“Sure, Sarah. See you Monday.”
Sarah closed her laptop and left the room without another word.
Eamon watched her leave. His jaw was clenched tight. Jim watched the man take a deep, deep breath and visibly force himself to relax. Eamon faced Jim once more. “I’ll see you Monday, Mr. Saunders.”
“Yes, Mr. Byrne.”
Eamon went home and opened up the Rainwhite personnel files. He studied Sarah’s employment file and then went to work. By Sunday, he’d read her transcripts, her master’s thesis, and most of the papers she’d written in college. He had a copy of the district-wide poetry magazine she’d been published in while in high school as well as her IQ scores. He even went into the Mirrored Nation forum archives and re-read her posts under Elaine Everhome again. When he finally logged off, he realized just how much he’d underestimated her.
Sarah went home and sent out the meeting notice to the employees. She kept track of the responses and did what was needed so that by Monday morning at seven, she had notified every employee at Rainwhite Games. Those who knew Sarah got in touch to find out just what the hell had happened. Sarah gave them the facts, but she did not speculate on what the takeover meant.
When Monday morning came, Sarah dressed in the gray business suit she usually wore to the first day of trial with a red sleeveless silk sweater underneath and simple silver earrings and lapel pin. Her shoes and hairstyle were just as conservative. She walked into the main meeting room of Gryphon World, Inc., fifteen minutes early. It was a large open space with floor to ceiling windows to allow plenty of natural light.
As Rainwhite employees filtered in they huddled in their teams whispering softly to one another. Aaron was conspicuously absent, but everyone else seemed to be in attendance. At precisely 9:30 a.m. Eamon, Martin and his team leads came out onto the platform. Everyone still standing quickly found seats. Eamon was dressed in expensive chinos, a navy blue crewneck wool sweater, and casual boots as were the rest of his team.
Sarah was overdressed, but her suit was her armor. She needed the psychological protection that it afforded. Eamon found her at once in the crowd, and he gave her a long enigmatic look before turning away. Perhaps the anonymity of the common uniform would have been the better choice, she thought.
He slipped a headset on and said, “Hello everyone. My name is Eamon Byrne, and I am the President and CEO of Gryphon World, Inc. As of last Friday, Rainwhite Games became a subsidiary of our company. I want to welcome you to our conglomerate and to let you know that we appreciate the hard work that you have given Rainwhite in the past. We look forward to combining your talents with ours into our family of companies. Today our senior team leads will begin the process of integrating you into our teams.” At this point handouts were passed out. “Please note that there are groups of names listed below a name in all caps at the top. The person named at the top is your new direct report. At the conclusion of the meeting, please find your team lead who will meet with you and give you more information.” Eamon smiled at this point. “I know that this is difficult. Change always is. But I am convinced that you will find this change a positive one. Again, welcome to Gryphon World, Inc. ladies and gentlemen, I hope this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship for all of us.” Eamon then introduced his senior staff and concluded the meeting.
There was the hesitant beginning of clapping somewhere in the group. It petered out rather quickly as people studied the sheets to see to whom they should report. Sarah looked down. It was as she suspected. She was to report to Eamon. She knew he would want the pleasure of firing her himself. She noticed that Jim was being asked to report to Martin Ellesworth. That had to sting.
Chapter 6
Sarah took a deep breath and made for the bank of elevators out in the foyer. She stepped inside along with other employees from Rainwhite. They got off, one by one at different stops before hers. By the time she reached the eighth floor, she was alone.
When the elevators opened, Sarah found herself in a large waiting area with another bank of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Kansas City skyline. Sitting at a desk in front of the windows was a very beautiful, stylish young woman dressed in pink skinny jeans, a pink, green and white tunic top and white kid high heeled boots busily hammering away at a computer. She had ink black hair, high sculpted cheekbones and the bluest blue eyes Sarah had ever seen. Clearly, Eamon liked to surround himself with pretty things.
