Page 8 of The Grump I Loathe (The Lockhart Brothers #3)

I gritted my teeth at how deftly she was navigating this spiderweb of plot and lore. This was supposed to overwhelm her. Chase her from the building. Prove she couldn’t hack it. And instead, her observations were spot-on. Not only that, Leigh and Max looked way too pleased with her suggestions.

Max elbowed me. I batted his arm away, but even stoic Darius was giving me eyes, basically saying she’s the one .

Eddie stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Anyway, I’m gonna need more information about the game’s plot in order to give you any other insights, but I think I could whip this game into shape if given the opportunity.”

“Well, we appreciate that,” Leigh said. She glanced around at the rest of us. “I think we’ve probably seen all we need to?”

I shook my head. “Not quite. I have a few more questions. I’ll walk her out.”

“Okay, bossman,” Eddie said, giving me an irritating salute as I passed.

I marched toward the elevator, mulling over her statements as I jammed my finger into the button.

It dinged and we got in, the box feeling too small as the door rolled shut.

Heat prickled at the back of my neck as Eddie crossed her arms and jutted out her hip, drawing my eyes to those damn curves again.

The elevator suddenly felt like a matchbox, and I had the irrational urge to step closer instead of away.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I cleared my throat. “I think you missed the point of opening the story with Juni’s voiceover.”

Eddie frowned. “No I didn’t. She’s there to remind the audience of what happened in the first game. Classic sequel set up.”

“And you’re saying we should ditch that? ”

“No, I’m saying you should move it—have it come after the intro with the aliens.”

“If it’s not the first thing players see, what’s the point in having it at all? Why would we waste time having Juni poke around the ship, looking for clues?”

“Because you still need to set up the other elements of this game. What’s Juni’s current relationship with Flux?

Is she in touch with the crew from the last game?

What does she uncover that either supports or makes her question the story the aliens have told her?

You need to give the players time to mull over the distress signal and decide which way they want to play the game before giving them the choice.

And you can’t just drop all that into some dialogue, or it’ll be boring . ”

“You’re saying Juni’s a boring character?

” My question came out harsher than I intended, but I was beyond caring.

I couldn’t work with this woman. The way she challenged everything, made me want to either argue with her for hours or shut her up in ways that had nothing to do with business.

She would be a whirlwind in my carefully curated work life…

and that was the only life that mattered.

She rolled her eyes. “Were those the words that came out of my mouth? No. But what is this game ultimately about?”

I hesitated.

“Telling the audience that Juni is still just some kid, running around after Flux?” Eddie asked. “Or telling them that she’s grown up, that she’s making her own way in this dangerous world? She has to have some kind of character growth.”

My jaw tensed as we reached the ground floor.

I don’t know what I hated more, the fact that Eddie had clocked all that about the game so quickly or the fact that she was right about all of it.

She was supposed to be bad at this. I’d counted on her being bad at this.

What was I supposed to do now that I’d realized that wasn’t the case ?

“Well, it’s been an absolute pleasure,” Eddie said sarcastically, waiting for the doors to roll open. “We should totally do this again sometime.”

Liar .

“Though maybe wear something with a little red in it next time,” she said. “I barely recognized you without all the hot sauce stains.”

I jammed my finger into the button to hold the doors. I’d wanted to be wowed by one of our applicants, and she’d accomplished that. I couldn’t believe I was really about to do this, but I knew in my bones this was how we got the best version of Shadow across the finish line.

I hated that as much as I hated her attitude and her holey jeans and that damn T-shirt that fit her a bit too well, but she was what the game needed.

What LockMill needed. “All right, fine,” I said through my teeth.

“I’ve made a decision. The job is yours.

You can show up on Monday if you can start dressing like an adult. ”

“Oh, you’ve made a decision?” Eddie scoffed. “Am I supposed to take that as an edict from on high? Should I add the hot sauce to my clothes the night before or wait until I get here?”

I glowered at her. “Business. Attire. If you don’t know what that means, I can have Darius send you some pictures.”

Eddie crossed her arms, staring up at me. “You know what, I could do great things with this game. Me and my holey jeans.”

I dropped my hands to my hips, taking her in. Those blazing green eyes. Full pouty lips. Lips I had no business looking at or wanting to touch because they belonged to one of the mouthiest, most irritating people on the planet. “No holey anything. Those are the terms.”

“Well, thanks but no thanks. ”

I jerked back, my eyebrows colliding in disbelief. “You’re really about to turn down this job because of a dress code?”

“No, I’m about to turn it down because you assume I don’t know what business attire is.

