Eamon smiled at that. “Well you may get your chance in a few weeks.”
“Let me know if she’s on the market. I am definitely interested.” Jeff turned away to take a clean towel from the pile.
Eamon returned to the table. The crowd had thinned enough now so that they could leave. Eamon called the driver to bring the limo around. Then he turned to Sarah. “You ready?”
Sarah, who had just come back to the table nodded. “It’s your dance, Mr. Byrne. I’m just here for the ride.”
“Let’s go then.” Eamon said goodbye to everyone, and within moments they were in the back seat of the limo headed to Sarah’s house.
Eamon undid his tie but said nothing as they sped through the streets toward her apartment. As the silence lengthened, Sarah began to wonder if she had somehow pissed Eamon off.
“I assume I performed up to your standards, Mr. Byrne.”
Eamon came out of whatever funk he was in long enough to look at her and smile. “Miss Adams, you did everything right tonight. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner for this event. Thanks again for coming.”
They got to Sarah’s apartment and Eamon sent the driver with Sarah to see her safely to her door. He wanted to follow her to her apartment. He wanted to go inside and take that beautiful, impossible dress off her enticing body. He wanted to do things to her that made his heart pound, his mouth go dry and his cock get stiff. But that wasn’t a part of the plan. When the driver got back, Eamon told him to take him home.
Chapter 10
Monday morning, Sarah got together with John Billis, Brad O’Neil, Tammy Reid and James Pratchett.
“Hello. I called you together because I learned that you four were working on companions and better dialogue for Wickerworld.”
They looked at one another and back at her. No one spoke so Sarah tried again. “Look, I have week before Mr. Byrne decides who goes and who stays. I believe in Wickerworld. We can create a DLC that’s good enough to bring the original title up to a decent sale point, and give us a shot at pitching additional games in the series. If you don’t want to do this, tell me so I can go to other programmers and writers. I am going to save this title if I can. I want your help, but I’ll do it with you or without you.”
“What makes you think that Byrne will give us the capital to create a DLC?” John Billis asked her.
“Mr. Byrne is smart when it comes to turning a profit. He sees the potential in this game just as I do. Aaron said you all had worked this up part-way. Do you have anything? Storyboards? Initial programming for the companions, anything I can pitch? If you do, then I might get him to put capital into it.”
The four of them huddled. Sarah had a sudden hunch. “You’re going out on your own, aren’t you? You’ll take what you have, move it around a little and sell it somewhere else. Maybe you already have an idea of where you’re going with it.”
Tammy looked over at her. “We thought about it. I suppose an argument could be made that some of this already belongs to Gryphon World, the companion programming, for sure, but the stories, the quest lines, those were never pitched.”
Sarah gave it another try. “Look, don’t give me everything. Give me one good story line and the programming we already have. Get me some art to go with it. Think of this as an opportunity. We’ve been bought out by the best financed, most secure game corporation in the USA. These people have the means, and you have the idea. If we can make a DLC work, I’m willing to bet we will have a very good budget for game two.”
When none of them spoke, Sarah turned toward the door. “Give me an answer in twenty-four hours.” She left the four of them to talk it over and went on to her other interviews. Sarah got back to the office in time to talk with Nicole about the upcoming trip.
“Can you give me a little background on where we’re going? And what do I do when I get there?”
“Well…” Nicole did a dramatic pause, “…pack your warm clothes, you’re going to upstate, New York.”
“Hoookay…New York.” Sarah said.
Nicole laughed. “Look, it’ll be okay. The weather’s supposed to be sunny, and you’re staying at a great little hotel.”
“So, what will I be doing?”
“You’ll set up the booth, run slide shows or videos, be the gopher, ‘run for this, and run for that’, eat a lot of junk food and get very little sleep,” Nicole explained. “Hey, this is a baby convention compared to the biggies. It’s a good place to get your feet wet.”
“That’s good. Are there any materials I can look over? What are we going to promote?”
