Chapter 7
Ray’s a BIG fan
Alex
I sat at my desk clicking my pen in a steady rhythm, watching Oliver mess with his phone on the small sofa in my office. We hadn’t spoken since he’d appeared ten minutes ago to inform me we’d be getting a phone call from Titan Games. When I’d asked what it was about, he’d just shrugged.
Click. Click. Click.
Outside the glass dividing my space from the assistants’ area, Tabitha and Kirsty leaned over Kirsty’s computer, their voices a low murmur I couldn’t quite make out.
The normally familiar sounds of the office felt off today.
Keyboards tapping, the coffee machine gurgling, Lennon’s quiet laugh all seemed too loud and too distant at the same time.
Oliver took a deep breath, crossed his legs, uncrossed them, then glanced up at me. My pen clicking had gotten faster.
“Do you think we should get Jordan and Casey?” he asked finally, meaning our creative and dev directors.
I shook my head, forcing the pen to stillness. “I want to know what’s up first.”
It wasn’t normal for Titan to request same-day calls. They scheduled everything days to weeks out, treating time like a precious commodity they parceled out in fifteen-minute increments. Something was definitely going on.
Tabitha entered with a tall glass of ice water and a stack of sketches and mood boards I’d been avoiding in my laptop inbox. She set them down without comment, knowing my tendency to ignore digital files.
“Thanks, Tabs,” I took a long pull through the straw, the cold helping settle my stomach.
“You good with your usual sandwich order?” She glanced between Oliver and me. “Both of you?”
“I brought leftovers,” Oliver smiled. “Thanks, Tabitha.”
“I’ll make sure Kirsty knows,” she nodded toward Oliver’s assistant.
“Sandwich is great, thank you,” I was already skimming the sketches to give my hands something to do. “But will you have them leave off all the vegetables and condiments this time?”
“You want a dry sandwich?” Oliver’s eyebrows shot up.
“Any time I say no tomatoes, they inevitably put them on anyway, then scrape them off, leaving little bits of snot and seeds to soak into the bread.”
“You certainly have a way with words.”
“I’ll have them include mayo and mustard on the side,” Tabitha winked, pulling the door shut behind her.
I organized the sketches by color palette, then by project, then by some system that made no sense at all.
The silence stretched between us again. I forced my hands flat on the desk, pressing my palms against the cool wood.
“How did Jordan and Casey take the news about you wanting to sell?” I asked at length.
I’d finally responded to the texts he sent before my dinner with Dom, Enzo, and Finn just over a week ago. Sure, it was right before I’d headed to the airport to come back to Salt Lake, but it was more than what I usually did when feeling overwhelmed.
Oliver lifted a shoulder. “Better than I expected. Jordan seemed interested in the possibilities. Casey’s worried about creative control.” He paused. “Thanks for letting me tell them before you got back.”
“Yeah, well, it saved me from having to sit in the room pretending I’m totally fine with everything.”
Oliver huffed a laugh at my overly-blunt response.
I wasn’t fine with anything, and I appreciated that he knew me well enough not to make me perform composure I didn’t feel.
Three years of working on a corporate team together and seven years of partnership had taught him to read my stress signals, from the pen clicking and compulsive organizing, to the way I avoided eye contact when processing difficult information.
My desk phone rang, sharp and sudden in the quiet office, making us both jump. Oliver stood and moved to the chair across my desk.
I stared at it for another ring before hitting the button for the speaker phone, my mouth suddenly dry despite the ice water.
“This is Alex,” I kept my voice calm. “Oliver is here as well.”
“Alex! Oliver!” The voice was artificially cheerful, manufactured enthusiasm that made my skin crawl. “Glad we could make this work on short notice. How’s Salt Lake? I tell you, it just gets prettier here in Seattle every year. Lots of rain this winter, should be a cooler summer.”
I caught Oliver’s eye and resisted the urge to roll mine. Weather small talk was not a good sign.
“I know your time is valuable, so I’ll cut to the chase.
We loved working with you on Legends of Heliox.
And as you know, we’re looking at expansions and sequels.
” My pen found its way back into my hand.
“That said, we wondered if you’d be open to selling Catalyst and coming fully under the Titan name. ”
The pen snapped in half.
