Ian reappeared in a flash, like one of those bad guys in a horror movie who just can’t leave the protagonist alone. Surprise! “Melody, on the heels of that amazing BetaGank review, I wanted to let you know that we’re launching a new flagship game. Asher pitched it to me a few months ago. It’s called Girls of War, or G-O-W for short. Ultimate Apocalypse is just too risky to be our flagship title, and Asher’s father suggested we mitigate the risk by adding a new title to the portfolio.” Asher fiddled with his zipper on his fleece jacket, avoiding eye contact. “His dad is investing ten percent in the company and is one of our key stakeholders. Now Asher’s game is priority number one, so we’ll be changing your status from flagship to back burner.”
His words were so astoundingly brutal that breathing and blinking became instantly taxing. I steadied myself on a table covered in controllers that hadn’t been packed away yet.
To my dismay, he continued bombarding me with bad news. “We’ll be redeploying some of your staff to Asher’s team. Oh, and of course that means Asher will be off your team now. We need some of your developers, too, and a portion of your earmarked marketing budget will go to Asher’s project. You can maybe keep Kat for now and a small incubator team to get this game done.”
“Could I get Nolan to help, too?” I asked in a whisper.
Ian cocked his head. “Nolan? My nephew? No, you can’t. His internship’s over soon.”
“What?” A tight knot formed in my stomach. Why didn’t Nolan tell me he was leaving?
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.” Ian slapped Asher on the back a second time. “Melody, I know this takes the wind from your sails, but for the company, this is great! We’re a force to be reckoned with, thanks to UA being in the news!” He nodded at me. A nod of thanks for guaranteeing him an end-of-year performance bonus.
A hard lump formed in my throat, and swallowing didn’t make it go away. My voice caught as soon as I tried to speak, so I kept quiet. This was a blessing of sorts, because words would be followed by a tidal wave of tears, and I could not allow that to happen. Not after everything I’d already accomplished.
I couldn’t reveal what lurked inside me.
On the outside, with every ounce of my willpower, I tried to display strength, confidence, and flexibility. Inside, I was a cyclone of anxiety, vulnerability, and demoralization. Spinning out of control.
The day’s peak was the best day of my career. Then Ian and Asher pulled the rug out from under me, and I fell down flat with the wind knocked out of my chest. Then Nolan Fucking MacKenzie shattered my heart.
That selfish jerk, why didn’t he just tell me?
After all those blows, I couldn’t breathe and didn’t know if I could get back up again. Or if I even wanted to.
Chapter Nineteen
After my big GameCon day I lay in bed through the next afternoon. In the dark, under my covers, I could cry without witnesses. The hateful online posts, the threatening emails and calls, working till 11 P.M. most nights and weekends had all collapsed on top of me at once.
Nolan texted me dozens of times. He was worried about me. Blah blah fucking blah.
He finally sent a message that almost got my attention. Heard about Asher’s Girls of War game. ☹ Would doughnuts help?
Not even doughnuts could make me feel better. Not this time. Not even the chocolate old-fashioned ones from Top Pot. Instead, I sobbed into my pillow, waterlogging the down feather stuffing with my pool of tears.
Nolan called and I let it go to voice mail. He called again. And then again. I tried to turn it on “do not disturb” mode but my phone kept crashing. Exasperated, I picked up the next time he rang. “Hello?” I croaked.
“Hey, you didn’t reply to my doughnut text. You have me worried. Do you want to talk about it?”
I gave him the play-by-play of Ian and Asher’s betrayal and left out the part about his internship. “Now I have to get everything done with only half the team and a basically nonexistent marketing budget.”
“You’ll find a way. You’re resourceful. You always get yourself out of messes.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said drily.
“You know I mean that in the sweetest way possible.”