Yes, we’d all worked hard. But this never would have happened without Kat. She didn’t know it, nor would I ever tell her so, but she was my secret weapon. And she’d worked like a charm.
“I appreciate that.” I nodded. I’d worked with Adam for years. And though we knew each other well, we’d never been super close. Maybe my idolization had somehow impeded that. For his part, he wasn’t the most approachable person, either—a formidable boss, yes, and a coding god. But also an outstanding leader.
And he’d started his empire by putting out games as a teenager, writing code in his bedroom late at night under the cover of darkness. At one time, I’d been so obsessed with Mission Accomplished, that I’d hunted him down at a tech conference and almost gotten myself arrested for stalking him.
Not all of those memories were something I was proud of. But I was young and hungry then. Now I was older and even hungrier.
Adam had given me a job with his fledgling gaming company after I’d bent a few of my own rules and pulled a string or two. And I’d vowed I’d never do it again. Everything from here on out would be on me—and on the team I led.
But I’d been lucky as hell to come by Kat and was willing to go to drastic lengths to keep her here. Hence the reason I chose to flout a bullshit institution I no longer believed in so I could help her get a green card.
I swallowed, lacing my fingers together to give my hands something to do. “Can I ask who’s the other guy up for the job?”
Adam shot Jordan a long look, but Jordan stayed quiet. He then turned back to me. “Sure, I’ll let you know as long as it’s okay with you that I tell him about you.”
I nodded. “That’s fine.” Please don’t let it be Jeremy. I was thinking it so hard I had to will myself not to say it aloud as I tightened the grip on my own hands. Every other candidate out there was inferior to me in suitability for the position.
Except for Jeremy, who had been hired years after I had but had advanced through the ranks as a developer. He excelled at what he did. He also had ideas on how to integrate the VR technology into our existing games.
And since he was a developer, I knew that Adam favored him over me. Honor amongst coders and all that. In their world, game testers were the enemy. I’d sometimes detected a bias in Adam’s decisions because of it.
Adam shifted in his seat atop the desk. “Okay, so the other candidate is Jeremy Holme.”
My innards took a nosedive. Well, shit. That meant that all this was a formality. Jeremy had long since been a favorite of our illustrious CEO. I resisted the urge to fidget or show my emotions. I also fought the urge to catch Jordan’s eye.
“So how will you proceed with the final decision?” I asked.
Adam cocked his head to the side as if thinking. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
I fought to suppress a sigh of frustration. “Okay, then how about you tell me what’s next?”
Jordan spoke up. “Part of it will be convincing the Board of Directors. A presentation of your clear vision for the direction of the Virtual Reality division.”
I nodded, absorbing that. It shouldn’t be too difficult to solidify my vision. Coming up with actionable steps toward that vision might be more challenging. I’d have to draw on the help of others for inspiration.
After asking a few clarifying questions, we quickly wrapped things up. And minutes later I was pushing out of my seat and shaking both their hands and thanking them. “You’re still taking care of that VIP tour tomorrow morning?” Adam asked just before I turned to leave.
“The astronauts? We’re on it.”
Adam’s eyebrows rose. “We?”
“I suggested he bring Kat with him,” Jordan chimed in. “She’s a lot of fun and it won’t hurt to have a pretty girl for them to look at.”
“Sexist,” Adam chided him.
Jordan shrugged. “Take it up with your wife. She already thinks the worst of me.”
I’d fought to keep myself from reading too much into Adam’s request that I run the tour for the astronauts. They were here because they worked with Adam in one of his other endeavors. They were also avid fans of the game and would be working to promote the expansion, including