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“That would be wonderful. Extra caramel, please?”
She winks. “You got it.”
A minute later, she hands me a caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzled on top. I pay for the drink, grab a table in the back, and pull out my phone. My boss answers on the first ring.
“Aiden, my boy, how are you?”
“Not too bad. Yourself?”
Ryan grunts, and his chair squeaks in the background. “Always working. More new projects than I know what to do with.”
Music to my ears. “One of which I’m hoping I’ll be working on.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, eager to get started.
“I like your enthusiasm. It’s my favorite thing about you.” I smile triumphantly to myself as he continues. “The company wants you to design the first in a new line of video games.”
“Awesome. What theme are they going for? Zombies? Race cars? Mobsters?”
“None of the above. It’s more along the lines of an educational game, but something more fun so that kids don’t realize they’re learning.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
“But I design video games, not educational games. I’m blood, guts, guns, cars, and zombies, not clowns, teddy bears, balloons, and trains.”
“I know what you do, and you’re damn good at it, which is why the company is confident that you can come up with something equally as great for their educational line of video games.”
“Don’t they have people in another division for that?”
“Yes, but the ideas they’ve been presenting have been subpar. The higher-ups want someone fresh. Someone talented.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “They want you.”
“What if I say no?”
“You don’t have much of a choice. This is your next project, and if you choose not to do it, I can’t guarantee that they’ll come back to you for their next action-adventure game line.”
“Son of a bitch.” I bury my head in my hands. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“Come on, Aiden, this isn’t the end of the world. You’re the most talented guy in this business. I know you can do this.”
“I don’t need a pep talk, Ryan.” I know I’m talented, and that’s not me being cocky, it’s the God’s honest truth. I’ve designed some of the
top-selling video games on the market today. What I need is to not be assigned to this project.
I struggled enough in school growing up, how in the hell am I supposed to develop something to help other kids learn?
“I’m sending you an email now with the ideas from the others that my bosses didn’t like. They’re giving you creative control of the project. There are no limits or guidelines, they just want something educational and appealing.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I deadpan.
“I knew I could count on you. We’ll talk soon.”
Ryan hangs up, and I drop my phone to the table. This is ridiculous. I sip my drink, allowing myself a few minutes of self-pity and then pop my earbuds back in and log into my email.
My phone rings, but when I see it’s my mom calling—probably to give me a hard time for skipping out on dinner—I send it to voicemail.
