Virtual Reality

by Kitty Cox

  She'd just grabbed her coffee cup but thankfully hadn't taken a drink. "Uh..."

  "Be honest," QQ ordered.

  "Then yes. He's a cutie. I also bumped into Fizz. He's cute, too."

  "Hey!" Ice growled. "No, he isn't. Don't even look at him."

  "Oh!" QQ gasped. "Jealous, Ice?"

  He paused, and Kate could hear him take a deep breath. "Riley," he said, his tone very serious. "I don't know a man out there who'd want to have his girlfriend call his brother cute."

  "Maybe not," QQ countered, "but I know a lot of women who wouldn't mind getting a few extra bits of eye candy as a bonus to finding the right man. So, Fizz? You going to be at Columbus with the rest of us? I may need to judge this for myself."

  "I'm so telling Void!" Knock teased.

  QQ scoffed at that. "Hey, baby? I heard Fizz is hot. I'm going to check him out, and if he is, maybe hit on him a bit. You cool?"

  Someone laughed in the background and Knock sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think that through," he grumbled.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Fizz told them. "Q, I am not some piece of meat for you to chew up and spit out. You hear me, woman. I would like to be respected for more than my muscles, thank you very much."

  "Well, you get a cap on this base today, and I'll respect you just fine," she teased. "Now let's get this ball rolling. Swish, I need a drop ship."

  Within minutes, Kate was rushing into a base with an intense plan of action, and QQ was right. It was very different fighting uneven odds. In this case, she was on the powerful side, but friendlies were everywhere, and not all were wearing blue. She saw a few names she recognized, took a few hits from those who were supposed to be helping, and had a little pure, simple fun.

  Most of her job was reviving the players who died without getting killed herself. Not as easy as it sounded, and it gave her a new appreciation for all the times Ice had followed her around. She managed, though. Maybe she wasn't the best medic Paradox had ever seen, but she was learning, and fast.

  But eventually, the hours passed, and the players started to log out. It was a Sunday night, after all. After this much excitement, Kate knew she'd sleep like a baby, but there was one thing she wanted to get out of the way first. Moving her character to the safe zone, she sent a private message to Ice, asking him to move channels with her - since she didn't have the authority to move him herself - then dropped into the room they usually used.

  In seconds, he joined her. "Hey, what's up?"

  She yawned. "I'm about to head to bed, but, um... This weekend?"

  "Uh huh?" he asked.

  "I just... I mean, tomorrow at work..." She couldn't figure out the right words for what she wanted to know. "Ice, how does this play out in the office?"

  "That's your call, darlin'. I already told you that. Nancy already knows, but I'm not about to grope you shamelessly or anything. I promise, I can be a professional at work."

  "What about Mark?" She meant his assistant.

  Ice chuckled softly. "He made the reservation for me. He knows I bought you dinner to celebrate your new single status. Where you want to go with that is completely your call."

  "But, I thought I renegotiated to girlfriend status." Closing her eyes, she pressed her hand to her face. There really wasn't a tactful way to say that. Asking would be even worse!

  "Kate," his deep voice was smooth and sensual, "if you want me to brag, I'm more than willing to brag. If you want to keep your private life out of the office, well, you're still my girlfriend, still my dear gaming friend, and still have a key to my apartment waiting for you in the morning. Not a single bit of that will change. How much you feel comfortable sharing with people outside our family? That's up to you. And by family, I mean both Paradox and the McIntosh's, because those are the only people whose opinions I care about."

  "But what are the company rules?" she countered. "I mean, is there a problem with fraternizing?"

  He tried to hide it, but his laugh came across. "No. I know very well that most relationships start where people spend most of their time - like work. I do not prevent people from dating. And if a relationship sours, we have contingencies to move an employee to a new department. Darlin', there are quite a few married couples in the building. It's not breaking any kind of company policy. Kinda why I kept Degrass Industries private instead of getting a board who could make my calls for me. I don't want my business to be like all the others."

  Well, this was sounding better and better. "So, like, I could hold your hand, or even give you a kiss behind those big glass walls?"