Beyond the young woman was a set of double doors that opened into another space. The young woman wore a lightweight headset that obviously blue toothed her phone and intercom. When Sarah exited the elevator doors, the young woman said something softly into the headset. She listened for a moment and then, as Sarah approached the desk, she said, “Mr. Byrne will see you in a few moments, Miss Adams. Please be seated. Would you care for some refreshment? Coffee, Soda?”
“No, thank you.” Sarah turned and sat down on the sofa to wait. Her stomach churned, but she forced herself to maintain an outward appearance of calm. He kept her waiting for ten minutes.
Finally, the woman stood up. “Mr. Byrne will see you now, Miss Adams.” The young woman escorted her to the door and opened it. Sarah stepped inside.
Eamon’s office also had floor to ceiling windows, though they could be darkened as they were now. Sarah looked at the wall opposite and understood why. There were multiple video screens affixed to the wall suggesting that many people could be brought in on videoconference at the same time. Eamon hit a button on his desk and the windows began to clear.
“Have a seat, Sarah,” he said, indicating the chair in front of his desk.
“Thank you, Mr. Byrne, I prefer to stand.” Sarah stood up straight.
“Fine,” Eamon stood up and came around the desk to stand near her. When she was looking up at him, he said, “You cost me more than a million dollars by the time everything was said and done. What made you think of trying to sell the game engine?”
Taken aback by his question, Sarah said, “It was the logical choice. Wickerworld as a title has possibilities for the future, but that does nothing for the present. You are about to launch your second game in a popular title, so you must be ready to start planning the third. New consoles are due out soon; new consoles mean the need for better graphics. You’ve reached the end-of-cycle on your old game engine…” Sarah’s voice trailed away.
“Exactly. And I let it slip how much I liked Rainwhite’s engine.”
Sarah lost her temper. “What was I supposed to do? You were trying to take over the company I work for. It was my responsibility to help them stop you if possible.”
Eamon shrugged his shoulders. “I agree. But you don’t work for them any longer.”
Sarah turned and started for the door.
Eamon reached out and took her arm. “Wait a minute.”
Sarah turned back around. “Why?”
“Sarah, you don’t work for Rainwhite any longer, but I want you to work for me.” Eamon released her arm. “Sit down and let me explain.” He pointed to the chair. “Please. Sit.”
Sarah sat down in one of the chairs. Eamon sat down in the other. “Look. I’m going to take Rainwhite apart. You know that, I know that, and the employees know that. But I don’t know yet exactly how much of the company I want to keep, how many people I want to keep. You can help me sort that out. You know more about the personnel than we do—”
“We’ve only been there three months. I don’t know—”
“Yet, you know them better than we do. And you haven’t been there long enough to make decisions based on emotion. Take Wickerworld for example. You’re right. I think the title has possibilities, but I don’t have the writing resources inside Gryphon to apply to it. Help me figure out if there’s a writer or writers on the Rainwhite team who could make that title into something worth keeping.”
“What if I say no?” Sarah asked, but she could already guess the answer.
Eamon leaned closer. “Then I take the game eng
ine and the hardware and some of the other programming that Rainwhite has and I dump the rest including the staff. I don’t have time to sort it out, my people don’t have time to sort it out; and frankly, I don’t trust anyone else in your shop to do this.”
Eamon watched Sarah’s face as she thought about what he’d said. Doubt, mistrust were there but he knew that, by appealing to Sarah’s desire to help the employees at Rainwhite keep their jobs, he probably hooked her.
“How is this going to work?” Sarah eyes met his.
Gotcha Sarah! Eamon kept his poker face. “You’ll be my assistant project manager. Don’t let the title go to your head. Most of the time, you’ll be my personal assistant. We’ll set up a desk opposite Nicole out there. I’ll be available for questions and you can keep me informed.”
“What do you want me to do first?”
“Evaluate the staff. Evaluate Wickerworld. Is there a way to save it without spending a fortune? Figure it out.”
