Page 202 of Glitched Play

"I had help."

I smile. "I was going to say..."

He reaches for the edge of the curtain. "I've never been more nervous to show anyone anything."

That alone steals my breath.

Witt O'Ryan isn't afraid of interviews.

Or billion-dollar business deals.

Or speaking in front of investors.

But this...

This scares him.

He pulls the curtain aside and I forget how to breathe. The wall stretches nearly thirty feet across the executive floor. At the center, mounted in brushed steel letters, are the words:

EVERY GREAT GAME BEGINS WITH AN IDEA.

Beneath them...

His life.

Not arranged chronologically.

Connected.

Like constellations.

Like the stars he showed me over the Grand Canyon.

Every piece linked to the next.

A framed photo of the first computer he ever built.

The original notebook where he sketched the mechanics for his first game.

A tiny newspaper clipping announcing the launch of Synatrix.

The first streaming microphone.

A controller so worn the thumbsticks are smooth.

His first employee badge.

A photograph of Dara standing beside him in an empty office.

Another of the five original Synatrix employees crowded around folding tables eating pizza.

A championship jersey from the Austin Dillos hangs beside the inaugural eFootball trophy.

There are photos of launch parties, charity events, his family, hospital visits and a picture of the boys that recognized him at the college football game. One of the girls must have snapped a photo.

Pieces of the life he never let anyone see.

My eyes drift farther down the wall.