And you assume holes in my jeans make me less professional or bad at my job or whatever else you’re thinking.

And by throwing me into that playtest without preparation, you assumed I wouldn’t be able to figure out what was going on with Juni and Shadow narratively. ”

I clenched my jaw. I hadn’t expected her to pick up on that.

“That’s a whole lot of assumptions to make about someone you don’t know,” she continued. “So, again, thanks for the offer, but I’ve made it a personal mission not to work for any more jerks.”

Was that so? “The salary is more than competitive,” I said, jaw tight. “Especially considering your level of experience.”

She clicked her tongue. “If you were so concerned about my level of experience, why was I even given an interview?”

Why indeed? I had Max to blame for that and dammit, he was right.

“The fact you should be concerning yourself with is that there are other narrative designers out there with more credits under their belts.” None of them had fit the project as well as Eddie had, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

I needed her. Shadow needed her. But I wanted her to think she needed us more .

“Oh, thank you for that tidbit of wisdom,” she snarked. “I had no idea.”

“Don’t throw away a chance to move yourself up the ladder,” I said.

“You and I both know what a résumé boost working for LockMill would be. And if the salary isn’t quite what you’re looking for, I’m willing to negotiate.

” I was willing to budge handsomely on the bottom line if it would put an end to this conversation .

“Oh, are you?” she said testily. “Well, you know what, Lord LockMill, you can take your cash and stuff it.”

Lord…What? I shook that off. “Consider what you’re turning down.”

“Consider what I’m…” Eddie’s jaw tightened like I’d struck a nerve. “Oh, because I’m too inexperienced to be able to consider a legitimate job offer? You know what your problem is?”

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“You think throwing money at people will solve all your problems. That if you hit them with the right number, you’ll get them to bend the knee and thank you for bestowing them with the opportunity to work for you.”

“It would certainly solve your problems.” My gaze dropped, taking her in.

But it wasn’t the holey jeans or the neon streaks in her hair that she needed money for.

Not really. “You’re young, just starting out in life.

I remember what that’s like. Spreading myself thin.

Worrying that there wouldn’t be enough cash to go around. ”

She sneered but didn’t deny it.

“There’s a great benefits package, and we can talk about a performance bonus if Shadow does well in the market after release.”

“Is this your schtick? Open your wallet and dangle cash like a carrot? Not everyone likes carrots.” She brushed by me as the doors opened again. “Have fun with your interviews. I hope you find someone before your sinuses explode.”

“There’s something you’re saving for,” I called after her, holding the elevator open. “There has to be.” But what was it? “A house down payment?”

“What would I do with a house all to myself?” she yelled. “I don’t even want to clean the apartment I have. ”

“Maybe you want to travel. See the world. That performance bonus could buy you a nice few months in Europe.”

No reaction. She couldn’t have finished college all that long ago. What did college grads want besides a secure job? “Or it could put a significant dent into some student loan debt.”

She stumbled slightly, and I clocked it like the answer to a damn mystery. Her student loans. Maybe that was my way in.

“You know,” she said sarcastically. “That might have been enticing. But I’ve heard Waylaid Games actually offers a student loan repayment program for employees, so I’m gonna try my luck with them down the street.” She gave me another one of those infuriating salutes.

I glowered after her retreating form as she marched across the lobby, every fiber of my being wanting this to be the last I ever saw of her.

But I knew letting her walk out that door would be a mistake.

Max and Leigh and Darius would be disappointed to find out we’d lost her to another opportunity, and I couldn’t bring myself to start interviews again.

And I hated to say it, but she was the right choice for the position. It was too bad it came with that attitude and kissable mouth. I shook my head and cleared my throat, annoyed at where my thoughts kept drifting.

If the salary and the benefits and the bonus weren’t enough to sway her, I had one more trick up my sleeve. “You sign on as narrative designer today and LockMill Games will purchase and distribute Alterbot .”

Eddie stopped hard, whirling around, her eyes lit up. “Are you joking? ”

I stared at her, the thrill of victory thrumming through me. Gotcha. I stepped back, releasing the elevator.

Eddie bolted back across the lobby, thrusting her arm between the closing doors. They bounced back open. Her gaze was fiery, bright, like she was staring at her future on a silver platter. “If you’re screwing with me, I’ll?—”

“You’ll what?” I challenged. She didn’t say anything. “That’s what I thought, Edith.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s Eddie to you.”

“I’ll have Darius send you the contract today. Including the provision about appropriate workplace wardrobe.”

“Don’t you dare,” she said.

I smirked as the doors started closing on her scowling face. “I look forward to seeing you in proper business attire, Edith .”