Page 5 of Off Her Game
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“How far is she into the game? Beyond level twenty yet?” Noah asked while he paced behind the bank of monitors and computers in the cramped hotel security room.
Sam, Noah’s head of IT security for his company, NJ Legacy, looked up from his laptop where he’d been monitoring Tori Duarte’s progress in the competition. More like fan stalking her. Sam had gushed for almost five minutes about her being one of the infamous Dynasty who’d been placing in the bigger eGaming competitions over the past year. Turned out she was one of the most talented players to hit gaming in years.
Sam scrubbed a hand over his recent buzz cut and ran a finger over his three eyebrow bars. “She’s genius. I’d never thought of some of her moves. Hell, I’ve got an e-boner over this girl’s badassery. The guys on her team are also pretty good, but not like her. I mean… Holy hell, did you see what she just did to that cyber-hawk? She’s less than two hours in and already this far into the game. No wonder she made it to the final round.”
“He didn’t ask about her skill. We need to know what level she’s on.” Tom, leader of the FBI task force assigned to the underground video gaming investigation, click-clicked his ballpoint pen. He yanked off his fleece vest and tossed it over the back of a chair. Tom had a cool, organized tenacity Noah imagined made him excel at the job. However, the pen clicking might drive Noah over the edge.
Noah didn’t want to screw up her chances of winning. But, ironically, his assistant’s sister might be the key to unlocking a year of investigations into the deaths associated with illegal gaming and gambling in New York and shut it down. Tori’s assistance hinged on her not winning today.
“Level twenty-one.” Sam’s frustrated glare met Noah’s gaze.
“It’s time. Get out there and distract her. Make her screw up,” Tom said.Click click. Click click.
Jake, his co-CEO, strolled in. His dress slacks and button-down shirt were wrinkled, highly atypical for Jake, who always had a change of clothes handy. His dark hair, however, maintained its perfect styling. He must’ve come direct from the airport.
Jake plunked a white paper bag by Noah. Maybe not so straight from the airport.
“You stopped for doughnuts without me?” The booze-flavored doughnuts from the Mom and Pop place they found on 8th Street were his favorite in the country.
“Saved a bourbon butterscotch for you.” He rolled his eyes heavenward with an ecstatic smile.
Noah reached in to the bag to grab around one of the sticky concoctions.
Tom snapped, “There’s no time for food.”
“There’s always time forthesedoughnuts.” Jake gave Noah an encouraging smile.
“I didn’t think your plane got in until the afternoon, Jake.” Noah’s stomach clenched at the thought of what he had to do. He grabbed a napkin, wiped off his hand, and rolled the top of the bag down. His mind rumbled along in slow motion bouncing betweenI don’t want to do this to herandthis has to happen. Tori was perfect for the FBI’s infiltration plan. If only he wasn’t also considered ideal—because he’d met her and he was single—then he could waltz his ass far away from this impending debacle.
“Thought it best if I was here for the kick-start to this plan.” He squeezed Noah’s shoulder as he walked past to lean in and stare at the monitor with Tori’s image. “Catch me up.”
Tom click-clicked the pen twice. “Noah needs to get out there and distract her. Right now. He’s getting cold feet.”
“I never said that. Don’t put words in my mouth.” Noah leaned closer to the monitor directed on her. A sexy dragon tattoo on her inner wrist flashed as she pulled her long dark hair out of its ponytail and up into a messy bun in the break between levels. How many other tattoos did she have? “She looks pretty focused. I’m not sure I can make her mess her up.”
Him involved in this plan guaranteed it would get messed up. He regularly misread people and said the wrong thing. Awkward moments didn’t just sneak up on him. They clobbered him over the head, especially with women. Talking to women was like conversing with a beautiful but terrifying alien species. When confronted with an attractive woman he’d break out in a cold sweat and invariably say wrong thing.
The worst was when he misinterpreted a first kiss moment. Like the time he leaned in for a kiss at the exact moment she turned to open her car door. He got a mouthful of hair. Shocked, she’d whirled. Her head slammed into his nose. The catastrofuck ended with one of his hands stemming the hemorrhage from his nose and the other gripping hers in a lame handshake. Of course, he never called her again. That kind of humiliation was why he hadn’t been on a date in months. No, years.
When he’d discovered online gaming, eGames, after a life-altering humiliation as a freshman in high school, for the first time in his life he wasn’t awkward. In those early days of eSports, gamers played for fun. None devoted their every waking hour to gaming, formed pro teams, or calculated how to rake in bucketloads of money from sponsorships like they did these days. As an avatar he could do anything he dreamed. People didn’t recognize him as the overweight kid who starred in a viral video.
That night in the jail with Tori, though, everything had gone different. He hadn’t freaked out about talking to her. He’d even come off marginally cool. Something about her being as screwed by the system as he put them on equal footing.
“We need a reason for you to meet her. To draw her away from the competition floor and get her on board with our plan. Come on. We went over this a zillion times.” Tom threw up his hands and paced away from the screens. “I’m not feeling your commitment here.”
“You got this, man.” Jake stress smiled. Not comforting. “We need you. The future of the gaming world needs you.”
No pressure there.“I don’t like this. I’m not a player. Video games I can do. Women, though? I’m sure as shit not good with dating or women. Me showing up out there won’t be enough to distract her. I can’t talk to her. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to say? You should do this, Jake. You’re better with this kind of stuff.”
Noah watched Tori’s facial expressions as she battled imaginary creatures on screen. God, she was pretty. Not drop-dead beautiful. Thank God for that. Beautiful women with perfect hair, unblemished skin, and honed seduction techniques ramped up his unease. And turned him into a babbling idiot.
“This is about stopping this crime organization before it spreads across the world, killing more than just your brother. Don’t you want to bring your brother’s murderers to justice?” Tom asked from the back of the room. “I need someone who can get inside the operation without suspicion. That someone is her.”
Tom pushed off the wall and paced. “When you came to us seven months ago after Kaleb died you were the one worried about a future where the best computer programmers and designers are tricked into working for criminals. They’ll be sucked into an underground world where they’ll be forced to hack and program to survive. This is about preventing that reality. They’re already luring in retired pro gamers, disgruntled coaches, and those who almost made it.”
His neck tingled. He glanced around to find his assistant glowering at him.