“Mirrored Nation: Reflections for the most part. Eamon’s taking a lot of trailers, there’ll be a Q&A, and the demo will be set up on PC and the consoles.” Nicole said.
“I don’t know anything about Mirrored Nation: Reflections. I haven’t even had a chance to play the demo.”
Nicole stood up. “Well, come with me.”
Sarah followed Nicole down to the second floor. They went to the test room. “Take your pick. The demo is on the consoles and the PCs. I’d suggest playing on each for awhile. Then if you get asked questions, you’ll have answers.”
Sarah gave Nicole a hug. “Thanks, Nicole.”
“I’ll leave you to it, okay?”
“Yeah, see you later.” Sarah sat down and fired up one of the consoles. She set her phone to alarm after an hour. She returned to Rainwhite to finish up her interviews. She came back to Gryphon to play the demo some more. It was five when she received a text message on her phone from Tammy.
We’re in. See us tomorrow and we’ll give you what we have.
Great! See you then.
Sarah went back to the demo. An hour later, she got another text message on her phone. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?
It was Eamon.
Playing the demo so that I can get ready for New York.
UPSTAIRS NOW.
Sarah went up to eight and knocked.
“Come in.” Eamon looked up from his desk and saw her. He stood up. “Do you mind telling me why you haven’t answered your phone?”
Sarah pulled out her phone and looked at the settings. Sarah realized that she’d left the ringer on silent after her interviews. Her text message ringer had still been on vibrate. She held up the phone. “I put it on silent while I interviewed the staff. I forgot to put it back on normal.”
“Well, at least leave your vibrate on next time.” Eamon growled.
“No. I’m done now and even if I weren’t, it’s just rude to let the phone interrupt you during something that important.”
“Damn it! I—”
Sarah threw up her hands. “Look, I was doing what you asked me to do. You squished my time table down to nothing, so I couldn’t afford to be interrupted.”
He looked away from her, took a breath and let it out. She had a point; he knew that. When he looked at her again, he was considerably calmer.
“All right. Sit down and tell me. You must have a list by now, let’s see it.”
“I need my notes,” Sarah told him. She gathered her things and came back into Eamon’s office. He was at his conference table and was just getting off the phone. “There’s some Thai food coming. They’ll ring.”
Sarah couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I’m beginning to think you have a thing for Asian food.”
“Well, I have a thing for easy take-out,” Eamon told her. “Sit down and show me what you have.”
For the next two hours, Sarah went through each department of Rainwhite, each employee, their strengths, who seemed a good fit, who wasn’t working out. When the food came, they ate while Sarah went over what she’d learned. Then she told Eamon about her idea for a DLC for Wickerworld.
“So, let me get this straight. You want me to invest more money into this game?” Eamon leaned back in his chair, clearly not convinced.
“Look, you said it yourself, the game has potential. With a kickass DLC and some promotion, you not only get the people who like the game to
buy, but you may also pick up some new players. I think it’s worth a shot.”
“A million dollars ago, I might have agreed with you, Miss Adams, but—”
“Oh get over it! These four people have an idea, but if you say no, they are going to walk with that idea right into the lap of some other game company. You know as well as I do that they can create a Wickerworld clone and put their good ideas to work.” Sarah stood up and slammed the table for emphasis. Her eyes flashed fire. “You can at least let us make the proposal. Don’t say no without looking.”
Eamon watched her reaction, shook his head and began to laugh softly.
Sarah got more incensed. “Damn it, why are you laughing at me?”
Eamon grinned from ear to ear. “Just who the hell are you anyway, and when did you take over Sarah’s body?”
“What do you mean?
Eamon made himself stop laughing. “All right. You’ve got your shot. Make it good because I’m not cutting you any slack on this.”
Sarah took a deep breath and let it out. The relief showed on her face. “Thanks.”
Eamon walked close to Sarah and leaned in. “Don’t thank me yet, Miss Adams, I may not agree to the proposal you know.”
Sarah looked up into his eyes. “Yes, you will. Because it’s going to be good; it’s going to be great.”