Sarah walked to the windows overlooking the city. Sarah came here expecting to be fired, but instead he offered her a chance to enter the world of video game creation and have an impact there. Sarah distrusted Eamon’s reasons: she knew nothing about the nuts and bolts of making a video game; she was a paralegal, and a consumer, so why did Eamon seem eager to have her do this? She glanced back in his direction. He was behind his desk once more, looking at something on his tablet. What were his motives? Sarah turned back to the windows. She could worry about it all day, but it didn’t matter. She had a chance to help some of the people she’d worked with for the past three months. So, she had to try. Sarah turned around again. Her expression was grim. “When do you want me to start?”
Eamon studied her. “Don’t you want to know how much I plan to pay you? What your hours are to be? How much vacation you will receive?”
Sarah remained serious. “I’ll need some time off around Memorial Day so that I can fly home and see my family. As to my salary, if you are paying me what I was already earning, I’ll be satisfied.”
“I see. Then be in the office tomorrow by nine.”
Sarah continued, “Before I go home today, may I have a tour? I’d like to start becoming familiar with everything.”
Eamon stood up and came around the desk. “Sure. Come on, I’ll take you myself.” Eamon led the way out to Nicole’s desk. “Nicole, this is Sarah Adams. She’s going to be my assistant project manager.”
Nicole smiled. “Hi!”
“Nicole’s my administrative assistant, my gatekeeper among other things.”
“Do you have a steno pad or a legal pad by chance? I need to take notes,” Sarah asked.
“Sure.” Nicole pulled out a green steno pad, ripped the used pages out and gave it to her. “Here you go. Welcome to the club.”
“Thanks.” Sarah took the pad and followed Eamon out to the elevator. They rode down to the second floor and Eamon opened the doors with a key card. The room was filled with cubicles adorned with a myriad of personal items, computers and multiple video monitors. People were working; their heads popped up as Eamon and she passed by. As Sarah looked around she noted that everyone was dressed casually, jeans, dockers, t-shirts, crews, and boots, lots of boots. Most of the employees were men, but there were some women around. Sarah didn’t see any of the Rainwhite people.
“This is where most of the work is done on your favorite series, Mirrored Nation. The guys who work on Eigenstates are on the fifth floor. In between you will find the art department and the sound department. Six is unoccupied and seven is legal,” Eamon explained.
“But what about your sports titles?” Sarah asked as they walked through.
“Memphis. The city gave me a tax break. But you don’t need to worry about those.” Eamon stopped at a bank of offices. “You’ll find the team leaders here. Right now they’re with the Rainwhite people, but I’ll introduce you to them tomorrow.”
“Hey Eamon.”
Eamon turned around, “Yeah, Kyle, what is it?”
The young man walked up. “It’s the whirlwind in the hedgerow fight. It still wants to roll upside down.”
Eamon rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand. “Okay, show me.”
The three of them went over to Kyle’s computer. They watched as the whirlwind slowly but surely rolled over on its side and then upside down. “Let’s see the code.”Kyle brought up the programming and Eamon sat down and studied it for a moment. “I think you’ve been looking too far down, it’s earlier in the programming.” Eamon rolled the screen up and framed an area with his hands. “It’s in here somewhere, Kyle, but I’ll be damned if I can see it offhand. Just keep looking.”
“Okay, boss.”
“By the way, Kyle, this is my new assistant project manager, Sarah,”
“Hey, Sarah,” Kyle said. He looked her up and down, not obviously, but Sarah could tell he was somewhat mystified.
“Hey Kyle, it’s good to meet you.”
“Me too.” The young man rolled around in his chair. “Better get back to it.”
They went up to the Eigenstates floor. The area was about the same size, but there were more cubicles and people.
“With Eigenstates going multiplayer, and the work that’s begun on the new game, they’re pretty busy up here,” Eamon told her as they walked through.
