For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,156
a t-shirt and jeans, she chose casual. A cute little red top with a v-neck, a pair of black jeans that made her ass look good, and the same ankle boots she'd worn all weekend.
Turning before the mirror, she decided that she looked cute. Maybe a little more punk or goth than she wanted, but it would be ok. This wasn't some stuffy corporation. This was a gaming company. All she had to do was make the most important part of the game. The part that let players control their characters. No big deal. No stress. She had this.
But on the drive over, her anxiety kicked in. Braden kept looking over, making it clear that he saw her fidgeting beside him, but he didn't comment on it. She also couldn't stop. What if she screwed this up? What if the other devs weren't ok with her? What if Dez had to fire her before she made it through probation? And most of all, seeing the name tag hanging from a cord around Braden's neck, she was terrified that hers would say "Ethan."
Braden pulled through a tall, metal gate - which matched the fence around the property - and into the parking lot, then turned off the car. "Ok, see that metal door at the side?" He grabbed his plastic badge-thing and lifted it. "There's a card reader that this will unlock. Devs only. And that?" He pointed at the massive glass entrance which had clearly been built off the front of the building. "That's the main entrance, and it works too. We don't have a lot of people show up out here, but it does happen. So, you ready for this?"
Rhaven pushed open her door. "So ready."
Together, they walked to the glass entrance. Braden grabbed the door for her, and Rhaven stepped inside the kind of place that was perfect for a development company. The foyer was just fancy enough, but in a very relaxed way. The chairs along the wall for people to wait in were all overstuffed. The receptionist's desk at the end of this area was large, made of some red wood, and lined with monitors. Behind it was a face Rhaven recognized.
Amy lay reclined in the biggest office chair Rhaven had ever seen. Her combat boots were kicked up on the top of her desk area - but not visible until Rhaven got closer due to the lip around it - and she had earbuds in. The woman glanced up as if surprised when they got close enough, and then a large smile took over her face.
Amy pulled out her earbuds and said, "Hey! So, I have some things for you, Rhaven. Brae? You can leave her with me. Promise that I'll be good."
"She's supposed to see Dez," he reminded her.
Amy scoffed. "Yeah, that'll be awhile. She and Chance haven't arrived yet, but I have papers to fill out."
"Ok." Then Braden leaned over and gave Rhaven a peck on the lips. "If you need anything, Amy knows where to find me. Or just text."
"Promise," Rhaven said.
Braden slapped the top of the desk twice, and then headed toward the back, taking the archway on the left. Amy gathered up something on her monstrosity of a desk, then gestured to the other side. Rhaven moved that way, meeting up with Amy, and they headed into one of the many closed doors.
This one was clearly a break room. Two different coffee pots and a Keurig were sitting beside the sink. All of them were on. A large fridge was set up in the corner. Along all of the walls were whiteboards and corkboards. And in the very center of the room was a large oval table, the unimpressive kind made of some cheap particleboard with luxurious leather chairs placed around it.
"Not what I expected," Rhaven admitted.
"This is the Think Tank," Amy explained. "The chairs are ones that were broken. They got repaired, but had been replaced first. Extras, basically. The walls are for Renegade. The coffee?" She pointed to the first pot. "Red top is dark roast. Green top is medium roast. The Keurig is for anything else. Coffee's always fresh around here. Um, fridge is filled with munchies. I'll show you the smoking area in a bit, and no, it's not only tobacco. Chance doesn't drug test his devs. He also will fire your ass if you drive while on something." She lifted a brow to make sure Rhaven got that.