Page 84 of A Hard Fit

Rory fell into Finn’s lap. “She said he’s going to call me,” they mumbled into Finn’s shoulder.

“Okay.” Finn smoothed Rory’s hair.

“That was so hard. I never fight with my mom.”

“I know.” Finn’s stomach twisted. Rory had stormed out of their mom’s birthday party because of him. Rory was arguing with their mom because ofhim. He should never have told Rory what Jackson said. He should never have—

“I hate this feeling. I hope Jackson calls soon.” Rory sniffled.

“I hope so too.”

“Now can we watch some moreGodstrike?”

“Yes, love. I’ll go make popcorn.”

* * * *

“Rory, Finn!” Markos burst into the conference room and shook their hands even more enthusiastically than at their last meeting. Finn pictured him holding a wooden puppet. “Great to see you two. I looked at the proposal you sent over and I love it.Lovethe VR idea.” He heaved himself into a chair.

“That’s great! We’re exc—” Finn started to reply.

Markos steamrolled ahead. “But I also think we need to keep the boat ride.”

“You…you what?” Finn’s voice squeaked up a register.

“I know, I know.” Markos chuckled. “You caught me on a bad day before. That thing drives me crazy, but since I had to get the pipes fixed anyway, I’m doing a full upgrade to the plumbing.”

“Well, that’s…that’s great!” Rory jumped in, beaming, while Finn floundered for a response. “Your guests will be thrilled.”

“And don’t worry”—Markos waved a hand—“we don’t need to use the boat ride space for the VR. I have the perfect spot. The arcade is way past its prime. Let’s use that lot for the new ride. We can have an arcade set up in the exit.”

“That sounds great!” Rory said, nudging Finn with their foot under the table. “Finn, did you want to show Markos your sketches?”

“Yes. Yup. So…” Finn opened up his portfolio. “It starts with the riders gathering in the tech van—you know the old nondescript, windowless van filled with computer screens where two people sit and support the heist team?”

“I’m with you, Finn.” Markos’ eyes shone as he studied Finn’s drawings. “Tell me all about it.”

Before their meeting ended, Markos also approved the TV commercials they’d be running and newspaper ads for the local area. “And we’re opening March ninth,” he informed them. “I’ve confirmed that with the contractors and all my suppliers.”

“And…when is thesoftopen?” Finn hedged.

“Nah.” Markos scoffed. “Not needed. We’ll be good to go for the grand opening.”

Rory’s eyes bulged. “You don’t…you don’t want to do a few days with friends and family just to make sure—”

“Rory, please. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I learned to walk in the fucking park. My first word was ‘roller coaster.’ We’ll do a few test runs on the new ride, and Rory will test the app, right? It’ll be business as usual.”

“I’ll definitely test it, but—”

“Perfect. March ninth.”

* * * *

When Markos left, Finn propped his head on the table with one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other.

“You okay?” Rory asked.

“Yeah, just got some whiplash from the boat ride one-eighty. Not to mention…no soft open?”

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