“Yeah, roses,” Jason said, his eyes shifting to the crimson roses on the countertop.
“I think I might have an idea! Just give me a second.” Angie quickly disappeared down the hallway and into her room without another word.
A few anxious minutes later, his aunt return carrying a small case. “Fortunately, I was able to pack up most of my things before we left my house,” she said as she set the case on the counter. “An old boyfriend gave me this a long time ago, but I never had much occasion to wear it.” She sighed. “And, of course, things didn’t work out.”
She opened the case, and Jason’s eyes widened slightly. Inside rested a simple necklace, a silver chain terminating in an intricate rosebud. The petals had been formed from platinum. It wasn’t the most impressive piece of jewelry that Jason had ever seen, but it was elegant in its simplicity – not overbearing or gaudy. He could only imagine that it would look beautiful on Riley. But this was too much. With his aunt’s meager earnings, this was still a valuable piece of jewelry.
“It’s beautiful, but I can’t take this from you,” Jason said, glancing at his aunt.
“Nonsense,” she replied, waving him off. “You can and you will. You’re the one supplying this free apartment, and the only reason I even still have this necklace is… is because you stopped those teenagers.” She hesitated slightly at this last part, choosing her words carefully as she watched Jason.
Angie snapped the case shut and placed it in his hand firmly. “Besides, I have a feeling this isn’t some stupid fling. There’s just something about that girl…”
“You haven’t even met her,” Jason protested, shaking his head.
“I don’t need to!” Angie said with a smile. “It’s just a feeling.”
Jason wisely decided not to put up a fight about the necklace. Angie could be pretty determined when she set her mind to it, and she had that look in her eye. Besides, it was also a great idea – one he wished he had thought of first.
His aunt glanced at the Core on her wrist, noting the time. “Anyway, you need to get moving. It’s almost seven. You should be upstairs waiting when she gets here. Girls like a punctual man, trust me.”
Jason nodded, feeling a little nervous again. Even after kissing Riley that afternoon, he still felt nervous. This was technically his first date – not just with Riley, but ever. And he was going to be attending the party with Riley. He couldn’t help but pinch himself a little as he started toward the door to the apartment, just to check that he wasn’t dreaming or this was some sort of simulation. Only a few weeks ago, he never would have imagined that he would be living at the headquarters for his favorite video game and going to an upscale party with the girl of his dreams.
You know, putting aside the terrible relationship with my parents, the fact that George is using me as bait this evening to draw out whoever is leaking information, and how I’m hiding both my relationship with Alfred and how Claire admitted that she blew the whistle to Gloria. And that’s ignoring the man who is threatening my city and how the native undead are evolving out of control. So, yeah, things are just going splendidly.
He shook his head. None of that mattered right now. All he could think about was spending time with Riley. He could deal with those problems later.
As Jason was about to leave, he glanced back over his shoulder at his aunt, who now stood in the mouth of the entry hallway. “Thank you, Angie,” he said quietly, meeting his aunt’s gaze.
“Not a problem,” Angie replied with a smile. “Try to have some fun tonight.”
As Jason stepped out of the apartment, Angie’s smile faltered. In the background, she could hear the TV blaring, a reporter providing an update on the ongoing CPSC hearing. “Try to enjoy it while it lasts,” she murmured to herself, a concerned expression lingering on her face. “You sure deserve a night of fun.”
* * *
Jason stood in the lobby of Cerillion entertainment, sparkling marble adorning the floors and twenty-foot columns intermittently breaking up the massive space. He fidgeted nervously as his hand cradled the case in his pocket. Several of the party’s attendees had passed him while he waited for Riley, all of whom sported luxurious suits and gowns. They spoke quietly as they made their ways to the bank of elevators at the back of the lobby, the occasional couple sparing a curious glance at Jason where he lingered by a column.
