Chapter 2

The message was from Edward.

Edward said: [Jace, there's a meeting in the conference room tomorrow at 10 am to discuss the new version's algorithm upgrade plan. I've got some technical questions I'd like to ask you.]

I stared at his message for a long time, then finally typed out: [Okay.]

*****

The next morning, I showed up at the conference room right on time. Edward was already there, waiting.

He was twenty-seven, graduated from a prestigious university, and held a master's degree.

He wasn't really handsome, but he looked clean-cut and full of energy. He wore a custom suit and had a Rolex strapped to his wrist.

"Jace, you're here. Have a seat," he said.

I sat down.

Edward pulled out his PowerPoint presentation and said, "This upgrade is mainly about improving the accuracy of our recommendation algorithm. Here's what I'm thinking..."

He talked for ten minutes straight.

I didn't say a word because none of what he said was right.

"Jace, what do you think?" Edward asked.

"Looks good," I said.

"Any suggestions?" he pressed.

I paused and said, "The parameters in the formula on page three are off."

Edward asked, "What's wrong with it?"

I replied, "You're using a linear regression model, but our data isn't linear. You should probably try using XGBoost instead."

Edward blinked, looking lost. "XG... what?"

I explained, "XGBoost. It's a machine learning algorithm."

"Oh..." He scratched his head. "Mind fixing that for me?"

"Yeah, sure," I said.

Edward asked, "And the flowchart on page five is kind of messy. Could you help organize it for me?"

I replied, "Alright."

He added, "The code logic on page eight isn't quite right either. Can you take a look?"

I said, "No problem."

"Jace, you're awesome," Edward said with a grin. "With you here, I feel way more confident."

I smiled back. "Don't mention it."

After the meeting, I went back to my desk. I fired up my computer and started working on his PowerPoint.

I corrected the formula. I cleaned up the flowchart. I rewrote the code too.

Three hours later, I sent it over to him. He shot back a thumbs-up emoji.

Then, I spotted a message in the company group chat. Edward posted it.

He wrote: [Hey team, the algorithm upgrade for the new version is finished. The detailed document is attached. Let me know your thoughts!]

Every page in that attachment was my work. But he only credited himself.

I stared at it for a long time and then closed the group chat.

I closed the group chat.

I went back to working on my code.

It was already dark when I left the office.

As I walked home alone, my phone rang.

It was my mom.

She asked, "Jace, when are you coming home to visit us?"

I replied, "I've been pretty busy lately. Maybe when things slow down."

She said, "Your dad hasn't been feeling well. See if you can come home soon."

"Okay," I answered.

Mom asked, "Oh, and did you get your year-end bonus yet?"

I paused for a second. "Not yet."

She added, "You've been there for ten years now. You should get a bigger bonus this year, right?"

"Probably," I replied.

She said, "Your brother-in-law got 25 thousand dollars last year."

I replied, "Yeah."

She pressed, "You're in tech, so you should be just as good as him, right?"

I didn't say anything.

"Jace?" she called out.

"Mom, I'm home. Talk later," I said.

"Oh, okay..." she replied.

After hanging up, I stood outside and smoked a cigarette. It had been a long time since I last smoked.

Lenka always told me not to. But today, I just really wanted one.

Once I finished, I went upstairs.

Lenka was having dinner when I walked in.

"You're home late," she said.

"Had to work late," I replied.

She asked, "Working late again?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She pressed, "Any news about your year-end bonus?"

"No," I replied.

Lenka put down her fork. "Jace, I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" I asked.

She said, "My cousin's been looking for a job lately."

I nodded. "Oh."

"Is your company still hiring?" Lenka asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Could you help refer her?" she asked.

I paused and asked, "Which department?"

Lenka said, "The tech department. She's a computer science major too."

"The tech department..." I gave a wry smile. "Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it."

"Why not?" she asked.

I replied, "Because the tech department's not really for regular people."

Lenka frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," I said, heading into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. "Tell her to look for a job somewhere else. CloudTrace Tech isn't really for her."

"You make it sound like CloudTrace Tech is some bad place," Lenka said.

"It's not CloudTrace Tech that's the problem," I said, taking a sip of water. "I'm just not making it there."

Lenka went quiet.

I sat down at the table and started eating. The food had gone cold. But I didn't have much of an appetite.

"Jace," Lenka said suddenly.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Have you ever thought about switching companies?" she asked.

I paused, fork in hand. "Yeah, I've thought about it."

"So why haven't you?" Lenka asked.

I set my fork down. "Because... I just can't let go."

"What can't you let go of?" she pressed.

I replied, "That algorithm."

Lenka looked puzzled. "Didn't someone else already steal that algorithm?"

I said, "Yeah. But as long as I'm here, it's still got life because of me. If I leave, it'll really belong to Edward."