Thomas was alone.
Oh, there was no shortage of people in the hotel's small bar. A few people sitting at tables, eating overcooked steak and drinking overpriced booze. There were even people on barstools to either side of him, including a woman in a dress who seemed desperate for a man to buy her a drink. But he was alone. These people were all strangers, people he didn't want anything to do with. One reason he was glad the stools to his right and left were empty.
The man let out a sigh as he rolled the near-empty glass of scotch in midair before him. After running away from home as a teen, he had gotten work as a janitor at a tech startup on the edge of a city east of here. It didn't pay much, but he worked hard--hard enough to send himself to school to learn coding himself. The job payed much better once he was brushing keys instead of floors, and he had a knack for programming. He'd even started work on a new set of security tools he was sure was going to make him rich. He worked constantly on it, ignoring everything else in his life to finish the program. His magnum opus.
He had been at his desk when his supervisor stopped by to give him the bad news. Their startup was going under. There was too much money going out, and not enough coming in to keep the lights on. The last day had been a nightmare. Twenty guys, standing around, trying to avoid bringing up the inevitable. At least there had been free beer and cake. The boss had thanked them all for their hard work before they walked out the front door and left their dream job for good.
Thomas took another swig of his drink, before gesturing to the bartender to get him a refill. After packing what few things he still had, he decided to hit the open road. Maybe try to find work in California. Silicon Valley was begging for talent, even half-baked talent like his. But as soon as he had checked in, all he could think about was a drink. He had barely sat down and was already waiting for his third for the night. The tousled black hair and defeated expression were a stark contrast to his sharp green eyes and his business suit. For the moment however, Thomas could not envision the future with any sense of optimism.
Oh, there was no shortage of people in the hotel's small bar. A few people sitting at tables, eating overcooked steak and drinking overpriced booze. There were even people on barstools to either side of him, including a woman in a dress who seemed desperate for a man to buy her a drink. But he was alone. These people were all strangers, people he didn't want anything to do with. One reason he was glad the stools to his right and left were empty.
The man let out a sigh as he rolled the near-empty glass of scotch in midair before him. After running away from home as a teen, he had gotten work as a janitor at a tech startup on the edge of a city east of here. It didn't pay much, but he worked hard--hard enough to send himself to school to learn coding himself. The job payed much better once he was brushing keys instead of floors, and he had a knack for programming. He'd even started work on a new set of security tools he was sure was going to make him rich. He worked constantly on it, ignoring everything else in his life to finish the program. His magnum opus.
He had been at his desk when his supervisor stopped by to give him the bad news. Their startup was going under. There was too much money going out, and not enough coming in to keep the lights on. The last day had been a nightmare. Twenty guys, standing around, trying to avoid bringing up the inevitable. At least there had been free beer and cake. The boss had thanked them all for their hard work before they walked out the front door and left their dream job for good.
Thomas took another swig of his drink, before gesturing to the bartender to get him a refill. After packing what few things he still had, he decided to hit the open road. Maybe try to find work in California. Silicon Valley was begging for talent, even half-baked talent like his. But as soon as he had checked in, all he could think about was a drink. He had barely sat down and was already waiting for his third for the night. The tousled black hair and defeated expression were a stark contrast to his sharp green eyes and his business suit. For the moment however, Thomas could not envision the future with any sense of optimism.