I stared at Oliver, who looked equally stunned. This wasn’t a project discussion. This was an acquisition call.
After what felt like an eternity, Oliver cleared his throat. “Well, that’s certainly a surprise. What brought you to that decision?”
“It’s a great opportunity to integrate the team more fully,” his voice gained momentum, sliding into what was clearly a rehearsed pitch. “Think about the projects Catalyst could work on under Titan. We’re talking major franchises, bigger budgets, collaboration with award-winning studios.”
My brain kicked into defensive overdrive. “We are an award-winning studio.”
“Of course! And imagine what you could accomplish with even bigger opportunities, more resources, industry recognition on a whole different scale.”
My vision narrowed like it always did when someone was dismissive of everything we’d built. Oliver noticed my white-knuckle grip on the broken pen and leaned forward slightly.
“That’s quite the generous offer,” he cut in, his voice carefully neutral. “Could we have some time to think about it?”
“Absolutely! Take all the time you need. This is a huge decision, and we want what’s best for the company,” the executive’s tone suggested he thought the answer was obvious. “I’ll set up time in a few weeks to go over some preliminary contracts.”
“Thank you for your time,” I managed through gritted teeth as Oliver stood and reached over to hang up.
The silence that followed felt deafening.
Oliver slipped his hands into his pockets, watching me carefully. “Well.”
“No.”
“We should at least see what they’re offering.”
I stood abruptly, the broken pen pieces scattering.
“You know how this goes. They’ll acquire us, you’ll get your payout and retire, and within a year most of our people will be out of a job.
That’s assuming they don’t just shut us down completely for the tax write-off, which wouldn’t even make sense because we are an incredibly successful studio, Oliver! ”
My phone buzzed against my desk. Then again. I glanced at it without really seeing, my heart hammering.
“I get it. It’s scary,” Oliver’s voice was gentle but firm as he held his hands up, palms toward me. “I’m not asking you to say yes. I’m just saying let’s hear them out. You said you don’t have the money to buy me out, and we’ve got to come up with something.”
I sank back into my chair, feeling deflated. My phone had buzzed several more times and I picked it up. Mom twice, my brother Jason, my hairdresser, and finally Enzo. I swiped away the first few without reading them and gave my hairdresser a thumbs up on what was probably an appointment reminder.
“Don’t you think the timing is odd?” I looked up at Oliver. “This has been a casual conversation between us for a few months, and you only told Jordan and Casey last week. Why are they calling now?”
“Divine intervention?”
“Only if you mean the devil.”
I caught Tabitha’s attention through the glass and waved her in.
“I’ve got to run to another meeting,” Oliver knocked twice on my desk, a familiar gesture that usually made me smile. “Are you going to be okay?”
“If we’re lucky, I’ll be done spiraling by tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” he headed toward the door as Tabitha entered.
“I need you to start a deep research dive on Titan,” I said without preamble. “Run it through Sherlock. I want everything recent, all their public annual reports, financial filings, investor documents. The works.”
“I’ll make sure to have it summarize key findings and put together a two-page memo as well,” she was already making notes on her phone. “Anything specific you’re looking for?”
“Patterns. Acquisitions that went wrong, employee turnover after mergers, creative control issues. You know the drill.”
She nodded and headed back to her desk. I finally checked the message from Enzo.
The relief was immediate. Enzo visiting meant comfort food, terrible movies, and someone who understood why I felt like the world was trying to reorganize itself without asking my permission.
I scrolled to Jason’s message.
Enzo: SISTER!! Can I crash at your place?? Got a thing in Park City.
The relief was immediate. Enzo visiting meant comfort food, terrible movies, and someone who understood why I felt like the world was trying to reorganize itself without asking my permission.
I scrolled to Jason’s message.
Jason: Got anything 4 me? Could use some xtra work.
At least this was easy.
Me: we need to audit our current security protocols.
Me: can you handle that?
Jason: On it. I’ll grab specs from Jordan.
I hesitated before responding.
Me: ask Casey instead.
Jason replied with a thumbs-up emoji. Finally, I opened Mom’s messages. The first was from this morning.
Mom: I haven’t heard from you since you got back from LA! How are things?
Mom: Tony and I will be gone two more weeks. We’re having such a wonderful time!
A third appeared as I was reading.
