Page 245 of The Baby Twist

Fuck.

I went into the bedroom to change my clothes before heading to the game room to see what she was up to. After pouring myself a scotch, I slid open the door and found her sitting crisscross on the couch, playing my newest game.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked as she sat there in her nightshirt.

“Playing this game. You designed this?” She smiled.

“I did.” I sat beside her. “You seem to be enjoying it.”

“It’s fun.” She stared at the TV, her fingers tapping the buttons on the controller like a mad woman.

“I can’t believe you just took that guy down. He’s one of the hardest in the game.” I laughed.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” she said.

“Sure.”

“I might be a little bit of a game nerd myself. I grew up playing video games in my room to drown out the noise of my parents fighting and to avoid the new step-daddy and step-mommy.”

“I know you said you liked to play,” I said.

She saved the game, picked up the remote, and turned off the TV.

“I played a lot when I wasn’t hanging out with Penelope and Olivia. When did you start playing, and what led you to open your own company?”

“I was ten when I first started playing. When I was thirteen, I was getting bored because there was nothing out there that would hold my interest anymore. So, I figured I’d develop my own game—something I wanted to play.”

“You developed your own video game when you were thirteen?” she asked with surprise.

“That’s when I started teaching myself coding. I actually created the game when I was fourteen.”

“You taught yourself how to code?”

“I did.” I smiled. “I used the knowledge I learned and created what I wanted to play. After many playthroughs, ensuring there weren’t any glitches and the game ran smoothly, I wanted to see if any of my friends in an online gaming forum were interested in playing. They said they’d test it out, and believe it or not, the game went viral overnight. Six months later, my parents received a call from Sony, asking if they could meet me. My parents and I met with them, and they offered me a huge sum of money to buy the rights to the game, plus royalties for three years. They wanted to revamp it for their systems. I couldn’t believe it. God, that was such a magical day, and one I’ll never forget. My parents opened a bank account in my name anddeposited the money and royalties. It was for my college fund. A year later, they were killed in that helicopter crash, and my life completely changed.”

“Again, I’m sorry about your parents.” She reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I appreciate it, Marley. My aunt barely made enough money to support herself and her drinking habit. She knew about the money Sony gave me and wanted to know where it was. I told her that Sony opened a special account for me, and I couldn’t touch the funds until I turned twenty-one.”

“And she believed you?”

“Yeah. Thank God my parents didn’t give her too much information about it. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. I’m not sure how she and my mom were even related. They were so opposite. Anyway, I knew I only had to live with her for a couple of years before I went off to college. The thing was, I didn’t want to use that money for college because I knew I wanted to run my own company one day. I am a smart guy, believe it or not.” I smiled. “I worked extra hard in school and received several scholarships to Yale. That’s where I met Chase. He was my roommate freshman year and also loved gaming. It turned out we had spoken to each other in our gaming forum but had no idea who the other was.”

“So, did you study gaming at Yale?” Her brows furrowed.

“No.” I chuckled. “I studied business and finance. I knew I needed to learn everything I could if I wanted to run a successful company. While at Yale, Chase and I developed a couple of games and sold them around campus for extra money. I told him that when we graduated, I was opening my own company, and I’d bring him on as president, and he’d help me run it. We were twenty-two when we graduated, and I opened the doors to Stone Game Ventures a year later after securing more funds from aprivate equity firm. Once I hit a billion dollars in the first two years, I moved from a smaller space to where my office is now.”

“That’s very impressive, Charlie. Your parents would be so proud of you.” A beautiful smile crossed her face.

“They were very proud of me. I just wish they were here now to see my accomplishments. They were great people and parents.” I looked down at my glass. “I would give it all away to have them back. Enough about them.”

She climbed on my lap and took my face in her hands. Instantly, my cock started getting hard.

“What are you doing?” I stared into her beautiful eyes.

“Taking a chance that you’ll have sex with me. I’m horny, Charlie, and it’s too much work to have to go out and find someone when your sexy ass is right here.”

“I can help you with that.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.