He couldn’t help but notice what he could only assume were thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry accentuating each woman’s outfit. Despite his ulterior motive for the party, George had been clear that this event was primarily for wealthy and influential investors and business partners. It made him think that the modest necklace in his pocket wasn’t going to be nearly enough. With her family’s wealth, would Riley genuinely like it, or would she just think it was tacky?
Jason froze as his eyes shifted back to the front doors. “Oh, wow,” he murmured.
Riley had appeared in the entrance, looking around the lobby as she searched for someone – searched for him. She wore a floor-length blue gown, the column of chiffon hugging her athletic frame. The back of the dress was open to the waist and curved just low enough in the front to hold Jason’s attention. Her long blond hair had been carefully shaped to show off the graceful curve of her neck. The way the light hit her hair seemed to make it glow, although he might have been a little biased.
It took Jason a moment for his brain to reset. Riley looked amazing.
Her eyes finally found his, and a small, shy smile crept across Riley’s face. He could feel his heart skip a beat and he swallowed against the nervous lump that had formed in his throat.
“Y-you look beautiful,” Jason said as she approached.
“Thank you,” Riley replied demurely. Her hesitation was even more striking given her normally confident demeanor in-game and spoke volumes about how she felt about the evening. This was the same girl he had fought beside for weeks inside AO. For some reason, her acting slightly shy helped settle Jason’s nerves.
“I actually have something for you,” he offered, pulling the case from his pocket. “I wanted to make this evening special – even though I know it was sort of last minute. It’s not much, but I hope you like it.”
“Really?” she asked in surprise. “You didn’t have to…” She trailed off as he opened the case and showed her the necklace. “Oh, it’s a rose,” she said, a brilliant, happy smile curving her lips. If he hadn’t already had a crush on her for years, that smile alone would have done him in.
Riley looked up at him. “It’s lovely. And I couldn’t find anything that I felt matched the dress anyway.” Then a mischievous grin crossed her face. “Will you help me put it on?” She turned to offer her back to him, tugging her hair to the side.
“S-sure,” Jason replied quickly. He gulped slightly, fumbling with the catch on the necklace as he encircled her neck with the chain. Her skin felt warm and smooth to his touch, and he could smell the faint hint of flowers that always seemed to accompany Riley.
As he finished, Riley twirled back to face. “What do you think?” she asked, fiddling with the pendant.
Jason was already floored by her appearance, but he had to admit that the necklace paired well with her gown. He owed Angie for her quick thinking – yet again. “You look fantastic,” he said finally, realizing that he hadn’t responded to her question. He had simply been staring at her.
She chuckled slightly. “Great. You want to head upstairs?”
“Uh, yeah,” he offered not-so-eloquently. Riley took his arm, and he reveled in the sensation. Not for the first time, he was starting to question if this was real and wonder what was going to go wrong. Given his track record, he was ready for anything. The elevator might explode. The company would probably fire him this evening. Yet, he had trouble caring about any of that.
The pair made their way to the elevators and managed to snatch one to themselves, the initial crowd having largely filtered upstairs already. Riley made no move to release Jason’s ar
m, and he certainly didn’t move away. After a few seconds of silence, she glanced at Jason beside her. “Sorry, I was running a little late. Caleb called just as I was about to head out the door, and then my mom and dad needed to fuss over me for a few minutes.”
Jason winced slightly. She was clearly on a date with him, and the other guy was her cousin. His rational brain knew that, but Caleb was still good-looking, and they had been spending a lot of time together. “So, um, what have you two been up to? It seems like you’ve been hanging out a lot.”
Riley sighed, rolling her eyes. “Caleb’s boyfriend broke up with him a few days ago. They were living together here in the city, but the boyfriend’s name was on the lease. The asshole basically threw Caleb out. So, he’s been scrambling to find a place to stay. He stayed with us for a few days, and I’ve been going with him to look at apartments – and sort of acting as his shoulder to cry on. We were actually checking out a few places the first day of the hearing, which is why he came with me.”
