Page 11 of Forbidden Game

“True, but you are preferred among the stakeholders. You are a natural charmer and negotiator.”

“The stakeholders are a bunch of old dudes who just don’t want a woman as CEO.”

“Parker,” he warns.

“I’m just speaking facts.” I shrug. “You know she would be the better fit; you just don’t want to stir the water with those stakeholders.”

“Well, those very stakeholders are holding a vote soon.”

My grandfather gestures to Frank, who opens his briefcase on a nearby table before passing a stack of papers over. Grandfather leafs through them briefly before laying them in piles before me. My eyes snag on the numbers before me, adding them up and connecting the various documents together to form a story.

“While your profession is profitable, Covington Hotels is a multi-billion-dollar company. You would make more with us than your projected trajectory as a streamer.” He taps on one of the papers before me.

“It’s not about the money. I already have that.”

“Parker, it’s always about the money. And that’s exactly what the stakeholders want to take away from you.”

Realization dawns on me.

“They want me to forfeit my shares.”

“Correct.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“To them, what’s ridiculous is a man with majority ownership over the business running around playing video games instead of having involvement in said business.”

“But I’m a Covington.”

“You are, which is why I agree with them.”

Betrayal slides along my skin like a deadly kiss.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Parker, your career is not exactly one of prestige.”

“I’m one of the top video game streamers in the world.”

“It’s still just playing games. It’s not as though you’re not the head chef at a five-star Michelin restaurant or an Emmy award-winning actor. What do you have to show for it other than followers on the internet?”

The dismissal stings and burns.

“But Dad—”

“Your father coddled you. He let you pursue this career too far, allowing you to come all the way to America.” He shakes his head. “You have the mind for this business, Parker. I don’t want to see you waste it.”

“But I don’t want it.”

“Then you have to be prepared to sacrifice something in return. You either join the company or you forfeit your shares, and with them, a portion of your inheritance.”

A portion? My shares were worth billions.

Billions.

I’d be a Covington but in name only. I’d lose my power, my safety.

I’ve been able to pursue my gaming career because I have the Covington name to fall back on. I have my inheritance, my family, the hotels, all as a net to catch me in case I slip up.

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