Page 25 of Played By Design

“I’m the accountant.”

“Then handle it.” I set the can down and start digging through the pile of items from Kain’s bag.

My fingers push aside cables, receipts, and a granola bar wrapper. No business card.

I frown. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Kain asks, all innocence.

“The card. Julian’s card.”

I step into his space and go straight for his pockets without asking. My fingers close around the stiff rectangle in his front left pocket, and I pull it free.

Julian Vey.

Co-owner of Lantern Key Games.

Beneath it is his direct line of contact. Direct.

I hold it up between us, pinched between two fingers. “Call him.”

My urgency fails to motivate him. “He’s still at the event. He’ll be there until late tonight.”

Thwarted, I pace around the office, looping around my beanbag chair in the corner to circle back. “He’s going to fix the alley approach. The Sentinel can’t declare his role if he’s coming from the cache side quest because the dialogue tree resets, but Julian corrected it. He made a separate branch. He listened to my reports.”

Kain settles back on the edge of the desk, arms crossed. I know I’ve already said all this a hundred times on the car ride home and now, but I can’t stop, and he doesn’t try to make me.

“That’s good, Bunny.”

“It’s not just good. It’s—” I pivot on my heel, cutting my circuit short. “When are you sending your resume?”

Kain is quiet for a beat too long.

My foot starts to bounce. “You are going to send it.”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“What’s to think about?” I return to his side and tap the business card on the ZeroSignal can. “You have no current projects. You said so last week. You were complaining about the freelance market drying up.”

“I have plenty of work.”

“Freelance gigs that pay by the hour for a few lines of code. You’ve been wanting a real challenge.” I tick the facts off on my fingers. “And Julian Vey wants to hire you for his project!”

He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “He didn’t even ask to see my portfolio, Bunny.”

“But he handed you his direct line. He wants you on the team.”

Kain’s mouth twitches. “I’m not sure that’s why he gave me his number.”

I frown up at him. “Why else would Julian tell you to contact him personally?”

“Bunny.”

“Tonight, Kain. The DLC is in final bug cleanup. They need help now, not in two weeks.”

A long, slow sigh escapes him as he reaches past me for the ZeroSignal can. His fingers brush mine as he takes it, and he drinks, the long column of his throat moving with the swallow.

When he lowers the can, his eyes find mine over the rim. “I’ll check out the job posting.”