She sighed. “I love him, but he’s been a little clingy,” she offered, pinching her fingers together to emphasize her point.
“Oh,” Jason replied, his mind focused solely on the implication of Caleb having a boyfriend. “So, he’s uh…”
Riley glanced at him, amusement creeping across her face. “Gay? Yeah.” Her smiled widened further. “You weren’t jealous, were you?” She nudged him slightly with her arm. “You seemed a little upset in-game earlier.”
“I wasn’t jealous,” Jason defended himself a little too quickly. He couldn’t quite meet her gaze, and he knew his cheeks were betraying him by flushing hotly. Why did his stupid body have to do this to him? Why did people even have the ability to blush?
He felt Riley’s fingers against his cheek, and she drew his gaze to hers. Before he could react, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, and he instantly forgot what he was thinking about. As she drew away, she met his eyes, looking up at him slightly from her shorter height.
“Uh huh. Well, you don’t need to worry,” she said firmly. Then she cocked her head slightly. “Although, the idea of dating a guy that wants to go shopping with me does sound kind of appealing.” She spared a mischievous grin at him at this last statement.
He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a ding – signaling that they had reached their floor. The doors to the elevators slid open, and the pair stepped out. They froze in surprise as they took in the party.
“Oh, wow,” Jason murmured. His reaction was echoed by Riley’s gasp.
The elevator opened onto a rooftop terrace. The entire top of the Cerillion Entertainment building was used to house a pool and spa area, which Jason really hadn’t had much time or inclination to investigate while he had been staying there. However, the area had been converted for the event. Gone were the pool chairs and unnecessary equipment. Small cocktail tables now dotted the area, and the nearby tiered pools glowed with multi-colored fluorescent light.
However, what captured Jason and Riley’s attention was the ten-foot holograms projected next to the exit from the elevators. The images floated above a series of small black pedestals. An eerily-familiar hooded character greeted them on the right. His face was shrouded in darkness, and he clutched a staff in one hand as his other pulsed with dark energy.
As they watched, tendrils of mana snaked from the figure’s hand and raced through the air around the gathering, floating above the heads of the guests. Slightly transparent zombies seemed to materialize from thin air, pulling themselves from the ground around the terrace with torturous slowness.
It took Jason a moment to notice the drones that hovered in the air, projecting the images down onto the terrace. They must be responsible for the holograms. He could only wonder if they were a new prototype. It was one thing to project a stationary image, but to dynamically choose empty spots around the party to project the zombies was impressive. The undead shifted and moved naturally, avoiding the guests. He sensed Robert’s hand in this.
The rest of the guests seemed unperturbed by this scene – as though it were completely normal. “Uh, so I guess that’s you?” Riley asked, pointing at the dark figure and a skeptical look on her face. “This is really weird.”
Jason couldn’t help but agree, his mouth hanging open. “At least my face isn’t visible,” he muttered. Not that this would likely help much since his pictures had been appearing on a bunch of news channels all week.
As he looked around the party, Jason noticed George standing a dozen or so feet away talking with a small group. Their eyes met briefly, and the CEO lifted his drink, gesturing subtly at the drones in the air. Jason immediately recalled George’s purpose in inviting him to this party, one he hadn’t shared with Riley – not wanting to spoil their date. He also suspected that the drones might serve a secondary purpose, possibly recording his every movement in the hope of identifying the leak.
He felt a flash of guilt. Jason already knew that their whistleblower was Claire. The only question was whether Claire would follow through with her testimony next week or whether he and Alfred had only made the problem worse. He still wasn’t certain whether he was doing the right thing by hiding this information from George.
With a hollow feeling gnawing at his stomach, Jason could feel his problems settling on his shoulders again, weighing him down and making him feel slightly suffocated. He tugged at his tie, the cloth suddenly feeling quite constricting. Maybe this might not have been the best idea for a first date.
Riley noticed his sudden change in mood, and she nudged him. “Hey, so I think you owe me a drink. I seem to recall that I kicked your ass during that last fight.”
