“Nope.” Elliot popped on thep. “That is not a challenge I’m willing to take.” He fell onto the couch, King still in his arms, and Link dropped next to them.
“I’m going to get us some water.” I left the silly boys and their adorable dog and wandered into the kitchen.
Fuck me. Elliot was a billionaire. Or close enough. He didn’t act like a snooty rich guy. Well, maybe a little. And how did Link save his life? Did it have something to do with AcesPlayed? Or was that just a tangent I wouldn’t get the answer to tonight?
I stripped off my own wig and undid the zipper on the top of my jumpsuit, leaving the tank top underneath on display. Fortunately, the costume was comfortable. Then I downed my fill of water, grabbed two glasses for the guys, and headed back into the living room.
King was on the floor now, sleeping, but Elliot and Link were still pressed together on the couch. I got close enough to give them their drinks, and Elliot reached for me instead. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me down with them.
I squealed in surprise, and was even more shocked that I didn’t get water everywhere. I managed to only splash us a little.
“I got you wet.” Elliot snickered.
It wasn’t funny, but I couldn’t help a laugh. This silly mood of theirs was contagious. “So, did Link convince you to buy into AcesPlayed?” I wanted more of the story. Would I get it?
“No” Elliot took the glasses from me and set them on the coffee table. He maneuvered me so I was half in his lap, half in Link’s. “He supported me, but I was in from the start.”
“How’s he your hero, then?” I asked.
Elliot held out his wrists, insides up. “Do you want to know how I got these scars?”
I wasn’t sure which made my gut churn more, his Heath-Ledger-as-the-Joker impersonation being eerily spot-on, or knowing what kind of scars they were. “Only if you’re comfortable telling me.”
“I went to high school with Scott and Zach.” Was this another of Elliot’s tangents?
I assumed he meant the owners of Rinslet.
“When they started Cord, I was one of the first developers they brought on,” Elliot said.
That was exactly who he meant. I knew he’d been one of the original programmers. Cord had been publicly traded for awhile, which was how Digital Media had acquired them back in the day, and basically canceled them after. It was also where Rinslet came from—rising from the ashes with a lot of the original crew, like a phoenix.
Elliot sighed. “I’d never felt more like I belonged somewhere.” The giggles were gone from his voice, replaced with somberness. “Correction—I’d never felt like I belonged. Anywhere. Dad hated that I took the job, especially when I skipped college to do it. According to him, I was wasting my life. I didn’t care when he cut me off, because Grandpa didn’t, and because I had a new family at Cord.”
I couldn’t imagine loving a workplace so much that the people around me replaced my family, but that was mostly because I’d never been at a company where I didn’t feel both like I had to fuck someone to stay there, and at the same time like I’d be fired the instant anyone thought I had.
Link’s expression had gone somber too, and he watched Elliot closely.
“The year after Digital Media bought Cord was rough,” Elliot said. “I know, takeovers are always rough, but it hit me hard. The new management and I clashed.”
Online Fallyn might sayImagine that, but this wasn’t the time to be snide or obnoxious.
Elliot stared at the insides of his wrists. “Everything fell apart at once. Grandpa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and moved into hospice quickly. Dad wouldn’t let me see him. And then we found out who DM was laying off.”
Elliot must have been at the top of that list.
“Elliot was one of the only people they kept.” Link dashed my theory in a few short words.
“The offer was simple—take the job, take the money, and don’t tell anyone the terms of the contract, or we’d never work in the industry again. And from the quiet asking around thata friend did, it was a serious threat. No one would touch my resume.” This was yet another Elliot. Somber. Strained. Haunted.
“DM sucked—they have a horrible culture over there,” Elliot said. “The people I thought were my new family, the people from Cord, hated me, and my grandfather passed away without me being able to say goodbye.”
“How did you get out of your contract?” There had to be a bright spot in this story, right? I needed to see a hint of it.
Elliot’s smile was grim. “Remember years ago, when Jordan and Chloe humiliated DM at E3? That got them to cancel all of our contracts. Very quietly. With some intense non-disclosure agreements attached. So I supposed I didn’t tell you that just now, or something.”
King growled in his sleep at Elliot’s feet, and rolled over, but he never woke up.
Elliot scrubbed his face. ”Before that though, and at the risk of sounding like a country song, then my dog, the one I’d had for more than a decade, who was my best friend when I didn’t have any friends in school, passed away. And yeah, I get that some people have it worse, but I hit rock bottom. I thought I was completely alone, and I couldn’t imagine a worse fate.”