interviewed him to become her boss. When asked why she didn't take the position, she deemed herself unfit.

"I understand code. We need someone who understands people."

Dean, being both an accomplished programmer and a people person, landed the job. That combination was rare, contributing to the Team Leader Award being won three years in a row. While the personal award bore his name, he knew the credit went to those doing the hard work. He made sure they knew it too by hanging it on the bulletin board with a big label, 'Go Thirteen', above it.

Still standing in the doorway unnoticed, Dean chuckled at the two overflowing trashcans on either side of Melinda's desk. She scribbled when she worked. Sometimes the papers contained doodles, artsy random images drawn as she manipulated equations in her mind. Others contained maps outlining complicated scripting calls. The latter scrawled in personal shorthand that made your head spin if you stared too long.

Damn, she is beautiful.

Dean noticed Melinda's beauty the moment he laid eyes on her; a beauty overlooked by those with glamorous tastes. For at a quick glance, her appearance was deceiving. She never wore a speck of makeup and always had unruly hair twisted carelessly on top of her head. Her wardrobe consisted of the same t-shirt every day, but in a different color with sneakers to match. It had one word printed on it in bold letters: Geek. Dean found her attire funny because it resembled her programming code; organized, with clear design, but levels of complexity underneath that would blow your mind.

Others might call Melinda an acquired taste. She was intimidating, for sure, but he enjoyed the challenge. He learned early not to ask a question unless he could handle an honest, direct answer. The woman didn't tap dance or put sugar on anything. He liked that about her.

To Melinda's left sat Kenzie Finn, a thinker whose metabolism clocked at a speed matching her brain. She was currently juggling three paper trash balls, no doubt retrieved from one of the bursting bins. Everyone agreed her new antics were better than pencil tapping, providing entertainment during chosen mind breaks without uninvited tap-tap-taps invading concentration.

Dean not only respected Kenzie, he liked her. Simply put, she was a rainbow of light on the thirteenth floor. With a kind word for everyone and a smile that lit up a room, she altered the team vibe on her very first day. For her, it seemed, there really was a bright side to any situation, no matter how bleak it appeared.