I stiffened in my seat. Logan, as predictable as ever, had taken Ryan’s side.
“But I hadn’t agreed to Q.A.,” he said. “I did ask Ryan to free up some of your time to make you available for Paul Crane if he should commit to working with us, which Gary believes he will once we work things out with him.”
I guess freeing up some of my time gave Ryan an excuse to come after me a little harder than he’d ever had.
“That’s good news.” I gave a polite smile and folded my hands on my lap.
“You know, Paul could get the best musicians to compose this soundtrack. It could be huge.” He stroked his beard. “Anyway, he has invited us to a party at Fuel Night Club tomorrow night. Gary thinks we should have you go, to show Paul that we’re committed to doing things his way.” Logan rolled his eyes.
To be honest, nightclubs weren’t my idea of a good time. That was what my sister and her friends used to do, back when things were good. I breathed through the ache in my chest.
“I’ll go,” I said, even though he hadn’t really asked me properly. “I’m sure you and Gary are better suited for handling the negotiations.”
“Yes, we are, but the client is the top priority,” Logan monotoned. “The party may have celebrities. It’s formal.” His eyes flicked over my clothes. “Dress the best you can, alright? Just no jeans, T-shirts, or sneakers.”
“Basically, nothing I’m wearing.” My words came out as a joke, and Logan let out a wheezing laugh.
“My wife, Mia, will be there too. We can give you a ride, or actually—” he paused as he dug into his suit jacket and took out his wallet, producing a platinum card. “This is for Emono’s car service. You can use it for a ride there and back, but you must return it when you’re done.” He hesitated, glancing between me and the pass.
Why did giving the card and trusting me to give it back make him hesitate? It made me think of my past. I had no criminal record, and confidentiality kept what had happened quiet, but I knew deep down that nothing stays hidden.
“How about I book the car now, and you can take your pass back with you?” I suggested.
He laughed a little and nodded. “That’ll work.”
He placed the card on the desk and I booked the car service, with Logan supplying the name and the address of the place before leaving my office—leaving me to mull over whether this invite to the party meant good fortune or whether I was the sacrificial lamb, ready to take the fall should Paul Crane pass on the project.
I wanted advice but was unsure of where to get it, and having my work taken off me, I had no choice but to pack up for home. Before I left, I stopped at the kitchen to clean out my coffee cup and found Quinn and his co-worker/roommate Kyle sitting in the kitchen stashing away sandwiches, chips and fruit salad into takeaway containers.
“Leftovers from the bigwig meeting,” Kyle announced with a dramatic gesture of his hands. “We’re divvying it up to take home. Do you want some?”
I scoffed, “Food I don’t have to pay for?”
He chuckled. “Amen.”
“Hurry, Kyle,” Quinn scolded him. “My nephew is coming to visit, and I need to check out a laptop from IT for him while he’s hanging out with his dear old uncle.”
Kyle and I didn’t question his logic. The company laptops spent most of the time collecting dust, and during the bring-someone-to-work day the previous month we had all witnessed how destructive his nephew was.
I put aside a pumpernickel turkey sandwich, three fruit cups, and a dark chocolate and macadamia nut cookie. On second thought, I made that two cookies.
“Where do you put it?” Kyle teased me.
I smirked at him and took a bite of my cookie. Actually, I planned to give it to my roommate Destiny, but I said, “Is that a crack at my weight?”
He chuckled. “No. Merely a joke. I love women that have something to grab on to.”
“Do I need to contact HR?” I mused.
“Ignore him, Aubrey. Just a failed attempt to engage in mating banter. He’s out of practice after his ballerina dumped him,” Quinn replied as if that explained everything.
“Quinn liked her too,” Kyle pointed out. “I set him up with her friend and he pretended to be a self-styled, germaphobe, gluten-free douche.”
“Zoey was good company, but that date was a favor to you,” Quinn said, as he took a huge bite of a sourdough roll. “Besides, ballerina girl was too uptight for me.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Says the germaphobe, self-styled, gluten-free douche.”
I had no issues with phobias and people who chose to be gluten-free. Live and let live. As for Kyle, I didn’t think for a minute he was hitting on me. Kyle and I had nothing in common. Besides, I would never let myself be caught in one of the precarious, trashy office romances. They were all cannon fodder for gossip, which Kyle was listing for fun.
“Jim’s smashing Lisa, but she’s also with Mark….” he said.
Quinn and I eye-rolled our way into the next topic, which had Quinn going to the doorway and doing a quick check that the corridor was clear.
He cocked a brow before he contributed, “So, I see Paul Crane was in audio today.”
“The iceman,” Kyle joked.
“We heard he went full diva at the meeting and bitch-slapped Ryan.” Quinn snickered. “Inquiring minds want to gloat with you.”
I giggled and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Ryan was being his usual rude self. He and Logan tried to tell Paul how they would run his project. Paul wasn’t a diva. He made it clear he would be the one in control, that’s all.”
Kyle’s mouth dropped open. “Ryan did that in front of Gary?”
“Ambition knows no shame in some,” Quinn said. “Paul was right to nip that shit right in the bud. You let assholes get away in the beginning, they’ll run over you forever.”
I didn’t respond but thought about what Quinn had said. Perhaps Paul had tried to tell me the same in his own way.
“Yeah, but you know why Emono Games really want him, right?” Quinn continued in a lower tone.
I shook my head.
Quinn blew out his breath. “Sometimes I forget how new you are to all this, Aubrey. You must’ve heard of Jonas Crane, Paul Crane’s father?”
“Maybe.” I furrowed my brow. “But please get on with it.”
“Snippy,” Kyle tutted. “Aubrey also needs to get laid. And if you tell HR that, I’ll deny it, and I’m good. I’m still Sneaky College Dealer Number One,” Kyle trilled, flexing his small recurring role on a popular crime show for the hundredth time.
“I’m not worried,” I said. “But let’s get back to Quinn’s news.”
“Thank you,” Quinn replied, squaring his shoulders. “Jonas Crane, Paul Crane’s father, is a venture capitalist billionaire who likes to buy and sell companies. That means our good-guy owner Gary plans to sell Emono, and once he does, there go the rest of us.”
“How so?” I asked. “I mean, if Absolution does well, at the very least, they’ll commission another sequel. Even if Gary wants out, why would Jonas Crane buy Emono just to sell it off?”