Level Up: A Geek Romance Rom Com, Book 1 (Fandom Hearts) Page 12

  "I miss Seattle," she said, and there was definitely more of a watery tone.

  "You said Seattle was a hipster wasteland."

  "I didn't mean it!"

  "You totally meant it," he scoffed, typing a few easy responses. He hoped Casey would get over her...whatever she was going through, and soon. In the meantime, he'd just clean out his inbox.

  WHO'S ON THE PHONE? Tessa pinged him via Instant Message

  MY EX, he typed back, putting in an emoji of a guy yawning.

  THAT'S NOT NICE, she answered, but he heard her giggle.

  "Are you...?" Casey's voice sounded suspicious. "Are you...typing?"

  "Sorry. Just answering some work email." He glanced over his shoulder, then choked. Tessa was crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue at him. He cracked a grin.

  "Am I boring you?" Casey's voice was sharp.

  He saw Jen Latimer, one of their producers, walk over to Tessa. "Tessa, I need to speak to you," she said, her voice solemn...her expression more so.

  Tessa's silly face evaporated, and she shot a worried glance at Adam.

  "Listen, I have to go," he said to Casey.

  "I'm going to be in Seattle in a few days," Casey said instead. "On assignment. I want to meet you."

  "Sure, fine, whatever," he said, not really paying attention. "Just text me. Okay? Bye." He hung up before she uttered another word.

  Tessa walked into the boss's office, shooting him one more worried look before Jen shut the door behind them.

  "What's that all about?" he asked José.

  "Don't know," José said. "Maybe it's the Sailor Moon outfit."

  "I hope not," a deep voice rumbled. "Or else I'm screwed, as well."

  The guys looked over, and for the second time that morning, Adam was stunned speechless.

  Abraham was standing there, wearing a short navy blue skirt, a white sailor blouse with a ridiculously large yellow bow, and a pair of Doc Martin boots. He wore white gloves and a determined expression.

  "They don't have blue boots with heels in my size," he explained. "And I had to raid my sister's closets. And, erm, my mother's. But otherwise, I think I did pretty well on short notice and no sleep."

  "Which one of the Sailor team are you supposed to be?" Fezza asked, as José and Rodney collapsed on the floor laughing and pointing.

  "I'm dressed as Haruku Tenou," Abraham said loftily. "She normally dresses like a guy, she's a racecar driver, and she kicks ass."

  Fezza looked deep in thought, then burst out laughing. "That means you're Sailor Uranus!"

  Rodney dissolved into another round of laughter. José was crying at this point.

  "Yes," Abraham said, his voice low and dangerous. "As in I'm going to kick Uranus if you keep making fun of me."

  They continued mocking him as they headed for the engineer's lair.

  Adam was grinning, but he couldn't stop looking at the office where Tessa had disappeared.

  If it wasn't about the costumes (and he had a hard time believing anyone could've missed Abraham in costume)--then what kind of trouble was Tessa in?

  Tessa sat in Jen's office with a sense of foreboding. She'd been in here before, when they'd discussed sound stuff that various games needed, but it was always on an assignment basis. Jen was a woman in her late forties, possibly early fifties, with honey-blonde hair cut in a stylish bob. She wore cute, stylish shirts with simple jeans and very expensive shoes. Today, Jen was wearing a deep burgundy cowl neck sweater with matching leather ankle boots. She was also wearing the most concerned expression Tessa had ever seen on the older woman.

  That look meant trouble, Tessa thought, and her stomach sank, especially when Jen shut the door and took a seat behind her desk.

  God, I really wish I wasn't wearing a kid's anime costume right now. Tessa swallowed hard.

  "Tessa, we need to talk about something," Jen said, then stopped. "But first, I have to ask: what is that you're wearing?"

  "It's, um, a Sailor Moon costume."

  "It's striking," Jen deadpanned. "Any particular reason why you're wearing a Sailor Moon costume?"

  "Dress for the job you want?" Tessa quipped, then shut her eyes, even though Jen let out a surprised laugh. "I had a bet running with the guys."

  "I'm assuming you..." Jen studied her curiously. "Lost?"

