by Jill Snow
She laughed with genuine amusement, her eyes lighting up her whole face.
“Okay, I deserved that. Yes, I guess I had you pegged like that. But then I’m sure you heard I was a man hater.”
It was his turn to squirm. Her words echoed those of his lawyer too closely.
“I see I was right.” She sipped her coffee before checking her cell.
“Are you waiting for someone to call?”
“What? Oh, no, sorry. I just…well I have been getting messages. The urge to check is hard to resist.”
“Nice messages or those you mentioned last night?”
“Last night?” The guarded look was back. Something was definitely spooking this woman. He wanted to know what. After all, maybe he could help. But he would have to tread carefully. She was so independent, she was likely to take any offers of help as a sign he was being patronizing.
“During your talk you said something about being threatened.”
Obviously uncomfortable, she fidgeted. She was being threatened.
“A few horrible comments on the internet. You know the type. I guess everyone gets them if they do a Kickstarter or some other form of public funding. Look, this was nice but I really should get back to work.”
She was running away. He wanted to say she had nothing to fear from him, but he couldn’t.
“Can I come with you?”
“Pardon?”
“I would love to see what you’re working on. I’ll sign a non-disclosure or anything you want me to sign. I am really interested in your ideas and would love to see them in action, so to speak. What do you say?”
Please say yes, he found himself begging silently. It had been so long since a woman interested him on so many levels. He could listen to her talk all day. She was so interesting. And she was incredibly attractive—he couldn’t take his eyes off her red hair as she met his eyes.
“Um…” What could she say? She didn’t want to seem rude and it would be great to show him successful games don’t have to demean women. But he worked for the competition. Or rather, he owned the competition. He had access to funds she could only dream about. So that’s why he wanted to have coffee so badly. He thought he could access insider secrets, capitalize on her years of research and then produce a good video game.
“Maybe another time?” she hedged. “I promised Carrie, the girl who you met last night, I would work with her on something this afternoon.”
“Okay. That’s cool. I’ll hold you to another coffee date.”
Date? He had used the word date. She should be repulsed but she wasn’t. What was she thinking? She couldn’t date her enemy no matter how charming he appeared to be.
“It was very nice to speak to you in person. I can’t promise anything at the moment.”
She hadn’t asked him to promise anything. What if he had seen her attraction and he thought she was playing hard to get? She opened her mouth to speak but he got there first.
“But I will go through the catalogue of games offered by Sunny Studios.”
“You will?” She didn’t know how her voice sounded so calm when she was so surprised. “That’s great. I am very passionate about this and I think it’s best for the generations to come. We have to turn things around now.”
He smiled at her as he held the door open. Was he being sincere? He seemed to be genuinely interested in learning about her video games instead of trying to find out how he could profit from them. Was she guilty of misjudging him? She almost wished she had said yes to his coming to the office, but it was best to play it cool. Guys like Conor Dunne didn’t hear no very often. She was sure of it.
Chapter 10
Surprised not to find Carrie waiting impatiently for her at the office, Emily tried to focus on getting a few jobs done and out of the way. The arrival of Jason cut short that plan.
“Hey, Jason, didn’t expect to see you today. Figured you would have a sore head after last night. It was a fantastic evening. Well done.”
Jason smiled at her compliment. “Carrie bailed. She said to tell you she was too hung-over to come in. She hoped you wouldn’t be too mad.”
“Carrie? Why didn’t she call me?’
“Said she tried but you weren’t picking up.”
Guiltily, Emily remembered hearing her cell buzz when she was talking to Conor. Carrie was entitled to take the weekends off and have a life. “Jason, you shouldn’t be in the office. Don’t you have a date?”
“Nah. I went home alone.”
“Ah, poor Daisy.”
“She didn’t seem too upset. She hooked up with some rich guy.”
“Oh.” Emily wasn’t sure what else to say. She didn’t pretend to understand the casual dating game the rest of her team seemed to play. She wondered if the gossip about Conor Dunne being a serial womanizer was true and found herself hoping it wasn’t.
“Earth calling Emily, tune in Emily.”
She looked up to find Jason grinning at her. “Where is your head this morning, or shouldn’t I ask? Who’s to blame for you being tired, the guy you were dancing with? I thought he left before you did, though.”
“I went home alone,” Emily said sharply, immediately regretting her tone. Jason was only teasing her. “Sorry, Jason, I’m overtired. I think I might head home, too.”
“You can’t.”
Startled at his insistent tone, Emily held her head to the side waiting for him to explain.
“Sorry, what I meant was do you have to? We really need to get that video shot for next week’s vlog. I thought you could say something about how well last night went. How the Beta is doing and how excited we are to see Warrior Queen, come out in time for the Christmas market.”
“I suppose we should,” Emily said, feeling guilty her assistant was more enthusiastic about the project than she was. What was wrong with her? Usually her business came first, second and last. But now when she closed her eyes, unwanted thoughts of Conor Dunne kept swirling in her brain. How she wished she were like Daisy and the rest of the girls she knew. She could have asked him to go home with her last night. She sputtered as soon as the thought came into her head. She was just as likely to audition for a job as a designer on Generation Sassy, the new offering from Sunny Studios.
