Chapter Forty-Six
It’s going to be okay. They’re your pack. Your family.
Besides, Matthew and Asher kind of started this.
“Will, sweetie? Are you okay?”
At Izzy’s gentle prodding voice, I open one eye and look at my pack as they sit in the living room, Christmas lights and decorations lighting up the darkness. I hadn’t realized I’d closed my eyes.
Izzy’s face is filled with concern, while Asher and Matthew just look confused.
I take a deep breath, then say in a rush, “I want to sell the B&B.”
Heavy silence fills the air, and nobody moves for such a long time. I wonder if I’m dreaming, and I never really asked them to join me in the living room for this chat.
But then Izzy blinks. “Are you sure about this?”
I nod my head. “Yes. I’m sure.”
Now Izzy looks confused while Asher and Matthew are the concerned ones. “I don’t understand,” she says. “Have you been thinking about this a long time? You never mentioned it before.”
I lean forward in the armchair, place my elbows on my thighs with a sigh.
“This was never what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” I confess to her.
“And, honestly, I was just in autopilot these past couple of years. But look,” I gesture all around.
“We’re living here like it’s a house, just the four of us.
I don’t have paying patrons. I’m just living on a bit of inheritance, and that isn’t going to last.” My back hits the cushion behind me. “It’s time to make other plans.”
“Do you have any idea what you want to do?” Izzy isn’t judging me. There’s a twinkle of interest and maybe excitement in her eyes, like starting over sounds good to her, too.
“That’s why I wanted to have a sit-down with you all,” I explain. “This decision affects all of us, and we should all have a part in it.”
Matthew glances at Asher in question, and Asher nods at him, like they’re having a silent conversation I’m not a part of. Then, Matthew clears his throat. “I wasn’t going to say anything until after the New Year, but…” He looks at each of us briefly. “We have an opportunity.”
My brows are nearly in my hairline before Izzy narrows her eyes at him. “What kind of ‘opportunity’ are we talking about?”
“A business opportunity,” Asher answers for him.
“What kind of business?” I ask.
Matthew’s tone is assertive when he explains, “I think the four of us should start an indie game developer.”
And I think Izzy is about to faint beside him.
“We would start really small,” Matthew says in a rush, “but we had a meeting with a finance guy to see if it would even be possible, and he’s sure we could make it happen.”
“And we may have gone to City Hall to discuss hypotheticals,” Asher adds. “We could start out of the home, but, if successful, even the mayor seems keen to let us build an official office here, if we agree to prioritize local talent first.”
“And I didn’t tell any officials, but I thought if we earned enough to make this work, we could invest in Crescent Lake’s future with more than our taxes.” Matthew looks at me, then at Izzy, whose hand he takes before fanning her face a bit with his free hand. “You okay, Iz?”
She blinks rapidly, and those gray eyes turn on me. “You didn’t know about this either?”
I shake my head, no.
She turns back to Matthew and opens her mouth to say something, but Asher cuts her off. “We have a load of paperwork and numbers to share. All of us should have a think on it, separately, and we can reconvene any time to discuss as a pack.”
This is a lot to take in. I’d never considered working for a game developer before, even if I love gaming in itself.
But the only one of us who really knows what it’s like to work in that environment is Izzy.
Matthew’s a streamer, not a developer. Asher is an actor who’s voiced some game characters in the past. And I know how to turn on a PC or console.
“What exactly would be our roles in this company?”
Matthew gives me a small smile. “Well, to start, Iz would be the Art Director.” He squeezes her hand. “I would be the head of marketing and advertising. Asher would be head of casting—”
“And I would help with the marketing aspect, as I know a lot of people,” Asher interjects.
“And you, Will,” Matthew’s smile turns into a grin, “would be the Business Manager.”
Business Manager…
Izzy sits up straight and shoots me an awed look. “You could actually put your degree to use as intended!”
Could we really do this?
“It’s going to be a lot of work, guys. A lot of struggling and working insane hours.” I hate sounding like a spoilsport, but what I say is absolutely the truth.
“We know.” Asher’s voice is gentle, calm. “That’s why we’re all going to think on it. We won’t move forward unless we’re all in.”
“And we would all support one another, every step of the way,” Matthew adds. “Just like in day-to-day life. Forever.”