Page 12 of Return on Love

Ryan looks at me for a mere second and turns away, slowly disengaging himself from the door frame. I can actually see his muscles twitching as he moves. I peel my eyes away from his muscular frame even as my brain imagines those arms around me. What! What am I even thinking? I chide my brain, which is clearly in need of some repair.

Ryan’s expressions have, of course, now gone back to weird. The disgust that he reserves especially for me is seriously out there for everyone to see. I make a mental note to ask him why he hates me so much and whether we can put aside our mutual hatred for this assignment.

“I’m sorry. It’s probably none of my business,” I spurt out, but he just stands there, staring. Glaring? I don’t even know what his expressions are like. I wait for a “No problem” but get nothing. He probably thinks I’m way too below him, and there’s no need to deign to respond to me. “Let’s discuss strategy in my office,” he says.

I’m about to nod when I realize that the statement is not directed at me. The man has completely ignored me, my presence, and my apology. The others pick up their stuff, as Ryan lumbers off towards a room in the corner, most likely his office. It’s on the other end of the floor, as far from my make-shift temporary office as possible.

I bite my lip and walk out. Gabriel follows me. The only sound is the click-clack of my heels. Neither of us speaks anything. Then I hear the door to Ryan’s office close. So much for observing the creation process of games. Cool start to a good relationship.

Weber would fire me right now if he got to know about this. He is a firm believer of ‘client is right.’ Even Bernard always suggested that if you need to advise clients, do it gently and make it seem like it’s their own idea. What I did was just the opposite. I need this win. Not just so Priscilla doesn’t win again, but for me. I need it to make VP, even if it won’t be the youngest VP in the firm. I’m ready to do whatever it takes, even if it means licking Ryan’s ass. As I think that, I can’t help but notice his perfect backside as he writes something on the board and my brain immediately creates a mental image of me licking that perfect round ass. My God! I shake my head. What in the world is wrong with me? I need to meet some guy. Otherwise, my hormones will drive me nuts.

I turn around to find Gabriel staring at me. Did he read my thoughts? Oh God. I hope nothing in my expressions is obvious.

“I hope I didn’t insult your boss,” I say, giving an embarrassed laugh.

“Ryan? He’s cool. In fact, he usually appreciates criticism. Don’t worry about it.”

Yeah right. Appreciates from his friends, perhaps. Not his enemy. He’s cold, not cool. Weren't we both in the same room, looking at the same person? Appreciating criticism didn’t seem to be the order of the day.

“He certainly didn’t look appreciative back there,” I say.

“Maybe it’s the stress, y’know. Trust me, he’s usually more warm and friendly.”

I follow Gabriel into another small room, where files are scattered across the table in disarray. The way he goes about shifting the documents, I think it’s his office. He makes some space for us as we take our seats across from each other. On the wall behind him, there’s a photo of him posing with a brown cat. “That’s Manny, my cat. She’s the love of my life,” he says with complete seriousness.

I can’t help but smile. “She’s beautiful. You two make a perfect pair.”

“Thanks,” he replies, a glint of warmth in his eyes. “Now, how do you want to approach this? How much do you already know about the industry and our company? We had a call with Mr. Weber on Friday evening, and he mentioned that this is your firm’s first venture into this sector and you might need some catching up.”

“There was a call on Friday?” I’m shocked and can’t hide it.

“Yeah. We were wondering why you didn’t join. Weber said you were probably busy with your packing and we figured you’re with some other client, a bigger one,” he says, looking at me with a sincerity that’s hard to miss. Then he leans in closer, his expression turning more serious. “But Eva, can I tell you something honestly?”

I nod, still reeling under the anger about Weber having a call with my client without me. It’s ridiculous. It’s backstabbing, like Annakin going to kill the padawans when the poor kids thought he was going to protect them. And to make matters worse, my boss tells them I’m clueless about this industry! What nonsense is that? How does he expect them to take me seriously as a consultant after this?

Gabriel is clearly uncomfortable and shifting in his chair. “Go on. It’s okay,” I say.

“Look, we don’t have money to spare. We accepted this consultant thing only because Weber made it a non-negotiable condition to consider our deal. Please give it to us straight if funding isn’t possible. Don’t play us like you guys play the bigger companies.”

“I’d never,” I say, hoping the earnestness is clear in my tone. “I only ever want the best for my clients. Don’t worry, we’re not playing you or trying to dupe you.”

“Somehow, I trust you. That’s what I told Ryan as well. MooreGames is his baby and he’ll die before letting any harm come to it.”

Ah, so Ryan is the one who doesn’t trust me. Why doesn’t it come as a surprise?

“Would you like to look at the financials or some of our games?” Gabriel continues, a little relieved.

“Always the product first,” I say. “Let’s play.”

Chapter 7

“I need someone to show me my place in all of this.”—Rey

The game playing isn’t as I expected. Gabriel takes me into a darkened room with La-Z-Boy chairs. Posters of all their games, Piggies, Moores and some more are stuck on walls. There are four systems with big screens. There is a young man with large headphones sitting in one of them. He raises his hand in acknowledgement as we enter.

I shoot a look at his system and almost gasp. It’s a system I’d love to have. “Wow. i9 processor with 32 gigs of RAM. That’s cool.”

He looks up and smiles as if I’ve praised his baby. “Yup. And an RTX 3080 for that sweet graphics power. No lag or stuttering and the ray tracing is mind-blowing.”

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