turned out of the courthouse parking lot. As their car grew smaller in the distance and eventually disappeared, I thought about how happy they looked during their ceremony. I wanted what they had: to be with a partner who was caring, down-to-earth, and accepted me the way I was.
I’d only parked there a total of twenty-five minutes. According to the signs, parking was free for thirty minutes or less. Woooo, free parking! The parking attendant waved me through and I headed home with a gigantic smile plastered on my face. At least something went amazingly right that day.
Chapter Eighteen
For three straight weeks, it was just work, work, work. No play, play, play. And no distractions. I tuned Asher out, skipped out on any employee trainings and workshops, and ignored all Nolan’s impromptu social visits and playful messages. I was just too embarrassed by my dad’s marriage approval comment and hadn’t worked through my feelings about Nolan’s immense wealth. After a while, he got the hint. It probably helped that I just flat out said, “Sorry, I’m busy,” anytime he tried to interact with me.
Nick, my mentor and career savior, called me at 7:30 A.M. the day of GameCon Northwest. “Good news! The game trailer is rendering now and will be ready within the hour.” He and I had pulled an all-nighter to get the video finished.
I groaned and said, “GameCon floor opens at nine, we’re barely going to make it.” The late delivery of the trailer wasn’t Nick’s fault. Ian insisted that we include some of the latest game clips that had just been finished the previous night. Nick didn’t complain, though, my company paid a hefty fee for the redo. The video looked amazing, even with the last-minute touches.
“Yes, but we ARE going to make it, Melody,” Nick reassured me. “Have I ever missed a deadline?”
The demo build had come along nicely too.
GameCon NW was one of the largest gaming conventions on the West Coast and was also the fastest growing. Both inside and outside of the venue, Stormtroopers, Sailor Moons, superheroes, and mutant cosplayers milled around, studying the show floor maps and taking selfies. Luigi from Mario Brothers gave me a high five at the main entrance.
I had come to the convention the day before to make sure we had no problems with the video monitors, Wi-Fi, or the electricity. Setting up our booth twenty-four hours in advance paid off because our display only needed minor final touches the morning of the show. The last thing on my to-do list was to pick up my preordered cosplay warrior costumes, fake machetes, and hunting knives from the nearby costume rental shop.
Ian came by the booth while Asher and I put our mics on. He whistled when he saw the booth. “Wow, Melody. I am so glad we came to this convention. Aren’t you glad I got us in?”
“Well, it’s the hard work from the team that makes this look so fantastic.” The Seventeen Studios events team scurried past him, carrying boxes of swag and stacks of controllers. “Our A/V guys just uploaded our demos. They’re amazing.” One of them waved a hello with his screwdriver and continued securing the video monitor to the booth backboard.
“Right. Great job, everyone.” Ian pulled his hands through his hair. “Did you get my email this morning about the show talent being unapproved by finance? They said we couldn’t risk having strippers on the payroll because it might flag an ethics violation.”
I frowned. “Wait, what email? I didn’t get anything from you.”
He scrolled through his email and said, “Oops, looks like it’s still in my email drafts. Let me forward it to you now.”
My phone buzzed. The content of Ian’s email was a repeat of what he just told me, which left out the fact that the finance team had already reached out to Dan and Paul this week to let them know their services wouldn’t be needed at the convention. No one told me.
Being cautious, I pulled Ian aside to have this discussion out of earshot of my team. “Ian, you authorized them. They were the big splashy draw to our booth. No one else has male strippers.”
He held up his hold that thought index finger to my face and picked up his buzzing phone. After a few seconds, he put his hand over the speaker. “Well, you have a few minutes to think of a plan B.” He removed his hand and said, “Yes, I’d be happy to give you an exclusive