Next was the art shop. When Eamon opened the doors, Sarah gasped. The hall that led to the work space had art from all their games displayed in custom cabinets designed to show it off to its best advantage. Sarah wandered down the hall, pausing to look here and there at various pictures and artifacts.
“Geeze, that’s Lifedrinker! That’s Journan’s sword!” Sarah said. Lifedrinker was a steel sword, forged in the fires of an enchanted mountain. The replica looked as though it, too, was forged there. Everything about it was perfect. The pommel and quillon were etched steel, with a runic enchantment. The Grip was wrapped in leather strips dyed dark red. The fuller was etched with runes as well. Lifedrinker was a long sword meant to be used with a shield or a dagger in the off hand. She was light, flexible and deadly. “Oh, she’s beautiful!” Sarah whispered.
“I had master medieval smith create that sword. He smelted his own steel ingot. She’s made from scratch, and she’s no replica. That edge will cut silk.”
Eamon led Sarah over to another case. Wistfully, she said, “That’s Alanna’s amulet and staff.” Freeborn was a magical staff of ebony and gold that Alanna had abandoned when she left Journan and vanished. Alongside the staff was an amulet of gold filigree surrounding a star with a diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald and an amethyst at each point. They represented air, fire, water, earth and spirit. The amulet’s name was Lifegiver. It was clear that the amulet was gold and the stones were real. Lifegiver had been stolen from Alanna and she believed the thief was Journan. It was why she left him.
She looked over her shoulder at Eamon and said, “Are Journan and Alanna ever going to reunite? They were so much in love.”
Eamon touched Sarah’s elbow lightly. “Keep playing the games and perhaps you’ll find out. Come on, we’re running late.”
They went to the sound department. There was a complete sound stage. Everything was there to create sound, create music. Most shops would send that sort of work out. Obviously Gryphon did not.
Sarah looked to Eamon. “Why all the expense?”
“I own a music company as well.” Eamon leaned back against the window that looked into the sound stage with his arms folded.
“What music do you produce?” Sarah turned to look at him in amazement. How did he find the time and the energy to do all this?
“Guess,” Eamon commanded with a smile.
Sarah thought about it. Her eyebrows knit together as she puzzled it out. “Classical, semi-classical and choral music.”
Eamon’s half smile grew into a broad grin. “Clever girl!” He faced the window. “You know the kind of music I like for our games. Producing classical music and choral music gives me
a chance to meet directors, composers, singers and groups that make the music I like. I get access to great talent, and the sound stage pays for itself.”
Sarah had a thought. “Then if the Little Blue needed…” she stopped. A week ago, she would have asked Eamon to give the choir production time in lieu of a donation, but a week ago they’d been friends.
“Go on, Sarah, ask me.” Eamon prompted.
“I wasn’t…”
“Ask me.” Eamon stood there, arms crossed now, waiting to see what she would do.
Sarah swallowed her pride. She looked up into Eamon’s eyes, refusing to look away. The Little Blue choir made do with live recordings at their concerts. It was adequate, but it would be nothing compared to recording their best works in a studio. “Mr. Byrne, would you consider donating some studio time to the Little Blue Community Choir?”
Eamon stepped closer to Sarah. It took everything Sarah had not to step back. “Say please, Eamon.”
Sarah glared but she said it. “Please, Eamon. We would…I would really appreciate this.”
Eamon waited. Finally, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Then you’ll have it, Sarah.” He walked past her before she could thank him. “Come on,” he told her in a normal voice. We have to get up to legal, get you a temporary card key and get you out of here so that I can get back to work.”
Jim Saunders was seated in Martin Ellesworth’s office when they arrived. The two men stood up as Sarah and Eamon came into the room
“Ah, here you are,” Martin said to Sarah. “Miss Adams, I have a temporary card key for you. A permanent one will be made some time next week.” He shoved some papers across his desk. “This is a confidentiality agreement. I suggest you read it carefully before you sign it, because we tend to prosecute the terms of this contract to their fullest extent if we believe someone has violated it”
“May I sit?” She asked.
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