Tam Linn stepped up to the reception desk in the echoing VirtuMax lobby, his heart threatening to hammer right through his ribcage.
THe glanced down at his jeans—the good ones, with the ripped hem barely visible and no holes in the knees. Even though he’d taken a shower and put on his cleanest clothes, he felt grimy in the pristine white lobby, as if being from the Exe left a stain around him—an oily cloud that followed wherever he went.
“Hi,” he said to the woman at the desk. She looked almost plastic in her perfection. “I’m here for the beta-testing team.”
She didn’t meet his eyes—just stared at his access badge, as though she couldn’t believe a guy like him was permitted here, in the hallowed company compound. He half-expected her to demand his badge; maybe bite on it to make sure it
