Page 106 of Boss Level

“I’ll text you details,” Sonya said.

Misa and her lawyer were on their way.

After they were gone, I nodded toward the hallway. “Are you going to do this?” I asked Sonya. I’d been trying to get her to commemorate a contract with me for months. Reese loved the ritual, because it meant photos of her success, but Sonya avoided it for the same reason.

But she’d wanted her books in manga form for a long time, and Jeremy and Quentin had pushed hard to make this happen. This was a bigger deal than most.

“Fine.” Sonya huffed, but she was mailing. “But only this once, and only because it’s Japan.”

I pulled her up next to me, in front of the plaque that hung by my front door, and took a selfie of both of us. All these photos hunt in my office, marking milestones. Reminding me of how incredible this was.

And dotted with so many photos of Xander, Judith, and me.

Speaking of, they were walking toward us.

“Is it done?” Judith asked Sonya with a grin.

Sonya nodded. “But I’m going to leave you all to whatever you’re up to. I need to get back to work.

“You really should,” Judith said. “I heard one of the new writers say Spock and Uhura were a way better ship than Spock and Kirk.”

Sonya scowled. “I thought I screened them better than that,” she joked, and walked away.

As Xander, Judith, and I headed out to lunch, I couldn’t help but think about how perfect This all was. This was what life should be.

* * *

judith

I’d been to the Video Games Award Ceremony many times in my career, but this was the first time I was here representing AcesPlayed, and it was an incredible feeling. Especially since the game had been nominated in a couple of categories.

The ballroom at The Howard was filled with large tables, and a temporary stage and podium sat at the front of the room. I was seated near the edge with Xander and Dom, and we shared a table with Scott, Kenzie, and Brienne. AcesPlayed hadn’t won any awards yet, and neither had Rinslet, but I was still enjoying the show.

Yes, taking home an official trophy of recognition would be nice, and I was pretty sure it would be enough to make Xander come in his seat… Or at least drag Dom and I into the nearest coat closet to fuck. But I didn’t expect a win tonight. The industry didn’t quite understand what an incredible thing I and my team had done.

I was trying to keep a pleasant mask in place while someone on stage fumbled through their acceptance speech, when my phone buzzed with a new text.

It’s a girl, the message from Phillip read. Like that, my smile was genuine. I flipped through a series of pictures of their new baby, with Adrienne, with him, with Dustin. This was their second child, and the entire family looked so happy.

Currently, Phillip’s text was much better news than what I was getting here. I shared the pictures with our small group, and sent back aCongratulationsfrom everyone.

A short while later, Scott excused himself. He was presenting the final award of the night, for Player’s Voice—the one category that players picked rather than a panel of industry representatives.

When he stepped onto the stage, he spit out what was probably supposed to be a joke, but landed flat with his emotionless delivery. He sighed. “Really? We’re going to makeanotherjoke about how some of us are older than dial-up? Who writes this shit, the executive staff at DM?”

A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd, and he smirked. A glance at Kenzie showed her hiding behind her hand, but after more than ten years with him, she expected it.

“Let’s skip the script and get down to the list,” Scott said. He read through the nominees for Player’s Choice, including AcesPlayed.

I liked hearing our name called, but expected that would be the last time tonight.

Scott tore into the envelope like Xander opening Christmas presents, pulled out the card inside and frowned.

What was that?

He beckoned to someone at the edge of the stage, and after a little back and forth, a young man joined him at the podium.

“Am I allowed to do this?” Scott asked. His question was whispered, but he hadn’t pulled away from the microphone. Most likely on purpose.

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