  "Well, yes. Although I sort of won," Tessa said, then realized Jen was only looking more confused. "I was working on a separate project, a video game, and I needed their help. It was...well, it was for a contest, and it had a pretty gnarly deadline. I told them if they met the deadline, I'd dress up as Sailor Moon." She gestured to her get-up. "I'm a woman of my word."

  "Well, it's nice to know they work with the right incentives," Jen said, but she still sounded more worried than amused. "This game you guys created. Why don't you tell me about it?"

  Tessa frowned, still feeling nervous. "Do you know the television show Mystics?"

  "Not really. I may have heard about it, but I don't know what it is."

  "It's this silly, action-packed, really fun show," Tessa said. "There are these three brothers, descendants of the Knights Templar, and they fight these aliens whose powers seem like magic. Anyway, the guys run around and solve these ancient puzzles and try to protect the world."

  "What does this have to do with your game?"

  Tessa went on to explain about the sisters, the bookstore...the desire for publicity. "They've got a lot of used books, but they've got a lot of fan memorabilia, too, and novelizations," Tessa explained. "We thought, if they won the contest, they could publicize a visit from one of the stars and that would help boost sales. Their rent is going up, and they're afraid of being evicted. With Cressida's agoraphobia..."

  "I see." Jen sounded like she understood, and Tessa's stomach slowly started to unknot. "So you created a video game in two weeks?"

  "Essentially."

  "I don't suppose you have it on you?"

  Tessa's eyes widened in surprise. "I could send you a copy. Actually, I've got it on Dropbox."

  Jen surprised her further by standing up and gesturing to Tessa to sit at her computer. "Why don't you open it up?" Jen said. "I think I'd like to see it."

  Tessa sat down behind the desk, typing quickly, calling up her files. "Um, was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked. "I don't mean to take up all your time with my side project."

  "I actually wanted to talk about this side project," Jen said, and just like that, Tessa's stomach churned, clenching back into a Gordian knot the size of a grapefruit. She opened the game.

  They'd all done an amazing job, especially considering the tight time frame. It played well and it looked adorable. Jen went through it.

  "Nice job," she murmured. "Only two weeks, you say?"

  "Yes." Tessa smiled. "They all worked really hard."

  "So did you, I imagine," Jen said, as Tessa went back to her own seat. Jen studied it carefully, silently, until Tessa finally cleared her throat.

  "Am I in some kind of trouble?"

  Jen sighed. "I'm sorry. I've been trying to figure this out myself. You sent this in?"

  "Last night, just before the midnight deadline," Tessa said. "Why? What's wrong?"

  "This is." Jen handed her a print out. Tessa quickly scanned the contents.

  "Wait. This is a cease and desist order. From..." She glanced. "Impressario? The production company that does Mystics. Why are they sending this to you?"

  "I think there was a line about the code brother-and-sisterhood of the Mysterious Pickles Crew. Just a note, buried in," Jen said. "They ran it, loved it, but apparently had some serious misgivings about it being amateur," Jen said. "They wanted us to stop using their artwork and breaking their copyright."

  "What? That's bullshit!" Tessa burst out. "It's a contest. They knew that fans were going to be writing or drawing things based on the show. That's ridiculous."

  "Fans, yes. Companies, not so much." Now Jen's expression turned serious
as the proverbial heart attack. "Did you, at any time, use MPG computers or software?"

  " No! Absolutely not!"

  "Did you do any of this on site or on the clock here at MPG?"

  "No," Tessa said staunchly. "Neither did any of the guys. We all holed up at my house." Tessa was shaking, she was so angry. "I'll contact whoever I need to, swearing to the same in writing. I don't want MPG to get in any kind of trouble for this!"

  "We won't," Jen said, seeming to relax. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't...you know. Taking advantage of the company."

  "Do you really think I would?" Tessa asked, feeling wounded. "I've worked here for four years!"

  "I know it's been frustrating for you, not moving on in your career," Jen said. "You know, you could've shown us this at the monthly free-project meetings."

  "It came up kind of suddenly."

  "But you've never shown us anything like this," Jen said. "I've been waiting to see more from you."