  "Mhm."

  "And let all those other women know that I managed to snag the hottie on the fifth floor?"

  "Oh yeah," he agreed. "See, I just have one problem with this entire agreement."

  She hadn't expected that. "What kind of problem?"

  "Well," he said, taking his sweet time about it. "My bed's going to feel very lonely tonight after having you in it all weekend."

  Her teeth closed on her lower lip, but she was smiling around it. "And mine's going to feel lump -" She paused, seeing something on her screen. "Ice?"

  His answer came back sounding content. "Yeah, darlin'?"

  "Is there any way to find out who plays a character?"

  "Huh?" His tone changed, the playful seduction gone. "Not officially. Anonymity of games and all that. Why?"

  "Because Thyk just ran past me."

  "Ok? And you just thought it was funny for someone to name themselves 'Thick'? Or..."

  "No, that's what my ex gamed under," she explained. "Spelled with a Y like that. I know, I watched him enough, but I didn't think he played this one."

  "Kate, everyone plays this one." But he was clicking at his keys. "And while it's impossible for most people to get the name, I know one man who isn't most people."

  That mechanical voice cut him off to announce, "Cynister has joined the channel."

  "Explain this to me again," Cynister said before anyone had the chance to greet him.

  "Lith," Ice told her, "he's cool, and he can tell you."

  "I think I just saw my ex-husband in game," she admitted. "I mean, it's the same game name that he always uses, Thyk, spelled like this." She typed it into the chat box on TeamSpeak. "And he doesn't even know I play games."

  "The ex who attacked you?" Cynister growled, sounding a little more pissed about that than she'd expected. "Yeah, babe, hang on. I'm getting in there."

  "Just like that?" she asked.

  He made a noise that was neither a yes nor a no. "I told ya, it's my internet."

  "No," she groaned. "I'm serious. I don't know anything about hacking or whatnot. I just... am I going to get in trouble for this?"

  "No," Cynister promised. "Look, I'm not supposed to say anything, but I might have some connections at Deviant, ok? A friend who can get me some behind the scenes stuff."

  Ice made a noise proving he didn't buy the story.

  "What?" Cynister asked much too innocently. "I deliver pizza there all the time. Cool people and they tip good. Ok, so Lith, this ex of yours? What's his name?"

  "Thyk," she told him. Then she spelled it out. "T-H-Y-K."

  He chuckled. "I meant the real one, babe."

  "Marshall Stinel," she mumbled.

  He still heard her. "Yeah. So, the credit card on that account is registered to an M. Stinel. I'm thinking it's the same guy. I can go deeper if you want, but the IP address is in your town, so I'd call that pretty definitive."

  "I don't even know what that means," Kate admitted.

  Ice answered. "It means Thyk logs in from someplace local. The chances of another M. Stinel using that name in this town? It's him, Kate."

  "Shit," she breathed. "What if he finds out this is me?"

  "Lith," Cynister said gently, "no one fucks with my bros. No one. I'm done playing nice, and when you took that Paradox tag? Yeah, that makes you my bro whether you like it or not. Ice can do a lot, but I promise you, babe, I can do more. I can fuck his world. We got ya. That's
what gamers do, ok?"

  "Ok," she said, mostly to herself. Then she thought of something. "Hey, Cynister? You going to be at Columbus?"

  "Yeah? I go to most of these now."

  "Then I'm going to meet you there and give you a hug just on principle, ok?"

  For a long moment, he didn't say anything. When he finally spoke up, he'd lost that arrogance she was just starting to get used to. "I'd like that. You too, Adam."

  Ice groaned. "Shoulda known you'd hacked me. Cyn, you're a dick."

  "Always." And like the spook he was, his name immediately went dark, giving him the last word.

  "Cynister has left the channel," the automated voice announced.

  Chapter 29

  For the next week, her life was perfect. At work, Adam kept things completely professional, but he always invited her to lunch. They rarely went out. Instead, he ordered a new type of food every day so they could hide away in the sheltered nook in his office. It was safer. If they didn't leave the building, then they weren't tempted to head to his place for a little "quality time."

