Page 4 of Now Streaming

“While obviously you would be a huge get for Bleeding Sword and the tournament, we would also be willing to work with you if at any point you felt like revealing your identity to your fans. The number of streams alone, added with the online interactions from the other social networks, would—”

“See, this is what pisses me off.” Shark Eyes stopped talking as Hayden cut him off. Hayden felt his anger burn deep in his gut, his anxiety spiking when the douche began talking and a familiar feeling of rage coursing through him. Hayden was certain the look in his eyes was fucking fire. He hated guys like this.

“You bring me here, and you talk up how well you’re going to treat me and respect my privacy wishes, and then you try to push me to expose myself for your bottom line. It’s not going to happen. If you knew anything about me, if you had done even the most basic research about me, you’d know that.”

Brad stepped in, trying to bring it back to before his idiot coworker had spoken. “Mr. Phillips, I assure you, there is absolutely no pressure. Our main goal in setting up this meeting was to earn your trust to hopefully build a future partnership. We’re prepared to offer everything we can to make you feel comfortable. Dylan was just making an offer, in case it was something you had already been entertaining.”

Hayden snorted. “Again, if you’ve watched me, you know very well I have zero plans to reveal my face, and I don’t take kindly to the pressure. Especially when you use the tournament offer to try and persuade me. It’s shit like this that reminds me why I don’t work with businesses like yours.”

Still, Brad tried. “Mr. Phillips, please, if we could just forget what Dylan said and go back to just the offer for the tournament—”

“It’s a no for me. I don’t work with people I don’t trust.” Hayden stood, raking his fingers through his dark hair. He should’ve gotten a haircut instead of coming here. What a waste of time.

Shark Eyes jumped up, something like panic on his face as he probably realized how much he just fucked up this deal. “Mr. Phillips, please, let me apologize. I led this meeting off track.”

“Save it.”

Hayden was out the door before they could say anything else.

CHAPTER2

MIN

Min glanced around the lobby, noting the lack of water rings on the glass coffee table, the lack of receptionist, and the absolutely stellar view of Los Angeles through the floor-to-ceiling windows all along the far wall. She had never been in a waiting room this empty. Usually when she took meetings, the place was bustling, with other people waiting for their own meetings, assistants passing out water, and workers chatting about their day. But the offices of Bleeding Sword were completely empty.

Which made her nervous.

It had been three months since the pictures had leaked. In that time, her streaming numbers had dwindled, and her usual sponsor had dumped her. Her social media profiles were flooded with hate from strangers who were determined to run her off the internet. It was only through her sheer stubbornness that she kept the accounts open. Let them scream at her. She used their anger to fuel her own rage and drive. Min was determined to come back from this. At twenty-six, she knew her happy place was streaming, gaming with her friends, and introducing others to her love of video games. She was going to fix this. And she was hopeful it started here, with this meeting.

She checked her phone, confirming the date and time of her meeting for the tenth time. She was nervous, could feel her leg bouncing, and did her best to concentrate on staying still. She had been contacted about participating in a Bleeding Sword tournament at Kickoff, the biggest fan convention in the world. The stipend was generous, and the email had mentioned prize money for the winner, as well as a year-long sponsorship. After the last three months, Min needed this offer like a sip of water after days in the desert.

Min tugged at her auburn curls, attempting to make them behave. It felt weird to be going to a meeting as FlameThrower and to not be in her usual persona disguise. She didn’t mind being on camera, but that didn’t mean she wanted people to know exactly what she looked like. While she always sighed in relief when she removed the pink wig after a stream, right now she felt naked without it, without the heavy winged eyeliner and her normal pink contacts in.

She always wondered if people were disappointed when they actually met the real her. Real Min was short, didn’t wear a lot of makeup, and was more likely to wear a torn band T-shirt than the corsets and fishnets FlameThrower loved. Real Min was the picture of normalcy, of blending into the crowd, whereas FlameThrower made sure she stood out. Usually Min enjoyed the contrast, but something about today had her feeling nervous.

One of the blessings of the leaked photos was that she was still in her wig and makeup for them. So while people online could call FlameThrower a slut and a whore, someone on the street would have to stare at Min a little longer to recognize her. And usually no one stared at Min for too long.

The time since the photos leaked had been hell. Alex denied posting them, but Min assumed he was lying. But she had no real proof he did anything other than take pictures without her consent, so she had no legal recourse against him. At least, that’s what the cops had told her when she tried to press charges.

She had been an idiot to stay with him so long. And now she was paying the price.

Min’s follower numbers had dropped significantly. She was known to be a good streamer for adults and kids alike, so these pictures changed her persona and her audience. And while she had released a statement saying she had never posed for the photos and that they were taken without her consent, the internet didn’t care. Always on the lookout for the next great scandal, Min’s naked body had been memed and ridiculed across the globe. She was now the face of “gamer girls” according to cis het white men who didn’t like women in games, didn’t like female streamers, didn’t like anything about women who refused to suck their cock, and they made that clear in their campaign against Min. She had lost a sponsor stream, her merchandise deal, and thousands of followers.

And then last month Devery, her little sister, had her car t-boned by a drunk driver. The accident had been brutal, with Devery needing emergency surgery. That had truly been the worst moment of Min’s life, hours bleeding into each other until the doctor finally came out to tell them Dev was going to pull through. She still remembered the relief engulfing her body at his words.

Among other injuries, her sister had badly broken her right leg, leaving her with months of rest and physical therapy in her future. And though her family’s flower shop made a modest income, the medical bills were already piling up. Their mom, who had recently retired, was ready to step back into her role to run the shop while Devery was recovering, but it wasn’t enough. And while in better times, Min could help support her family with her streaming, the well had run dry in the three months since the photos dropped.

She needed this tournament.

Min knew she could win. She had played most of the announced streamers in the past and had beaten them. Before the scandal, FlameThrower had been recognized as one of the best players of the game. She had a real shot at getting the money and, more importantly, the sponsorship. She was surprised they had approached her after the fallout from her scandal, but she wasn’t one to question an opportunity.

Min needed the money. Bleeding Sword had the money. That was all that mattered.

Just then, her phone dinged with a message. Min checked it to find a picture from her sister—her sitting with their mother in her hospital room. Devery had a big smile on her face, almost as big as the hip-to-ankle cast she was sporting. The doctors were finally releasing her to go home today, and Min couldn’t wait to have her there. She knew Dev was dying to be home, and Min already had planned to cook every last one of her favorite foods to celebrate.

Min smiled at Dev’s obvious excitement, texting back a quick “Looking good”before enlarging the photo to study it. And it’s while she was smiling that she heard a voice coming from down the hall.

“It was a mistake to come here.”

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