  Tessa felt aghast. What? She'd been working her tail off, but she'd never really been interested in the monthly free-project meetings, where coders showed what they worked on in their spare time. It seemed too social, since it usually involved a keg and plenty of heckling. She thought it was just a social thing.

  God, had her own introversion just shot her in the ass?

  "Bring something else to the next meeting," Jen counseled. "Maybe we can see where you can go from there."

  "Like Abraham's team, maybe?" she asked bluntly. "Because I know there's a job opening. Mac's leaving. I'd like that slot."

  Jen's eyes widened. Tessa had never been quite so straightforward. God knew, it was about time.

  "Let me make sure this C&D doesn't bite us, and we'll see what you come up with on the next free project," Jen said hesitantly. "All right?"

  Tessa deflated. "Okay."

  With that, Tessa left the office, feeling sort of shell-shocked. Adam was right there. "You okay? What was all that about?"

  "I guess they found our entry right off the bat," Tessa said. "And somebody left in a line of code about the MPG coders or something."

  He sighed. "Fezza," he hissed. "He usually puts in a little Easter egg in the notes, a sort of signature. Also, to see if anybody steals the code straight out, without reading it. I'm sorry."

  "They contacted MPG with a cease and desist. Jen wanted to know what it was all about." She went to rub her hands over her face, but realized she'd be smearing her makeup and ruining the gloves Kyla had given her. "I wasn't expecting this."

  "Well, they must've thought it was good, then," Adam said, nudging her.

  "That's something," she said.

  "You okay?"

  "I don't know if I'll ever make it here as a coder," she finally admitted aloud. "I don't think it's pure sexism or anything. I just...I've screwed myself by not putting myself forward. And I think they just see me as audio girl."

  "So you'll change their minds," he said.

  "I let myself get distracted," she said. "I just went out and made friends to get more social, and now it's all a mess."

  "Hey," Adam said sharply. "Do you regret getting to know the sisters? Rachel, Hailey? Even Kyla and Stacy?"

  "No, obviously."

  "Are you regretting..." His eyes narrowed. "Me. Us. You're saying we're a distraction?"

  "There's no 'us,," she said weakly. "You know..."

  "I don't know," he said, his voice sharp. "But I'm not going to push you. You said that they didn't give you a promotion because you didn't put yourself out there. Well, I'm tired of chasing you. You know what you want, you tell me. But until you make the move...it's all on you."

  He walked away. She sat down at her desk, feeling tears sting at her eyes. All this, on top of a hangover, was more than she could bear.

  Well, at least nothing else could go wrong today, she thought, opening up her email. She saw a note from Impressario. Assuming it was the cease and desist, she clicked it open.

  She stared. Then studied it, over and over, until the meaning sank in.

  "We're sorry, Ms. Rodriguez," she read softly, feeling numb. She couldn't even speak the next line aloud.

  Your contest entry has been disqualified.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tessa felt terrible when she went to the bookstore that night. She'd already changed out of her Sailor Moon costume. Stacy had brought her home early, and Adam was working late, figuring out schedules and workflow for a new project coming in. Adam was probably still angry, and she hadn't felt like talking to him about this. She didn't want his pity. She'd tell the guys about what went down later. Right now, the girls at the bookstore were the only ones who mattered.

  Stacy had emailed everyone for her, telling them to get together. They were dutifully waiting for her in the same book-filled room she'd initially met them, this time including the elusive Cressida, whose pale skin and long red hair made her seem almost ethereal. Cressida, the one all this effort was ultimately for.

  Tessa felt her failure, like a lead cannonball in her stomach. She had to tell them, now, right away. Before they got their hopes up even further.

  "What's the matter?" Hailey said immediately, sitting next to her and nudging her. "You look like someone died."

  "You okay?" Cressida said, more kindly.

  "I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry," Tessa said, around the lump in her throat. "It's about the game."

  "I saw what you sent," Rachel said, smiling broadly. "I'm amazed at what you were able to do with the drawings. My drawings. I couldn't believe it!"

  "I played it this morning," Cressida said, grinning. "Twice. Really, you did a spectacular job."