  Now when they got off work? That was when all bets were off. On Wednesday, Kate never made it home. Gaming on a forty-two-inch monitor was a lot more fun than she'd expected. So was the heated pool - and the time in his bed. When she fell asleep, he didn't bother waking her. Thankfully, she had her dry cleaning still in her car, so it didn't matter.

  Dating Adam made her feel like a girl again. She couldn't stop smiling. Couldn't stop thinking about him. Everything felt a little brighter. All of her daily worries were suddenly no big deal because she had a boyfriend who made it all ok. Even Nancy noticed. While her boss did her best to encourage it, Nancy also enjoyed teasing Kate any chance she could get. Oddly, Kate kinda liked it. She liked everything about her life.

  Thursday couldn't end fast enough. With all the last-minute details handled, people assigned to anything that might come up, and Nancy promising she'd be on call if anything went wrong, Kate and Adam headed down to her car. Leaving right from work made the most sense. It also cut half an hour off their commute. Their computers had been packed, the monitors stored, and they both had just enough clothes to last four days. With Kate driving, they were on the highway and headed to Columbus before rush hour.

  It was only a two-hour drive, and the conversation came easily. Initially, they were both just excited about the game and meeting their friends. Then, he said something she didn't expect.

  He was looking out the window at the landscape passing by. "So, I haven't exactly told anyone in Paradox what I do for a living. I'm pretty sure they know we work together, though."

  She glanced over. "You mean they don't know you're rich, right?" Mostly, she was teasing.

  But Adam sighed. "Yeah. Kate, online is the only place I get to just be me. These conventions? Most of the hotel staff don't recognize me on sight, and I'm not important enough outside of town for anyone to give a shit about. So yes, these are like my vacations. I try to fly under the radar when I can."

  "Ok, so do I need your story or something? Because they all know we're dating, and there are some things that will just come up."

  "No," he promised. "I'm just saying that to our outfit mates, I'm Ice and nothing else. I'm not asking you to lie for me. I'd just rather we could both forget for the next few days that I own the buildings, have a stupidly large bank account, or anything else. I just want to be a guy out with his girl for a few days, having some fun with friends."

  She nodded, understanding what he meant. His bank account had been the hardest thing about him to accept. She could only imagine that most other gamers would feel the same. They were all normal people, and Adam wasn't. He was a success story.

  "I may slip and use your real name," she admitted.

  "Don't care, darlin'. I really doubt anyone will recognize my name or care about it one way or the other. In the scheme of things, I'm a nobody. I'm just a higher paid nobody than most of us."

  "And you miss it," she realized. "The being like everyone else part?"

  "Yeah." His answer was wrapped around a sigh.

  She nodded to show she understood. "I think I realized that at dinner. Adam Degrass is the facade, but Ice is the real you. This is the guy you want to be, the one who can cheer about his kill streak. The one who drinks beer and talks cooling whatever things."

  He chuckled. "Go with hardware. Easier for others to understand."

  That made her smile because it was true. She really had no clue about any of that computer crap. "See, I'm ok with this. I think I like you better when you aren't being the intimidating man with all the money. I really liked the man who calls Nancy 'Mom.'"

  "Enough to share a suite with me? I was thinking about claiming one on the top floor."

  "A penthouse suite?" she gasped.

  He made a pleased sound. "I do own the hotel. Besides, I won't be the only person up there. We have four luxury suites on the highest level, and at least one has been claimed by corporate types - if you can call Game developers corporate."

  "Huh. I actually didn't know how many we have. I've never been to this hotel, Ice! Hell, I've never stayed in a suite in my life."

  "Mm, then we're fixing that. I reserved the best one for us, but I didn't want to assume you'd be willing to share it." He turned slightly to see her better. "I had a feeling you wouldn't mind, though."

  "Not at all," she promised. "And so you know, I'm also sleeping in your bed. Just so that's cleared up."

