OMG, THANK YOU. I was really upset because I love Garcia and I hated the idea of her being manipulative and evil but this idea that she made a mistake is much more believable and it makes her more human and sympathetic. Kevin’s being mysterious about his job and can’t even tell her where he’s going, and she loves him, so naturally she’s curious to find out the details, and she has the ability to do so…yeah, I’m on board with her actions now. [I can cope with her hacker skillz being made of fail more than the idea of evil!conniving!Garcia]

I totally get the guilt-minimization thing; at first, I thought that was her attempt at being coy and trying to hide her role in wrecking his job opportunity. But if she accidentally cost him that job, I can see how she’d be feeling bad and trying to convince him and herself that he wouldn’t have enjoyed it and it worked out for the best in order to assuage those feelings of guilt. [Btw, have I told you how much I love your psychological take on characters? I miss the obvious sometimes, and you help me understand them in new and different ways; and even when I understand where they’re coming from, you have such an eloquent way of describing their motivations and the hidden workings of their minds]

It also explains that comment she made at the beginning of the scene, something like ‘Garcia is contemplating a life of celibacy’- that never made sense to me, in the previous context of her causing the project cancellation on purpose, but it does make sense if she honestly screwed up and therefore, still thought Kevin was taking the job and leaving her behind. I feel so dumb at not seeing it before, but I’m too happy at being able to maintain my faith in Garcia to care, lol. Thanks muchly!