  "Please thank the guys for us," Hailey added. "We know how hard you all worked on it."

  It was all too much. Tessa burst into tears.

  Now Kyla made comforting noises, putting an arm around her shoulders. "What is it? What's wrong?"

  The other women gathered around her, concern etched on their faces.

  "I'm sorry," Tessa repeated. "The game's been disqualified."

  "What?" Kyla squeaked. "Why?"

  "It's really kind of bullshit," Tessa said, but didn't want to make it seem like she was making excuses. "They said it all had to be fan-generated and that the terms 'artwork', 'story' and 'video' absolutely precluded games."

  "That is bullshit," Hailey spat out. "Seriously? Why would they?"

  "I have no idea," Tessa said. "It's a total technicality, but still...that means we're out of the contest." She wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand.

  "Shhh," Rachel said. "It's all right."

  "But it's not!" Tessa burst out. "You were counting on the contest to get Jake Windlass here, so you could capitalize on fangirl business. So you could make money. So they," she gestured to Hailey and Cressida, "could still have a place to live and work! And I've ruined it!"

  Hailey sat on the other side of her. "You were amazing to try," Hailey said, making her even guiltier. "Seriously. You didn't even know us, but you put in hours and hours of work anyway."

  "You're my friends," Tessa said. "I mean, I want...wanted...you guys to be my friends. I have a hard time connecting with people. First, I tried just telling myself it would help me in my job. Developing my people skills. Then I thought I could nudge the programmers into accepting me. But now, after all this, I see I just really wanted to help. And then I totally screwed it up!"

  "Oh, don't say that! You did help," Kyla said firmly. "For one thing, you got me off my ass about my drawings, and that makes me feel incredibly proud."

  "It's true," Hailey drawled. "I've been kicking her ass over those drawings for years, and you managed to get her into gear in under a week!"

  "And you've shown us that maybe we can see other ways to fix the situation," Cressida said, with a smile. "We don't have to just sit here and wait. We can experiment. Really think outside the blue box, as it were."

  "You've certainly given us a boost," Rachel said finally.

  Tessa blinked at a
ll of them. "You mean it?"

  "Absolutely," Kyla said. "I've even thought about making my cosplay business, well, a business."

  "We can do this," Rachel restated firmly. "With or without the contest, we'll make this work."

  "I get the feeling not a lot of people have been unconditionally supportive of you," Cressida said softly. "Of course we're still your friends, Tess."

  "Hell, you can't get rid of us now," Hailey added. "Although I warn you: if you keep up with this 'I screwed up, I'm a horrible person,' crap, I may pummel you."

  "Well, nobody wants that." Tessa smiled, brushing at her eyes with the back of her hands. "In that case, let's get this Mystics marathon going. I'll make some more hot choc--"

  And as soon as she said that, the power went out.

  "Well, crap," Hailey grumped. "There goes that plan."

  Rachel produced a flashlight from her pocket, as did Cressida. "Welcome to Snoqualmie, the wind tunnel," Cressida said, with a sigh. "I think the marathon's probably going to need a rain check."

  "We'll get the fire going strong," Rachel said, her tone business-like. "Make sure the pipes don't freeze. I'm surprised we've kept power most of the winter, but we were expecting this. We'll just hunker down. You can camp here with us, if you like, Tessa," she added.

  "It'll be like a sleepover!" Cressida said, clapping her hands girlishly.

  Stacy's smile was mysterious in the dim lights. "Sorry, girls. I've got another sleepover scheduled."

  "Oooh," Hailey said, clapping her hands. "Details! Details!"

  "Oh, wait," Tessa said suddenly. "Adam!"

  "He's from around here. I'm sure he'll be fine," Rachel said, but Tessa was already bounding for the door.

  "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," Tessa said. "I just want to make sure he's all right."

  "Maybe she'll have a sleepover, too," Stacy said, and Tessa winced.

  "He's sort of mad at me right now," Tessa said. "Besides...I think it'd be too complicated. We work together. We're friends. It's stupid to mess with that."

  Isn't it?

  "I may still pummel you," Hailey said, shaking her head.