  He gasped dramatically, clearly making fun of her. "Say it isn't so! But what if you run into some sexy gamer...." Then he paused. "Now that I think of it, you will. Void, Chance, and whoever else. Fuck. I'm gonna have to up my game."

  "Well, I can promise that the man who helps me set up my computer will have a soft spot in my heart."

  He lifted his chin and hummed as if he had a thought. "What about the woman? I mean, QQ's really helpful. If she jumps in, I'm not stopping her."

  "Well, you and Void could share the suite then. I'll just stay with her. You know, I've been wanting a little girl time." Her eyes were on the road, but she was grinning.

  "I'm ok with that," Ice promised. "Totally fine with it. Yep."

  "You want to share a room with Void? Can I get pics?"

  "No!" He laughed, realizing he'd just walked into that one. "I meant you and... yeah, I'm gonna shut up now."

  "Good call, Ice." Her cheeks were burning from smiling too hard.

  "Starting to think that introducing you to Riley was a bad idea." Then he sighed. "Nah. She's one of the good ones. Little rough around the edges, but in the best way, you know?"

  "And she's so strong," Kate said. "I mean, she knows what she wants, and nothing is going to stop her. I just don't know how she does it."

  "She's got some good friends standing with her, and that makes it easier." He shrugged. "I also think you're a lot more like her than you know."

  "Me?" She shook her head. "I wish. No, Q's so confident, and I'm so not. I've spent my whole life being pushed around."

  "And you just changed direction and kept going. I'm not sure why that's anything to be ashamed of."

  "Because they push and I change. One day, I want to be the wall. I want to be the person that when someone pushes me, I can actually say no, but I'm not strong." She sighed, realizing that sounded almost whiney. "I'm not complaining. I'm organized and responsible, and those are good things too, right? Still, I think most people wish they could be that person. Like you! You got an idea, and you just charged in until you won."

  "Won?"

  She nodded. "I think being rich counts as winning. Seriously, though, what have I won? I mean, I got married and screwed it up. I was a stay at home wife who never managed to learn to cook. I never got my stories published. I've kinda just been letting life pass me by."

  "While treading water in the middle of sharks," he added. "Kate, you can't compare the two. Yeah, I fixed up some junkers. Know where I got the money to start? My mom's death. Between
her savings and her life insurance, I got a grand total of ten thousand dollars. My big plan was to live in the house, but Nancy was the one who said I should flip it. My friend. My support. It wasn't just me. Darlin', no one makes it ahead on their own."

  "Really?" Although that did sound like something Nancy would do.

  "Really," he promised her. "And you've had nothing but people trying to drag you under. The sharks. Some massive waves have tossed you around, too. All of that combined? I think the fact that you kept your head above water is fucking impressive. It's kinda the impression I got about you when you walked into my lobby that first day."

  "That I was treading water?" She scoffed.

  "Still treading. Against all odds. That the company which gave you a lucky break would find a diamond in the rough. Guess what? You proved me right."

  "Yeah?" She dared to glance over again.

  He nodded at her. "Definitely. C'mon, why do you think Nancy was so impressed with you so fast? She told me about some of the calls you fielded in your first week. Companies trying to push you around, but you just politely put them off and got off the phone with a smile, then moved on. Not a single thing got to you."

  Kate shrugged. "It's just work."

  "And most people take everything too personally. Someone yells at them on the phone and their whole day is ruined. You? She said you would dive into a contract, check out the people coming in, and were just on the ball. A little demon taking over her entire office and making it better."

  "You know what gets me?" Kate laughed once. "That no one wants to work with her! Nancy's about the most fair boss I've ever had."

  "Because you work," he explained. "If you were sitting out there talking to your boyfriend, it'd be different. If you messed up? She'd be all over you. See, to Nancy, this job is something she never thought she deserved. I kinda get the same thing from you. Most of the other Executives we had working with her? They wanted a secretary to shield their calls, and Degrass doesn't work like that. By the time a call makes it to you, it's been through three people. Why add a fourth?"

  "Ok?" She wasn't sure she was following.