He looked at her in surprise. “I think I did pretty well,” he retorted. “If you hadn’t been distracting me, I would have won! I did manage to trip and grapple you.”
“Uh huh, says the guy who had a dagger stuck in his arm for most of the fight,” Riley replied, rolling her eyes playfully as she pulled him toward a nearby bar. “Plus, I had you dead to rights there at the end and I’m not sure you even landed a solid hit.”
“I make it a habit not to hit pretty girls,” he quipped good-naturedly.
The pair headed off toward the bar, bickering about who had won that last fight and whether a rematch was in order. Riley had accomplished her goal. Jason could feel his nervousness melting away – both at attending the party with Riley and the CPSC hearing that was still looming over his head. He knew what she had done by shifting the subject, but he didn’t care. Tonight, he could use a distraction.
* * *
Sometime later, the couple found themselves sipping decidedly non-alcoholic beverages at one of the small cocktail tables that dotted the terrace. Apparently, the bartender had been instructed not to serve Jason, which immediately made it impossible to score something a little stronger. After coming up emptyhanded, they had made the rounds of the terrace, admiring the view, and mingling with a few guests. However, they had spent the majority of the time alone, only the occasional employee or guest recognizing Jason and approaching them.
Jason was just beginning to finally relax when he saw Claire break from the crowd and head their way.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Good evening, Jason,” the older woman said as she approached, adjusting her glasses with one hand. Jason noted that she looked anxious and she kept glancing at the other guests around them.
“Hello,” Jason replied.
Claire’s attention settled Riley beside him. “Who’s your friend? I’m not sure we’ve met.”
“Uh, this is Riley,” Jason offered. “Riley, this is Claire. She basically runs the group that administers the game.”
“A pleasure,” Riley said, offering her hand.
“Riley?” Claire echoed as she greeted Jason’s date. “That sounds familiar. Ahh, you must be the same girl that has been working with Jason in-game. Your reputation precedes you. I have to say that I’m a fan.”
“Me too. Riley has defini
tely pulled my ass out of the fire a time or two,” Jason acknowledged, earning him a smirk from Riley.
As they finished their introductions, Claire returned her attention to Jason, although she seemed uncertain how to continue. “I may need to talk to you later regarding the game and our previous conversation…” she said hesitantly.
“No problem,” he interjected quickly and looked pointedly at the drones that hovered above them. He suspected that they would be able to capture audio even at this distance. “Although, maybe this could wait until tomorrow. I know we need to talk about my streaming contract, but we were sort of hoping to avoid work this evening.” He watched Claire, praying that she would pick up on the subtext of what he was saying.
The woman’s eyes flickered to the drones and then back to Jason, a frown creasing her lips. “Hmm,” she murmured and then seemed to shake herself. “Yes, of course, you’re right,” she added as she noticed Riley staring at her uncertainly. Claire spared Riley a lopsided smile. “My apologies. I have trouble turning off ‘work mode.’ This is primarily an investor gala, so I’m still thinking about business.”
Claire turned back to Jason. “We’ll catch up another time then. You two have a wonderful evening.”
“Sounds good,” Jason said, hoping that this exchange had been convincing. After that, Claire excused herself and blended back into the party.
“What was that?” Riley whispered, leaning closer to Jason. “That was really awkward.”
Jason shook his head. “That’s just Claire,” he answered carefully, still conscious of the fact that they were being recorded. “She’s a bit of a workaholic.”
He quickly decided he needed to change the subject. “Anyway, why don’t we talk about the challenge? I think I have an idea for how we should tackle it next time…”
Riley still looked skeptical, but she didn’t press the issue, and the pair immediately launched into an impromptu strategy session. Through it all, a small part of Jason’s mind was still fixated on the encounter with Claire. What had she been about to say? Had she made a decision? Would she testify against Alfred? In any event, he was going to have to wait to find out.
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