At Any Moment (Gaming The System Book 3) (42 page)
I was distracted by a hiss of breath at my right shoulder. Adam leaned forward, his face flushed. That vein that stuck out on his forehead when he was pissed was currently dancing the lambada between his dark eyebrows.
With a jerky motion, he pounded on the pause button. “That shit is
viral?
” he choked out.
Weston nodded, casting a cautious glance at the boss. “It’s all over the place—Facebook, Reddit, Youtube, Porn sites—you name it.”
Adam jerked out of his seat, raking a hand through his hair. I crossed my legs and then uncrossed them, unable to get comfortable. I settled for lacing my hands together and staring at them fixedly. “C’mon, man,” I finally said after clearing my throat. “It’s not a big deal. It’s a couple of idiots goofing around… Probably drunk off their asses.”
“Employees,” Adam muttered, flushing even darker red. “
My
employees fucking on camera, dressed up as characters from what is supposed to be a fucking
family
game!”
Oh. Shit. I needed to calm him the fuck down.
I held out my hand. “You don’t know for sure that—”
But Adam cut me off, jerking a long finger at the frozen screen, indicating something in the foreground—what looked like a Draco employee badge, the kind we all wore. I had one clipped to the pocket of my dress shirt.
Fucking hell.
“The name is obscured,” Weston said, leaning in next to Adam to get a better look at what was unmistakably the logo of Draco Multimedia. “What’s that thing blocking it out?”
“The chick’s lace thong,” I said drily.
Adam’s hand closed into a fist that landed on the desk next to the laptop with a loud thump. “Goddamn it!” he hissed. “I leave fucking Comic-Con a day early to spend some time with my fiancée and all hell breaks loose.” He turned his narrowed eyes on me and I swallowed nervously.
“You’re not—”
“You need to find out who the fuck that was and make sure they are looking for another job before the week is out. This company cannot stand more negative publicity after last year’s lawsuit and settlement. This needs to be nipped in the bud or we can kiss our plan to go public goodbye.”
I held up a placating hand. “Adam, calm down. The ranting is not going to do your blood pressure any good. I’ve got this, all right? I’ll handle everything. It’s not going to affect our project. I promise.”
He clenched his jaw. “I’m counting on you for that…”
I swallowed, sent him a confident smile I definitely didn’t feel and nodded reassuringly. I was counting on me for that, too. Because three things had to happen. Number one,
nothing
could threaten our pet project. Number two, I needed to find out just how
and
why that video had been posted on social media. And three, Adam could
never
find out that the dude in the video was me.
The
Gaming The System
series continues in
For The Win
, Jordan’s story, available 2015.
Afterword
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed
At Any Moment
. I am writing the next book in the series,
For The Win
, which stars Jordan and his heroine.
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At Any Moment
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Acknowledgements
I owe many thanks to those who helped this book come into being: Sabrina Darby, Courtney Milan, Kate Mckinley, Minx Malone, Tessa Dare, Natasha Boyd, Leigh Lavalle, and Carey Baldwin. A big thank you to my production team: Eliza Dee, S. G. Thomas, and Sarah Hansen.
Thank you to my amazing fellow authors authors for your support: Bella Andre, Roxie Rivera, Mimi Strong, Maya Rodale, Marquita Valentine, Elena Dillon, Debra Holland, Michelle Pickett, S.M. Butler, Viv Daniels, . Shout-outs to the NAAU peeps, the Awesome Authors, the LOL ladies, the SPRT guys and gals and the Romance Divas.
Many thanks to all the readers and bloggers who have loved, read, reviewed and talked about the Gaming the System books. Adam and Mia are every bit as much yours are they are mine. <3
All my gratitude to my family. Thank you to my husband, sometimes affectionately referred to as "the publisher." Hugs and kisses to my sweet little guys, heroes to some lucky future heroines. Love always xoxox.
