Chapter 30
thirty
. . .
Maci
I wish I could figure out how to show my parents what I do. I realized at my sister’s game today that they didn’t used to know anything about soccer but now they do. I wish there was a way…
Sunlight filters through black, mesh solar shades, flickering a soft gold across the sheets. I stretch, instinctively reaching for the warm body beside me before my hand lands on cool cotton.
I glance at the clock.
Six twenty-three.
He's probably already at SGI after his morning workout. It’s hard to believe how happy I am. How lucky I am, and I owe it to Chase. He convinced me to apply to SGI again.
Rolling onto my back, I grab my phone from the nightstand.
Forty-three notifications.
Thirty-nine are from one group text.
Hart Family
I laugh before opening it.
Dad: THERE'S MY GIRL!!!
Tyler: HOLY CRAP! THAT WAS AWESOME!
Lauren: I knew it!!
Mom: We are so incredibly proud of you, sweetheart.
Another message pops up.
Dad: Tyler made me download TikTok.
Tyler: You're welcome.
Dad: Never doing that again.
I snort.
Tyler shares a video.
I tap it.
The SGI logo fills the screen before the video cuts to the final seconds of the championship game. The crowd is standing. Green and gold confetti explodes through the air as the Austin Dillos secure the winning touchdown.
The camera swings toward the stage.
Toward me.
I'm laughing.
Clapping.
Looking completely overwhelmed.
Then Witt walks into frame.
The comments explode before he even reaches me.
"He's Smiling!"
"Wait... Is That Witt O'ryan?"
"NO WAY HE'S ABOUT TO..."
The video ends with him cupping my face and kissing me.
Over three million views and it’s been less than twelve hours.
I shake my head, smiling despite myself.
Another text arrives.
Dad: I watched it four times.
Lauren: Six.
Tyler: Mom cried.
Mom: Tyler!
Tyler: You did.
Three little typing bubbles appear.
Disappear.
Then...
Mom: I wasn't crying because he kissed you.
Pause.
Mom: I was crying because everyone was cheering for something you created.
My smile fades into something softer.
Growing up, our house revolved around sports.
Tyler's baseball tournaments.
Lauren's soccer matches.
Dad never missed a game.
Mom knew every schedule before we did.
They understood scoreboards.
Championships.
Packed bleachers.
The roar of a crowd after a walk-off home run.
But gaming?
That had always been... different.
They tried. They really did.
Dad would peek into my room and ask if I was "winning."
Mom would ask if I'd "leveled up."
They cared because I cared. They just couldn't see it.
How do you explain thousands of anonymous people celebrating behind screens?
How do you describe the feeling of building a community that exists almost entirely online?
You can't point to a trophy.
You can't hear the crowd.
Not unless you're inside the game.
Yesterday, they finally got to see my world.
Fans wearing jerseys.
Commentators.
Players celebrating.
Confetti falling.
A championship.
It looked enough like the sports they'd spent their lives loving that they finally understood why I'd fallen in love with gaming.
Another message appears.
Dad: You looked like a coach after the game.
I laugh.
Tyler: Nah.
Tyler: She looked like the person everyone wanted to celebrate with.
My throat tightens.
For years, I'd wondered if they'd ever truly understand what I did.
Turns out... my family just needed to see it.
A separate notification slides across my screen.
Chase
Chase: Congratulations, Maci. You looked really happy. You deserve it.
I stare at the message for a long second before I type.
Me: Thank you, not for the compliment but for pushing me to go for what I wanted.
He responds almost immediately.
Chase: You did it. Not me. I’m just lucky to be your friend
I pause.
Me: I’m the lucky one.
Chase: Witt O’Ryan is the luckiest man in the world. It looks like he understands that.
My fingers hover over the keyboard, smiling.
Me: There’s a cute marketing associate that loves baseball that I’ve been working with. Double date?
Dots bounce and disappear a few times.
Chase: I applied for a job in Houston. I’ve made it through two interviews. So…
Me: So excited for you. Don’t leave without us getting together.
He hearts it and then he’s gone. It’s funny how people come and go in your life. Like they pop into your life to serve a purpose. Chase was that for me.
