Markus returned Emily's light squeeze and raised an eyebrow as she introduced herself. He remembered that Victoria had mentioned a friend named Emily with whom she had a falling out. However, Markus decided to let the thought slip from his mind for now. He had learned that questioning people with similar names didn't help, as he had lost count of how many men named 'Max' he had found in his search. Instead, he decided to wait for other signs, though the fact that two names had an association was at the forefront of his mind.
The redhead gestured towards the table and said softly, “Please, feel free to join me,” as he sat back down and moved some of his notes out of the way. When Emily mentioned the Byte Bash, Markus almost rolled his eyes in response. “That is an... apt word for it,” he chose his words carefully. Her statement that she was surprised that he was 'here' raised warning bells, and he wondered if there was some conflict of interest he didn't know about. He knew Mac didn't like the Exchange and had gotten the hint that the man wasn't alone in that feeling, but that had nothing to do with Markus, as far as he was concerned.
“Why are you surprised?” he asked curiously, hoping she would elaborate. “ Like others, I was exploring options and was invited by Mac. Although I didn't agree with the methods and moved on,” he said honestly.
The redhead gestured towards the table and said softly, “Please, feel free to join me,” as he sat back down and moved some of his notes out of the way. When Emily mentioned the Byte Bash, Markus almost rolled his eyes in response. “That is an... apt word for it,” he chose his words carefully. Her statement that she was surprised that he was 'here' raised warning bells, and he wondered if there was some conflict of interest he didn't know about. He knew Mac didn't like the Exchange and had gotten the hint that the man wasn't alone in that feeling, but that had nothing to do with Markus, as far as he was concerned.
“Why are you surprised?” he asked curiously, hoping she would elaborate. “ Like others, I was exploring options and was invited by Mac. Although I didn't agree with the methods and moved on,” he said honestly.