Page 24 of Don't Game Me
His cheeks turned a darker red. “We discussed things other than dating and aftershave. I guess that’s all the journalist heard.”
“This is a great picture of you.” She rotated for him to see the full page black-and-white of him leaning on a railing, his white shirt unbuttoned and hanging loosely on his shoulders with an exotic water location in the background. His brows were dark slashes framing his light-colored eyes. The black and white brought out his square jaw and that tiny hint of a dimple on his chin. She angled the picture to look again. Her gaze drank in the carved-out curves of his abdomen and the hint of a tattoo peeking out. “Where was this taken?”
“Italy. I was at a conference.”
“You felt the need to take your shirt off and get naked?”
“I’m not naked in the picture.”
“Okay, partially undressed.”
“It was hot outside.”
“Really?”
A bashful smile tweaked his lips. “The photographer thought it’d be better for the article.”
“It’s a great photo. Really gives off the vibe you were…hot.” She giggled. “What’s tattooed on your shoulder?” Examining the magazine within inches of her face didn’t help her make out the ink on his skin. She glanced up at him in silent question.
“There’s only one way you’ll find out.” He grinned.
“I offered you a chance.” Her heart pounded with anticipation at his reaction. She wanted to put it out there again and push him into talking about it, a wish that had nothing to do with Symphis.
He glanced left and pointed to the gaming section. “Look. They’re demo-ing someone else’s virtual reality system using our game.” He grabbed the magazine out of her hands and tucked it back into the rack. “Let’s play.”
“I’m getting my own copy,” she threatened. “I might even buy a whole bunch and distribute them at the wedding.”
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “It’ll keep you hot and bothered when you’re alone at night on the West Coast.”
She batted him in the arm. “You are abadboy.”
“Says so in the magazine. Must be true, then.” He strolled in the direction of the monitors and teenagers playing video games.
She pointed at a newly vacated sofa for two. “Let’s play? The world’s sexiest bad boy against the world’s most desperate geek?”
“I thought we wereplaying.” His lips lifted into a wicked grin.
“Looks like they’ve loaded up the game.”
“Let’s do it. We’ve still got a while until the reprints are done.” He threw her a controller.
“I’m pretty good at this one.” The opening music elicited goose bumps. Touching the controller cramped her gut and sped her heart. She used to love this game and its sequel. Hell, she used to adore gaming one-on-one or in small groups. Now even the music gave her the willies. She’d been forced to compete on assigned, crappy teams in the Stadium in San Diego for months.
Traveling to the Stadium was the worst. It required she navigate her way to a new location since it changed every time, usually in an abandoned building in a scary part of town. People both at her location and across the country, possibly worldwide, placed bets on the teams like a horse race.
Becca tried to leave that first time she’d been “invited” to the Stadium, but Pascal insisted it was only once—an experimental experience. The second time took coercion, a mixture of threat with the video and implications for her future at the company. Gullible and naive, she’d played. Prior to her second time had been her moment to run, but she’d been gullible. It’d only gotten worse after that. Much worse.
Jake punched through the opening screens of the game. “Ugh. We have to start on Level One. I prefer level fourteen to start.”
He handed her a bulky virtual reality headset. They didn’t do VR in the Stadium.
“I hate these bulky things. Cannot wait for you guys to launch your goggles.” She adjusted hers to a fit as best possible.
“Pre-sales are doing well worldwide.”
“That’s probably an understatement.” She lifted the headset to glance at him in time to catch his smile. The small goggles their company was set to release were compatible with any gaming system and so affordable that the invention was set to put their already thriving company on level with the big players in the computer industry.
He clicked through startup screens to get to the opening of Level One. “It’s been a while since I’ve played.”