Mom: Our neighbor David mentioned he’s ready to start dating again. You remember David, right? Such a nice man. Two adorable little boys.
I huffed and rolled my eyes just as Lennon appeared in my doorway with a take-out box.
“Sandwich delivery,” they announced, setting it on my desk. “Tabitha got called into Oliver’s office with Kirsty, so I’m your lunch service today.”
“Lennon, would you date a recently divorced father of two?”
Lennon held up their fingers, counting off three apparently important points. “Are they financially solvent, attractive, and whose fault was the divorce?”
I shrugged noncommittally.
Lennon wrinkled their nose. “Sweetie, you have better things and people you could be doing,” they headed for the door with a wink.
I turned back to Enzo’s message and decided to FaceTime him on my laptop rather than text back.
“Hey, sister,” Enzo answered almost immediately, not looking at his phone. “Hold please.” He was wearing his wayfarers and walking somewhere outside, the camera bouncing with each step. He stopped and sat down before looking at the screen again, frowning, and pulling off his sunglasses.
“What’s going on? You look like you’re about to grab a sledgehammer and start demolishing everything in sight.”
My smile hitched at his assessment. He wasn’t far off. But I didn’t want to think about it, so I waved it off. “I look like that most days. For all you know, I accidentally got Pepsi instead of Coke.”
“Hm,” Enzo didn’t look convinced. “Technically true, but even your ‘smash all the things’ face has different levels and this feels like Defcon three at least.”
“So this weekend?”
“Yes!” His face brightened. “They need stunt coordinators for a docuseries about the ski industry.”
“They can’t just use actual skiers?” My phone buzzed and I glanced at it. The phone number wasn’t familiar, so I ignored it.
“Rude. Don’t you want me to work? I can’t just let Dom be my sugar daddy.”
“Please. We all know that’s your kink, you big weirdos.”
Enzo gasped like a church lady being mooned by teenagers.
My phone buzzed again and I picked it up. The unfamiliar number had identified itself and I was convinced my heart did a full somersault as I read the messages.
(Maybe) Finn: Hey it’s Finn. Hope it’s cool Enzo gave me your number. Had to tell you the funniest thing. My PT is a massive Legends fan. Collectables special edition game the works. Told him I knew the woman who ran the company that built the game for Titan. He about lost his mind
He’d included a selfie with his physical therapist. The PT’s face was pure gold, his grin nearly splitting his face, eyes wide with delight. Finn wore his own goofy, overly enthusiastic expression, pointing at his PT like he was hanging with a bigger celebrity than Dom.
(Maybe) Finn: Didn’t know you had a fan did ya? Ray thinks you’re god tier. Said to tell you hi
I snorted and immediately pressed my lips together. He’d thought of me in the middle of his PT appointment, dealing with his own recovery.
No question about “Alex” either. I responded to the picture with a heart.
“Wait, who just texted you?” Enzo interrupted. I’d forgotten he was even there. “You’re grinning like a lovesick teenager and I’ve never even seen you crack so much as a smirk at your phone.”
I tried to discreetly save Finn’s contact info, my cheeks burning.
“Alexandra Joan Archer, who has you making heart eyes at your phone?”
“Sweet Zeus almighty, Enzo, nobody, okay?” my voice pitched higher than I intended. I tossed my phone across the desk, then immediately wanted to pick it up again to reread the messages.
Enzo’s grin widened. “Hmm. Tell me, or I’m about to go for a very bouncy jog with this camera.”
“I’ll hang up. Is Dom coming with you?”
“Nope.” There was something about the way he popped the end of that word. Vaguely suspicious, but when wasn’t Enzo scheming.
“How long?”
“Just a few days, I think. I just have to attend a couple of meetings and sign contracts for now.”
“Mi casa es tu casa.”
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you too. BE GOOD.”
“You first,” he cackled before ending the call. I rolled my eyes before reaching for my phone again to reread the messages, chewing on my thumbnail, then my lip. Ray was adorable. We probably had some leftover promo merch we could send him. Finn was sort of adorable too, I decided.
I sent a quick message to Lennon, asking them to see if they could dig something up from our basement storage.
Then I took a deep breath in an effort to calm down, set my phone on Do Not Disturb, unwrapped my sandwich, and tried to focus on the fact that in a few days, my favorite brother would arrive.