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“Things will change when I get Harley back. We won’t need Titan anymore.”
“No, I don’t think we will. A King’s Quest might even surpass Ashborn in pre-orders.”
“It’s not even for sale yet.”
“Don’t get mad but… I let a few of the guys on my team play the first few boards.”
“And?”
“They said A King’s Quest is the best game we’ve produced in years.”
“They have Harley to thank. She’s the one who pointed out the resemblance to Arthurian legend. I didn’t even realize what I’d written until she helped me develop the ideas.”
“You guys make a good team.”
“Yeah, we do. Titan’s money will run out by the end of the year. We need a big win, or we won’t have a company to run.”
“I fixed the error,” Stefan says, and my heart pounds like a jackhammer. “Easy fix. I can’t believe you missed this.”
“I’m going to make the deadline,” I say, relieved.
“Hey, bro,” Stefan says.
“What?”
“It’s time to get your wife back.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Harley
I’m in the middle of typing an email when my computer monitor goes batshit crazy. Even the flat-screen television on the wall across from my desk is blinking like it’s possessed. Either my office is haunted or someone just hacked me. I hit a few keys, hoping to stop the bright lights that are flashing on my computer. I enter another series of commands and nothing. Nate would know what to do. He could stop this intrusion.
Panicked, I slide my chair out from the desk and grab my phone. Before I can call our in-house tech support, a video game flashes on my screen and television at the same time. What the hell? I’m getting serious The Matrix vibes right now. Did Nate’s artificial intelligence go haywire, and the robots are about to take over? We always joked about AI taking over the world sometime in the distant future. The future is now, I can practically hear Nate say in my head.
With my fingers hovering over the phone pad, I stare in awe as the game loads. A brightly colored fantasy world—the world I helped Nate create—appears before me. That bastard hacked me. Well, I’ll be damned.
Sir Percy, the first player knight in our game raises his arm above his head and lightning strikes the blade. The River of Nightmares ripples behind Sir Percy, the water rising above King Meliorn’s castle. After a short introduction, A King’s Quest pops up on the screen. Nate named his game. Finally. After all of these years, he finished his secret project. And I love the name he chose. It fits this game perfectly.
I smile like an idiot, still in shock that Nate hacked my computer to show me the game. If he were here, I bet he would make some inappropriate sex joke about his hard drive. I laugh at the thought. When I challenged Nate to complete the game, I knew he would do it for me. For us. This game could save our company and determine both of our futures.
I let out a sigh of relief and sink back into my chair. The storyboard we wrote together gives the player a nice introduction to the Knights of Aslan. It tells the story of how King Meliorn lost his magic and how only a worthy knight can heal the king and retrieve the sword from the River of Nightmares. Nate crushed it. Like the knights in his game, he saved the day.
I reach for my cell phone, about to dial Nate when an idea hits me. He’s expecting me to call him. Maybe I should surprise him, like he did me. Instead of Nate, I call Willow.
“Hey, girlie,” she says on the third ring. “I was just about to call you. I’m thinking sushi for dinner. I would kill for a spring roll right about now.”
“I won’t be here for dinner,” I say, retrieving my handbag from my desk drawer. “Actually, I need a ride to the airport. And I could use some help packing.”
She screams, forcing me to hold the phone away from my ear. “He did it!”
“Yeah. And he had a funny way of showing it to me.”
“Oh?” A hint of curiosity clouds her tone. “Do tell…”
“I’m leaving the office now. Meet me at home. I’ll tell you everything.”
“So, I guess this means I can rent out your room.” She pauses. “I hope you don’t mind, but Nico Chase needs a place to crash for a while, so I can help him get on his feet.”
I gasp. “Nico Chase, the movie star?”
“Yeah,” she says with a chuckle. “I landed him as a client. It’s a long story. Anyway, I’ll tell you everything on our way to the airport.” She sniffs into the receiver. “For the record, I’m going to miss the shit out of you. But I’m also really happy for you and Nate.”