I lock my phone and press it against my chest for just a moment.
Maybe yesterday wasn't just the launch of the reimagined e-football league.
Maybe, it was the first time everyone I love finally saw the life I've loved since I was in middle school.
After a shower and considerably more concealer than necessary to hide the fact I barely slept, I step off the elevator onto Synatrix's executive floor.
"Morning, Partner."
I stop. The receptionist grins and it takes me a second to realize she's talking to me.
"Good morning."
As I continue toward my office, congratulations follow me down the hall.
"Fantastic launch."
"The production was incredible."
"My kids stayed up way too late watching."
Every compliment is about the event, about the work, not the kiss. Exactly the way I hoped it would be.
Just before I reach my office, Dara steps out of hers carrying two folders.
"There you are."
"Good morning."
She smiles with an expression I can’t place my finger on. Somewhere between amused and omnipotent. "It is. Witt asked that you see him immediately.”
“Before coffee?” I ask, lip twisting.
“I think you mean dessert. It’s more birthday cake creamer than it is coffee. Now, don’t keep our CEO waiting.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Dara’s grin widens.
I tap on the glass door. And it makes me think about why someone so private and introverted would choose glass walls. I make a mental note to ask him.
“Come in.”
“Hey. It seems like last night was a success. Even my parents are excited for the league. Of course, it was football. If it was a Zelda league, they might not be as gung-ho.”
“You’re rambling. You’re giving Noelle a run for the money,” he says as he presses his hands against the office chair and stands.
“Oh, she likes to talk?”
“She hates silence.”
“But yet…”
He sits on the desk, his sleeves already rolled up, showing his veined arms. My mouth waters and I need to put my professional hat on. His legs are spread and I want nothing more than to walk in between them and give the executives a show.
He clears his throat like he knows what I’m thinking. Sometimes I wish he wasn’t so observant.
“Yet, I wouldn’t want anyone else for a sister.”
He pushes the button and calls Dara. “Contracts please.”
“What contract? I didn’t know we had something new in the works,” I question.
“I solved the problem,” he says. His tone upbeat and smile broad.
“What problem?”
Dara walks in a red folder in hand. "The board approved everything this morning." She hands it to me.
Witt says, “I suggest you go over it with a fine-tooth comb.”
My brows knit together, I have no idea what he’s referring to.
I open it and glance down at the paperwork. This doesn’t make sense.
Co-CEO?
Who is Co-CEO? My eyes skim the small print looking for clues. Then my eyes land on a name.
My name.
I look up at the beautiful man in front of me. My throat tightens and I feel tears threatening.
“What is this?”
“Your new job. We’re Co-CEOs. No power differential. No boss/employee,” he says with a softness in his voice that I only hear when we’re by ourselves, in private.
Dara tilts her head. “I’ll let you go over this with Maci. Tech has already called twice asking about when the new server room will be ready.”
“It’s your company. You built it. You rearranged your company for me?”
Witt has started communicating in full sentences more often but this time, he simply says, “Yes.”
“I don’t deserve…”
“You do. The company stock has gone up sixty-five percent because you put my vision on steroids. You’re the one that is getting people excited about e-gaming leagues.”
A lump forms in my throat. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say I accept.”
He holds back a laugh, but the smile is there. He may not have Parker’s dimples but he has tiny ones that he doesn’t let the world see.
“I accept.”
“You haven’t read the contract.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I trust you.”
“What if it says as co-CEO you have to have sex with me in this glass office?” he ask with a playful grin.
“I would say we need to put in blackout shades. Better than the ones at home. The sun woke me up this morning.”
He reaches for my hand and when I take it, he pulls me in. “Done. Now go to legal.”
His eyes are as bright as I’ve ever seen them, like warm honey.
“Thank you.”
“I thought of this last night after you fell asleep and got the ball rolling. It’s a good thing I picked the board and that you made them a fucking boatload of money.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips and says, “Go.”
My heart races as I run into Dara in the hall.
"I've worked with Witt a very long time." She smiles knowingly. "I've never seen him rearrange his world for anyone."
Neither have I.
And somehow, knowing he chose to rearrange it for me makes me feel like I'm exactly where I was always supposed to be.