Author’s Note
Due to the subject matter of this novel, I felt it might be helpful to include a note about the research I conducted in order to portray Mia's illness and treatment with as much realism as possible. I did not want this to be a book about cancer, but rather, a book about how a young couple, already challenged with overcoming their own foibles, must find the strength to overcome those struggles, both external and internal, through their love for each other.
Nevertheless, I felt it was very important to not downplay the seriousness of Mia's cancer, the chemotherapy, and, above all, the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy in order to seek life-saving treatment.
There were many resources that I consulted to learn more about breast cancer. Most heart-rending of these were the actual blogs and memoirs of cancer survivors and of those who, in the end, did not survive.
Some of my sources include:
Haily Peterson's youtube vlog chronicling her treatment and survival
Geralyn Lucas, author of the memoir Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy
Jessica of Cancer, Baby blog (archived after her passing)
Sylvia Soo of Cancer Fabulous (cancerfabulous.com)
Jennifer Smith of Living Legendary blog and author of What You Might Not Know
Jill Brzezinski-Conley of Breast Friends (Facebook) and subject of the documentary, "The Light that Shines, A Story for All."
I urge you to seek out these sources if this subject interests you.
Thank you,
Brenna Aubrey
Copyright ©2014 by Brenna Aubrey
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Art: ©Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations
Professionally edited by Eliza Dee, Clio Editing.
20141020
ISBN 978-1-940951-06-5
Silver Griffon Associates
P.O. Box 7383
Orange, CA 92863
Brenna Aubrey’s
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Table of Contents
“Re-spawns, Do-overs and What Video Games Can Teach Us About Life”
1. This was the ongoing story of how I completely and utterly fucked up my life.
2. I watched Emilia closely as the doctor delivered her prognosis numbers.
3. I slowly got out of the car, my muscles stiff with annoyance.
4. After yet another long and sleepless night...
5. We spent New Year’s Eve in Adam’s audiovisual room...
6. Emilia spent the rest of New Year’s Day in her room at Heath’s...
7. My body felt like it was breaking in half and my heart along with it.
8. Emilia had her minor surgical procedures done...
9. “Not All Secrets Stay That Way Forever”
10. I leaned back against the couch and listened to her sleep.
12. I stood frozen for a moment while Emilia heaved...
13. “Meta-gaming or the Lives our Characters Lead, Without Us”
14. Over the next few days all she seemed to do was sleep...
15. “Take that you green-faced fucktard!”
16. It was two a.m. and I’d drifted off to sleep again...
17. “Online Friendship: Is It the Real Deal?”
18. After brushing my teeth and changing into my pajamas...
19. I was sure that Adam thought I couldn’t handle a little...
20. I knew she had questions that I couldn’t—or wouldn’t—answer.
21. Something was wrong. I knew it the moment...
22. Thank God I checked on her regularly after a new round.
23. “I can help you with one of those, you know,”
24. I spent about a half hour with Jordan signing paperwork...
25. Two weeks later, the night before Adam’s twenty-seventh birthday...
26. We slept in the bed together and I know she was expecting more.
27. The hotel was breathtaking, and from the moment we entered...
28. I was enjoying this immensely.
29. Project Seduction was about to cash in.
30. I folded her in my arms, held her tightly...
31. The night before we were to fly home...
32. Two days after we returned home, Emilia went in for her scan.
33. I was doing this for Adam. He wanted me there.
34. “Do you want to talk?” I whispered.
35. I undid the towel from his waist...
36. I watched as her face clouded, like a storm suddenly sweeping overland.
37. I waited in the weighted tension between us for him to respond.
38. I was up all night. I didn’t even try to sleep.
39. Full circle. That’s what this was.
40. I dreamt about her every night she was gone.
41. The hotel room in which we were staying for the wedding...
42. It was almost midnight when I fell back against the pillow...
43. I lingered on the rocks after that short, humble ceremony.
44. I jogged up that hill as quickly as I could once I left the sand.
45. I trudged across the sand and let myself into the cottage.