has a way of hitting you right in the feels, you know?"
"Thank you," Rhaven mouthed. "I'm still trying to get used to not having to think about whether I should look like a guy or a girl. This?" She carefully took the cosmetics. "I'm sorry about the mess with KOG and the forums, but I'll make it up to you." Then she looked at Chance. "Both of you."
"It'll get bad," Chance warned. "I'm not worried about the company. We got the same thing for hiring women. There's nothing at all controversial about you. You're also the best person for this job. So..." He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted it higher. "Keep this up. We've got your back so long as you've got ours."
"Chance, right about now, I'll do anything for this company - and the people in it. If there's anything, just ask."
He nodded and then pointed to the files tucked into another chair. "Those are the best coders we have. They're all currently working on the released games, handling patches or bug fixes. Talk to them today, see if you think they'll be able to handle your style - and it is yours that we want, Rhaven - and go from there."
"And pick three?" she asked.
"To start," he agreed. "When you get further in, your team's going to grow, but I don't want you to get so bogged down in management that we lose your ideas for Renegade. And if you have any questions, ask. Doesn't matter who, just ask because we all remember what it was like to be new. You know your stuff. That doesn't mean you inherently know ours."
"Best bosses ever," she told him, and then looked at Dez to make sure she knew she was included in that too. "But I do have one question. How am I supposed to do anything with no space?"
Tim cleared his throat and pointed to a folded up card table against the wall. "Braden? Help me move this into the middle. Someone grab the banner because it's going on top. This is going to be good for a week at least."
"Yeah, it is," Rhaven agreed, because it was good enough to make her not care at all about the people protesting her outside.
Chapter 58
Rhaven managed to interview all of her potential helpers before lunch. One guy's resume sounded like he had so much potential, but in person he seemed nervous around her, stumbling over calling her ma'am as if he wasn't sure if he should say it. He made no attempt to ask or apologize for it either. Rhaven knew she wouldn't feel comfortable dealing with that every day, so she moved him to the bottom of the list.
Another guy kept trying to tell her that her ideas wouldn't work. "Not enough real estate" seemed to be his catch phrase. He went right above the other guy. There was a woman with limited experience, a lot of enthusiasm, and a willingness to challenge Rhaven's concepts without refusing them. She made it to the top. The downside was that she'd never even played a first person shooter, but her MMO experience was impressive.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long before the protests in front of the building made their way into the game forums. Eternal Combat was first, which wasn't really surprising. Silk was next. The shocking thing was the Flawed community. When people tried to complain about the new developer being transgender, the players reported it en masse and all but ran them out on rails.
The problem was that the complaints were growing. Foolish arguments about first amendment rights - which didn't apply to a private corporation's game forums - and religious freedoms were the loudest. They were moderated quickly, but it only helped so much. Even worse, Rhaven had a feeling that this wasn't all coming from the Kings of Gaming. This was just hate, pure and simple, and it was a little depressing to realize that it was so prevalent in her games.
"Dez?" Rhaven asked, heading over to the corner where the woman's desk was tucked safely out of the way. "What do you think about me making a post in all of the game communities?"
Dez's eyes narrowed. "That's basically going to centralize this, but why?"
Rhaven pointed at the computer. "Because those assholes are in my games. And you know what? Somewhere out there is a little gay boy or a trans girl who feels a little less safe right now."
"Do it," Dez decided.
So she headed