“Whatever. Now, get your things and I’ll see you down to your car.”
Sarah looked at her phone. It was well after ten o’clock. “I’d appreciate that.”
As they rode down the elevator, Eamon asked, “So, when can I see your proposal in full?”
“A week after we get back from New York?”
“Okay. Good night, Miss Adams.”
“Good night sir.”
The next day, they left for New York.
Chapter 11
Sarah arrived at the airport for the last connecting flight out on Wednesday night. Her ticket was electronic and when she arrived at the check-in counter, she discovered that she was booked in first class with Eamon.
She stepped out of the line and waited for Eamon to arrive. He came up to the counter.
“There’s been some mistake. I’m booked in a first class seat, Mr. Byrne.”
“It’s not a mistake,” Eamon explained. “You’re in the seat next to me.”
“Is this your standard procedure?” Sarah asked him. “Does your PA always sit with you?”
“You’re not my personal assistant. You’re my assistant project manager. You’re special and you will ride in first class. That’s all there is to it.” Eamon responded.
Sarah caught the sarcasm in his tone. “Isn’t that just a little too special? I—”
“Just get on the damned plane,” Eamon commanded.
Sarah checked in. The weather was clear and there were no delays in the main hubs, so their flight left on time. Sarah spent the trip wearing a sleep shade and her mp3 player. If Eamon needed her help on anything, he’d have to shake her to get her attention. She couldn’t pretend to sleep on the commuter flight, but it didn’t matter. There was no first class on the puddle jumper.
They reached the hotel at three in the morning. Sarah wheeled her carry-on up to her room. The door opened into a small kitchenette. Past the tiny breakfast bar was a sitting area and then a king bed, large TV and a great big bank of windows that overlooked the city. Everything looked fresh, tastefully decorated and squeaky clean.
Sarah pulled an outfit out of her suitcase, hung it up in the closet, set the alarm, called the desk to request a wakeup call, stripped off her now stinky clothes and fell into bed.
Five hours later, Sarah was awakened by a pounding on her door. She stumbled out of bed, pulled her stinky sweater on over her head and went to answer it.
Eamon stood there, fully dressed. “The van will be here in ten minutes. Is that what you’re wearing? I mean, the guys will be pleased but…’
Sarah looked down. She had nothing on other than her oversized sweater. “I need a shower!”
“No time, Miss Adams. Grab—“
“I need a shower! Give me the address and I’ll take a taxi!”
Eamon looked at his watch and said, “You have fifteen minutes. If you aren’t in the lobby in fifteen, you’re on your own.”
Sarah slammed the door on his heels, grabbed her stuff and hit the shower. She was out in five, brushed her teeth, put on her clothes and was out of time. Sarah still had a towel wrapped around her head when she swept her makeup and brush into her tote, grabbed her set-up bag and ran down the steps to the lobby. The guys were getting into the van just as she hit the door.
“Hi guys,” Sarah said as she climbed into the van.
“Hey.” “Hi.” “Hello.” The guys acknowledged Sarah’s entrance. She knew Kyle, but he was the only one.
The guys were talking among themselves. Sarah reached up, unwound the towel and began to dry her hair, running the towel back and forth rapidly over her head. There was a sudden silence. Sarah lowered the towel and looked around. All of them were staring at her. All of them.
“What?” Sarah asked. She saw the guys take a quick look down and then quickly look away. Sarah looked down. Underneath her white t-shirt her breasts were clearly visible. Toweling her hair had awakened her nipples and they stood proudly at attention. Sarah’s nipples were somewhat prominent, even in a bra. She was voted girl with the perkiest breasts in high school for good reason.
“Oh God,” she whispered. Taking a deep breath, Sarah sat up straight and said, “Okay guys, the impromptu white t-shirt contest is at an end. Someone be my Paladin and loan me a more respectable shirt?”
