Page 29 of The Game

She sits down in the chair on the other side of my desk, and Chris appears in the doorway and raises his hand in greeting.

“I was talking to Chris about animal videos on TikTok and how much I liked them,” Susie starts.

“My girlfriend’s got a craaazzy dog,” Chris interjects.

“I know the core of people who buy from us are hobbyists with good technical skills, but I was thinking we could design some simple dog-themed electronics kits that ordinary people could make, maybe kids, like Rover’s Robot or The Beagle Bot,and use Chris’s girlfriend’s dog to promote them. We could put together some fun videos.”

I laugh. It’s so far away from a serious electronics company, but it wouldget us eyeballs. “I actually love that idea.”

“People could share their dogs as well as the kits they’ve made. We could run competitions to have a kit named after their pet. I’m sure I could come up with lots of things.”

Susie’s brain runs at a mile a minute. “These are all good ideas,” I say, smiling at her and Chris. I have no clue if it will get us anywhere, but where’s the harm?

She beams at me. “We’ll make a start on it.’

“I’ll check on Salty’s availability,” Chris chips in.

“Salty?”

“That’s the name of my girlfriend’s dog,” Chris says. “He’s a real grump.”

I laugh again, but also … “God, Anna’s dog is named Pepper.”

Susie’s eyes widen. “Of course she is! Salty and Pepper! That’s ridiculous. We could do a video of them together. Does Pepper have an Instagram or TikTok account?”

“I’ve no idea.”

She pulls out her phone and starts scrolling. “Oh, amazing!”

“What?”

“Half a million followers, Adam, that’s what.”

“For a dog?”

She raises her eyebrows. “Where have you been for the last ten years?”

I gesture at my desk, and she rolls her eyes.

“She probably charges a fortune for a post. Do you think she’d let us use Pepper?”

I purse my lips. That’s a big favor, but whatever, might as well go all out. “I can ask. Two secs.”

Would Pepper be up for trying some dog-tech toys?

“Okay. I’ve asked the question. I’ll give you a shout when Anna gets back to me.”

But my phone buzzes almost immediately in my hand:

Absolutely! Do you want me to bring her over later?

My eyes scan over the office, taking in the stained carpet and the old desks I took out of a skip. “Shit. She wants to come over here with Pepper.”

“Who? Anna Talanova? Are you shitting me?” Chris says, eyes bugging out as he follows my gaze around the room, lingering on the carpet stains and the scuffed walls. Our vibe is more bad seventies throwback than exciting tech startup.

“No way,” I say. “This office …”

Susie chews her lip. “Could we sort this place out today?”

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