Emily shot the video for the vlog. Jason filmed while she talked about the Warrior Queen beta testing, feedback from readers and then she answered some questions viewers from previous sessions had sent in. Jason had curated them, so she didn’t have to deal with any nasty ones.
“That was awesome, Emily. Now we just need to do a piece on the new offering by Sunny Studios. This one is really going to make your blood boil.”
She listened as he outlined the game and what it involved. He was right, she was angry.
“How on earth did that get past the censors?” she asked.
“It has an Adults Only maturity rating. You know what that means.”
Seething, Emily knew it gave the developers carte blanche to include whatever material they wanted. She had to get her temper in check or she would make a mess of the vlog. A cool, well thought-out response would work better than a rant. At the moment, she was tempted to chain Conor Dunne to the wall but that wouldn’t help anyone.
Instead of focusing on the game, she spoke about gaming in general. She outlined the good points—used responsibly, games could help enhance children’s knowledge about history, the world etc. Adult games were designed for the adult market in much the same way as movies. Her voice wobbled when she described some of the bad behavior video games could encourage. She ended the vlog with an appeal to parents not to allow their children to play adult games.
“Why don’t you send a direct appeal to Conor Dunne?”
Emily looked at Jason thoughtfully. Her first instinct was to say no, but Jason usually had good reasons for his suggestions. “Do you think that will help?”
“Well, he was there last night. That suggests he has some interest in cleaning up the gaming industry. He may not agree with a
ll your views—I certainly don’t.”
Emily smiled in acknowledgement. She and Jason had enjoyed some fierce debates on various gaming subjects. While he disagreed with wanton violence and degradation of women, he argued that adult gamers were entitled to play their choice of games. The women who had fought for equal rights would want to make their own choices. Emily didn’t disagree, but she was adamant children shouldn’t have access to the more violent games. She actually loved the Quest Embattlement games herself and, if she had more time, she would have played more.
“I am not sure if that’s fair, he just bought the company. Maybe we should give him a chance-”
“Emily, If he wants to change things, now is the perfect time. We all know he’s the billionaire and he can make the staff do whatever he wants.” Jason paused to look at her. “He’s entitled to introduce sweeping changes. Most investors do when they take over a company. Now couldn’t be a better time.”
Jason’s argument was persuasive, but there was a voice in Emily’s head telling her this was a mistake.
“I see your point, but it seems to me we should give him time to settle in.”
Jason adopted what Emily called his sulky boy face. He was like a child told he couldn’t go to a sleepover.
“Come on, Jase, don’t be like that. Did your parents never teach you it’s easier to catch flies with honey, than vinegar.”
Jason immediately brightened up. “Sorry, Emily, you’re right as usual. That’s why you’re the boss. Why don’t we get this shot now? And then you can go home like you planned.”
“Great.” Relieved she seemed to have gotten through to him, Emily waited for the camera to start rolling. She tied up the loose ends in the vlog and signed off.
“Ever think you should go on camera without the disguise?” he asked. “You’d look fantastic.”
Emily chewed her lip. Should she tell Jason about the threats? He knew about the Twitter ones but not the latest. No, he would only worry, and insist on walking her home and taking care of her. He acted like a big brother at times to both her and Carrie, as if they were unable to fend for themselves. It was sweet, but he could be overbearing.
“Maybe someday. At the moment, I like being able to go where I want without being recognized.”
“You’re so funny, Emily. Most women want to be idolized whereas you prefer a life in the shadows.”
Emily didn’t respond. He was partly right. Even at college she hadn’t shared her friends’ need for the limelight. It bothered her that female gamers had to be cute to be famous. Like actresses, they seemed to be judged on their looks rather than their ability. She wanted to show the world she was just as good as a male gamer. Hence, she never used more than her initials on her games. Nobody had known until recently that she was the designer behind Warrior Queen. Friday night was the first time she had been photographed as the head of the DC Williams Foundation. She liked being able to come and go as she pleased. While she wouldn’t mind the money famous people earned, she would hate to be Angelina Jolie or Oprah. The thought of being unable to run down to the local store without risking your photograph ending up everywhere was horrible.
“Are we done?” Emily asked Jason, anxious to get home. Not sleeping well the previous night was catching up on her and she needed a nap.
“Yes, you go on. I’ll edit it and get it ready. We should publish as soon as possible. Might get more donations for the foundation.”
“Good idea, Jase, but are you sure you don’t want to get home? You can leave it till Monday. It’s the weekend.”
“No, I’m good. I’d rather get it finished.”
“Okay, then, but don’t work too hard. See you Monday.”
“Later.”
Emily slung her purse over her shoulder, deciding to walk home. It was such a beautiful day, not too hot. She needed a bit of sun on her skin. She would take a nap when she got home, then work through until she got her backlog cleared. Then she would go to see her nana tomorrow as promised. She wasn’t going to let her down again.
