Page 143 of The Billionaires

Bruce snaps the book closed with irritation—and I recall him saying he only allows himself to read for “a few precious minutes per day.”

“Yes,” he says, voice less prickly than I expected. “The Witcher is my favorite book series.”

“Wow,” is all I can say.

Bruce picks up the puppy at his feet and puts him on his lap. “Are you a fan of Andrzej Sapkowski?”

I frown. “Who?”

With an eyeroll, Bruce points at the book cover.

I feel stupid, since of course, I should have figured he’s talking about the book’s author. “If he had anything to do with my favorite video game of all time, then yes, I’m a fan.”

“What game?” Bruce scratches Colossus behind his ear, causing the little furball to close his eyes in bliss.

I gape at him. “You’re kidding, right?”

Bruce shakes his head.

“You’re a fan of the books about the Witcher, yet you’ve never played the games?”

He sighs. “Narrow it down for me. Are we talking card games, board games, or?—”

“Video games,” I say. “Hear of those?”

He cringes. “Yeah. They’re what your generation replaced books with.”

“You’re not seventy. We’re the same generation,” I say. “The first ever video game was created in 1958. That’s far in the past, even for a relic such as you.”

“Fine,” he says. “You like The Witcher video games.”

“Specifically, The Witcher 3. Or more specifically, the best game of the 2010s. Yes, I was already alive back then.”

He shrugs. “Never heard of it.”

CHAPTER 14

BRUCE

“Did you live under a rock?” she asks, and her eyebrows grow so animated I half expect them to join the conversation.

I stare her down—which is easier now because when I’m sitting and she’s standing, our eyes are almost level. “This, coming from the person who didn’t know the name of the author of her ‘favorite game.’”

With a huff, she pulls out her phone and does a search. “No,” she says. “The books did come first, but the author simply sold the rights to the game developer. He didn’t write anything for them after.”

“There you go,” I say. “There’s no way those games could be anywhere as good as the books.”

Her eyes go slitty. “The Witcher 3 is a masterpiece.”

“If you say so.”

She turns on her heel. “I’ll prove it to you.”

Before I can reply, she stomps off somewhere.

I stare at Colossus. “How is she going to prove that to me?”

The puppy just wags his tail. He likes being in my lap in the evenings and doesn’t care for much else.

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