T-shirts were whipped off all around her. Sarah looked at them, amused. She grabbed the Darth Vader Lives! t-shirt from the skinniest guy there. Sarah drew it over her head. Her Paladin sat there smiling in his white undershirt.
“You’re wonderful guys,” Sarah told them all. “Thanks. Now, tell me your names, please?” The guys introduced themselves. It was Hank who had loaned her the shirt. “Swear to God, Hank, I’ll find a shirt to buy first thing and get this back to you,” Sarah promised.
Her eyes met Eamon’s. For a moment she wondered if he was angry, but then he rolled his eyes and looked away. Relieved, Sarah went back to the business of getting dressed. She finished finger-fluffing her hair and she even managed to apply a little mascara before they got to the hall where the event was being held.
From the time they hit the door, Sarah ran her bottom off. It was “Sarah get this, Sarah find that, Sarah, can you bring us coffee, and Sarah, find somewhere with good takeout.” Sarah ran and got and fetched and carried and found takeout. She even managed to find a booth that was going to sell t-shirts and wangled an early sale out of them. Hank seemed disappointed when she returned his.
“All good things come to an end, I suppose,” he said mournfully. Then he pulled the t-shirt on and got a smile on his face. “Wow. This kinda smells like you.”
Sarah gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the loan, Hank.”
“Any time, Sarah.”
Sarah went back to work. By seven Thursday night, they had their stuff set up. Power points and videos were tested, boxes of decals, posters, game costumes, cards, t-shirts, were lined up under the tables ready to be opened. Eamon used a box cutter to open one of the t-shirt boxes. He pulled out a small and threw it Sarah’s way. “You’ll need this.” He looked at her. “You could have had one this morning, you know.”
“I didn’t think. I just reacted.”
Eamon laughed. “I think everyone just reacted.” He saw the blush come to her cheeks.
“I was in such a hurry and tired…I forgot to put on my bra.”
“I kinda got that, Miss Adams. But it was quite a show, though the crew was…inspired.”
Sarah shrugged a shoulder and heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes a little. “Well, anything for the cause. So, when do we get to go back to the hotel and rest?”
With a low chuckle, Eamon whipped out
his phone. “Any time. I’ll call the shuttle service.” He spoke briefly on the phone and then said to her, “It’ll be about thirty minutes. Go round up the guys.”
She found them in the side room they were using for the Mirrored Nation: Reflections demo tomorrow. They’d run through the presentation, checked out the local audio equipment and decided to use their own. “Hey guys, the shuttle is on its way,” Sarah told them.
“Great!” Kyle said as he put his hands on his hips and arched his back. “I could really use some down time.”
“So, finish up and we’ll get the hey-ho out of here.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go,” Hank said.
As the guys headed toward the door, Sarah found Eamon back at the booth and went to the foyer to watch for the shuttle. When it arrived, they climbed in and rode in silence.
Just before they reached the hotel, Eamon looked everyone over. “Listen, if you want to eat here in the hotel or have room service, just put it on your room tab. If you’re planning to go out tonight, you’re on your own.”
“Got it, boss. Thanks.” The guys said.
When they arrived at the hotel, Sarah headed up to her room longing for a hot bath. While she waited for the tub to fill, she logged into her laptop and brought up her email. The DLC team sent a storyline they wanted to propose along with outlines for the character companions they wished to create. Sarah read through it. She loved the plot and most of the dialogue trees were great, but Sarah was not happy with the art concepts for the companions. The team had used the standard maps for the faces. Sarah thought that this DLC was a chance to introduce additional face models and hairstyles to the series. Still, all of this was a great start.
Sarah remembered her bath just in time. She found her pajamas and her Terry Pratchett book and climbed in for a nice, long soak. She read until the water began to cool, and then she washed up and got into her PJs.
She realized she was hungry and called room service. A few moments later there was a knock on the door. Sarah opened the door to find Eamon standing outside. He’d obviously taken advantage of the bathing facilities because his hair was still damp and he had on clean sweat pants and a t-shirt.
Gamer Girl Page 8
