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ChapterFour
Gage grinned when he heard a knock on the door of what used to be one of the company’s conference rooms. He’d recently begun renovating it for another purpose, and today, he was unveiling it to an audience of one.
He glanced at his phone. Beaumont was right on time.
“Come in,” he called out.
Beaumont stepped inside, and while her eyes widened as she looked around the room, he took a moment—as always—to check out the crazy look she’d managed to pull off. Today, her hair was pinned up in some wild waterfall style on top of her head, her jeans had colorful patches all over them, and she was wearing one of what had to be seventy-twoGood Mythical Morningsweatshirts she owned.
As always, her big black-framed glasses were sliding down her nose and she didn’t have a speck of makeup on.
She tossed the backpack she was carrying onto the table in the middle of the room then started walking around the space, her mouth hanging open, no sound coming out.
He’d rendered her speechless.
“Gage,” she said after a few minutes. “Oh my God.”
After the two of them had placed their wager yesterday, he’d known exactly where he wanted them to hold their “battle for favors.” He’d started working on creating this space a few days after his first gaming night with her and Toby. His interests had always drifted toward technology—he’d invested in several tech upstarts—but he’d wanted to expand specifically into gaming tech forever.
“What do you think?”
He had taken over this conference space in order to create a gaming room. Gage had stocked the room with six state-of-the-art computers, fully loaded with two monitors each, gaming chairs with pillows embroidered with Team Russo, several PlayStation 5 systems, and the latest in VR. The fluorescent lighting had been replaced with RGB LED lighting strips and surround sound that would really enhance the game-playing experience.
It was a gamer’s paradise, and he knew it.
Beaumont shook her head in response, clearly still struggling to find her words. “I…oh my God.”
He grinned. It was the highest praise he could have asked for. “I invested in a gaming start-up, Tower Games. They’re based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Was thinking the nerd circle could do some testing on their products, offer insights.”
Beaumont stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown wings and a halo. “Toby and Rich will flip out!”
Gage knew that. “Yeah. I can’t wait to show them.”
“Can I be here when you do?”
“Of course.”
Beaumont spun around one more time. “I can’t believe this room! It’s like you snuck into my dreams and drew up the plans. It’s just…incredible. Actually, you might want to rethink showing this to Toby and Rich, or you’ll never get another second of work out of them.”
Gage laughed. “Matt said the same thing. Said the first time he caught our IT department up here in the middle of the workday, he was putting an alarm on the door. Of course, I’m pretty sure he was talking about me, not you guys. Besides, I know Toby’s dream is to develop his own game. This would give him that chance.”
“Holy shit. This is so freaking awesome! Now I sort of hope I lose, just to ensure I can keep working here.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “The outcome of this wager means nothing in regard to your job. We’re not letting you quit.”
“Did I mention they were offering some pretty amazing perks?” she asked with a shit-eating grin.
“There will be time for negotiations about all of thatafterI kick your ass.”
Beaumont ran her hand over the expensive gaming chair. “You know…the alarm is probably a good idea because I’m not sure I can resist this place either. Maybe that will help my self-control.”
Gage woke up a couple of the PCs. “I was thinking we could set up gaming nights here. Maybe even enter some e-sports tournaments together a few weekends a year. I’m calling it a team building exercise.”
“I love that idea. Dibs on being team captain,” she said.
Gage scowled. “Hell no. I’m team captain.”
“Well, that hardly seems fair. Shouldn’t we put it to a vote or something?” Beaumont asked.
