Now, Please(25)

He grabbed a piece of paper from the table and flung it in my direction. “That’s what I was thinking.”

And just like that, his extreme focus took over. He’d just switched to work mode.

I laughed, grabbing the piece of paper. Several screen shots of a battle scene were displayed with various combat men pointing guns at each other.

“What?” Bruce asked, looking over the other pages.

“If I wasn’t used to Hunter, your sudden mood shift would be jarring.”

“Oh.” Bruce scoffed. “Yeah, that’s a personality flaw. I take some getting used to.”

I looked over the images and corresponding notes. I glanced at the other sketches littering the table, trying to work out what he was suggesting. “This is some sort of war game, right?”

“I’m torn between snipers and shoot ’em up.”

“You’re not going to pull in a whole lot of females, that’s for sure. This is a male-dominated category.”

Bruce tossed another page at me, this one a pie chart. Market research, I’d bet. “Big money possibilities, though.”

“Yes, without a doubt. If you do this right, you could have a very lucrative hobby.”

“Lots of competition…” Bruce drummed his fingers.

“Lots. Lots and lots.” I laid down the paper. “But what doesn’t? Puzzle games do, arcade—they are big categories for a reason. Trying anything new would need even more marketing.”

“So put out a cash cow now, and try to invent something new when we have some funds built up…” Bruce kept drumming his fingers as he looked at his notes.

“We, huh?” I smiled, looking over a printout of some of his scripts. “I’m a partner now, am I?”

“Yup. Two people working together go way faster than just one. Besides, once I’ve sold my company, I’ll have a way of getting out of boring conversations.”

I gave him a confused look. He grinned. “I’ll have to take your very important calls.”

I barked out a laugh. “Got it.” I pushed my computer to the side and glanced at his. “Okay, let’s see what ya got.”

As soon as he started talking about his ideas, and how he was trying to go about them, it was as if I’d known him all my life. We just clicked. Two hours passed that seemed like ten minutes. We worked off each other easily, each job taking less than half the time it would have done alone. I was having so much fun that when his phone beeped, I very nearly hoped he’d just silence it so we could keep going.

“Back to the grindstone,” Bruce said with a sigh, turning off his alarm.

I gave a sound like a whine, probably reminding him of my age. In response, he chuckled as he gathered up his notes.

“Why are you here, if you’re selling your business?” I asked, saving and closing out of my programs. I’d have to go back to the endless stream of emails now, looking at things Hunter wanted me to know that were way above my pay grade.

“Truthfully, I wanted to understand the best way to go about business so that I might be able to handle this hobby without losing control like I did of the other one.”

“Your other business just blew up?”

Bruce packed his computer away. “Almost overnight, yes. I just started hiring people and shoved work at them, trying to keep up with demand. Everything just…got way out of control. Way over my head.”

“I hear that.” I leaned my elbows on the table, watching him get ready to go to his next meeting.

When he was done, he turned straight to me and said, “Tell me the truth—is the Hunter Carlisle I saw last night legit, or is he putting on a persona to gain my business?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “That’s him. A jerk with a ‘please’ problem, but genuine. He’s always taken care of those around him. I told you that when I first met you.”

Bruce’s expression turned incredulous. “I wouldn’t have thought it. I thought he was a hard-ass, excuse my language. Only in it for himself. The arrogant way he goes about explaining himself just rubs me wrong. I thought he’d tear down everything I built to rip out a few gold nuggets to add to his coffers.”

“He might,” I said in all seriousness. “It’s got nothing to do with you, but he’s obsessed with efficiency and productivity—if something isn’t working, he’ll tear it down and rebuild. He’ll make your company shine in the long run, but first he’ll completely reshape it to make it fit in his company. I’ve heard enough stories around the office to know that he is a genius when it comes to that sort of thing. That’s why he has his job. And keeps his job. But yeah, he can be a dick. No two ways about it.”