Chapter 11
As she walked, she wondered what Conor was doing this weekend. Then she immediately chided herself, she needed to get him out of her head. They were as different as day and night. He obviously had money to burn and was used to success. She was living on a relative shoestring. Thank goodness her nana had bought the apartment some years back. It was the only way Emily could afford to live in such a nice area. She grabbed some fresh bagels and coffee on her way home. That would be lunch.
“Afternoon, Ms. Williams. Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Dan, the doorman, asked her as he held the door open.
“Yes, it is, Dan. How are Kerry and the kids?’
“Just fine, thanks for asking. The grandkids loved those cookies you made for them.”
She smiled at the doorman, knowing it wasn’t just his grandkids who liked the treats she had made. His stomach was evidence of his love for food.
“Now, Dan, you know Kerry made me promise not to make them again until Christmas.”
“Dang it anyway. My wife is taking that doctor too literal. He didn’t say I was never to have cookies again. He just said I needed to cut back on sugar.”
“Kerry loves you, Dan. You should listen to her.”
“Yes, Ms. Williams, I know that but I sure miss those cookies.”
“I’ll bake some for your birthday. Deal?”
“My birthday’s today.”
“Dan Sullivan, you big liar. It is not.”
“Ah, shucks, it was worth a try. Have a nice evening.”
“See you later, Dan,” Emily said as she made her way up to her apartment with a smile on her face. Dan had worked as the doorman at her building for as long as she could remember. He must be coming up for retirement soon. His heart attack last year had given everyone a scare, particularly his wife Kerry. She was a sweet lady who idolized her husband, but her word was law in their house. If she said no cookies, Emily wasn’t going to go against her.
She opened her door, having to push it harder than usual. There was something blocking it.
She eventually got inside to find a brown envelope had been blocking the door. Opening it, a number of pictures fell out. They’d been taken at the foundation. The first couple were nice and then she got to the pictures of her. Her face had been cut out of all of them. It was creepy. Why would someone do that? Who would do that?
She raced back downstairs.
“Dan, did you see anyone go upstairs today?”
“No, Ms. Williams. Why?”
“Somebody put an envelope through my door. I just wondered who it was.”
“No idea, ma’am. Ain’t seen anyone since I came on shift at noon. Agency guy was working earlier but he knows better than to let anyone inside. Are you all right, Ms. Williams? You look very pale.”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Dan. Just surprised.” Emily didn’t want to show Dan the pictures. She wasn’t about to risk him having another heart attack. She needed to call the police.
When the police arrived, they took a statement from her and kept some of the pictures as evidence. She also printed out copies for them of the threats she’d received online. One of the officers went downstairs to check the cameras, but returned to say the feed hadn’t been working.
“You should be safe here, Ms. Williams. These types of threats are designed to stop you from whatever it is you’re doing. You might want to think about easing off on the publicity for a while and let this guy or gal calm down.”
Emily thought of the vlog she had just recorded. Should she tell Jason to forget about posting it? But then they won. Whomever was trying to scare her would see his tactics worked. She hadn’t give in to bullies in school. She wasn’t about to start now.
“Thank you, Officer. I will be more careful in the future.”
“You call us if you get any more mail or something sinister is said on the net.”
Emily nodded and closed the door behind them. She knew they were trying th
eir best, but they had little to go on. She put on some chamomile tea, trying to calm down. But she couldn’t. It bothered her that the person knew where she lived. That information wasn’t readily available. All of her contact details listed the office.
Chapter 12
Sometime later, her phone buzzed. There was no caller ID. Hands shaking, she picked it up.
“Hello,” she said softly.
“Emily, is that you? It’s Conor Dunne. Listen, sorry for the call but I was wondering if you had plans for this evening. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve got tickets for the ball game tonight. I thought you might be interested.”
Conor was calling her? How? “Where did you get my number?” She couldn’t keep the suspicion out of her tone.
“Sorry about that. I called your office as you said you would be working and some guy gave it to me. I hope that’s okay.”
It wasn’t, but she was more annoyed Jason had given out her number than Conor had asked for it.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to go out. Thank you for thinking of me, though.”
“Emily, are you all right? You sound weird. Like you’re nervous or something.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You sound totally different from this morning. Is there something wrong?” he asked, his voice suggesting concern rather than nosiness.
Emily fell silent. What could she say? Someone sent me pictures with my face cut out of them and I am scared. She would sound like a complete idiot.
“No, honestly, I’m all right. I just have a headache.”
“Okay. At least you didn’t tell me you had to stay in to wash your cat.”
“What?” she asked, thinking she had misheard him.
“Sorry, bad joke. Back home in Ireland, if a girl doesn’t want to go out with a guy, they often think of a lame excuse. A headache isn’t as bad as saying you have to wash the cat.”
“Oh, right. I see. No, I’m not making an excuse. Honest.”