The Server Room – Part 2: Uptime
Workplace·EN·2 min read·Published 2026-11-07, updated 2026-11-07·Part 2 of 2
After the crash, the notes changed.
Coffee at 4? —A. said the first one, taped to her monitor. Yes. —L. said the reply. Then: Bring the good biscuits. Then: I don't have good biscuits. Then, a day later, a packet of Estonian ginger snaps appeared on her desk with a note: Now you do.
They began to meet on the roof. The fire escape led to a flat concrete terrace overlooking Tallinn's old town, a jumble of towers and red-tiled rooftops, with the Baltic glittering beyond. At four in the morning it was silent and cold, with the stars hard and clear.
They talked about everything: code, childhood, the strange loneliness of night work. Andrei told her about his grandmother's farm. Liisi told him about the summer she spent sailing alone to Finland. They shared a blanket. They shared a thermos.
On the last night of the rota, the sky turned pink at six. The sun rose over the harbour in a blaze of gold. Ferries slid out into the strait, small and white.
"We're off the rota," said Liisi.
"We are."
"We'll be in the same room in daylight."
"Terrifying."
She laughed. Her hand had found his on the concrete ledge. Neither moved.
"Can I ask you something?" said Andrei.
"Yes."
"May I kiss you, instead of leaving a note?"
"Yes," said Liisi, a soft laugh. "And if you say stop, you must read all my commit messages."
"Out loud?"
"Out loud."
"That is a terrifying punishment."
He kissed her, shy and warm, a hand rising to her cheek. She kissed him back, slow and sure, her fingers curling in his jumper. The sun climbed. The harbour glittered. The server room hummed quietly three floors below.
When they parted, both of them were smiling.
"Green?" he asked.
"Green," said Liisi. "Very green."
On the rack in the basement, one sticky note remains, faded and curling: Do not touch the blue cable. —A. Underneath, in a different hand: Never again. —L.
More workplace romance stories: The Late Shift · Night Shift · The Personal Trainer
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