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When Brandon met my gaze in the rearview mirror, eyebrow raised, I realized how the words sounded.“Eww.Not like that, though he was certainly hoping it would be.”
As I told the story, Danny turned in his seat to watch, and his features twisted into a kind of anger I wasn’t used to seeing with him.When I finished, his jaw was set and his expression hard.
“Want me to go introduce him to my fist?”Brandon’s anger was tangible as well.
“I really really do.”I wanted to do some introducing of my own.“But wait until the lawsuit is over?And then take pictures.”Their support was nice, even if it didn’t solve anything.
When we arrived, inside the convention center was quiet compared to the bedlam it would be tomorrow.Small packs of people cut deliberate paths toward their destinations, hauling suitcases, trolleys, and more.We stepped through an open pair of doors, into the main hall.Banners hung from the ceiling with numbers, but we didn’t need to go too far.The AcesPlayed booth was near the front of everything.
Since Scott McAllister, one of the owners of Rinslet, was also a silent investor in AcesPlayed, the company had access to a few con benefits most people would pay through the nose for.He rarely tossed his name into things, because he didn’t want his reputation to overshadow Aces, but he made sure they got good exposure.
Adrienne grinned and waved when she saw us.Sonya and Jeremy looked up from the computers they were setting up, gave us smiles andhellosand went back to work.
Adrienne bounded up to us.“Thank you.So glad you’re here.Okay, so Dustin is in one of the presentation halls, he wants Brandon’s help with lighting and sound.Danny is supposed to make sure the computers are all secure.Reese, you can help me.”
“What are we doing?”I knew in the generic sense—we were setting up the booth and helping Brandon do a dry-run of his presentation.But everyone else had specific tasks.
“You’re helping The High Priestess oversee the ritual, presumably.”Sonya didn’t look up from her work.
I looked between her and Adrienne.“High Priestess?You got a promotion.Congratulations,” I teased.
Adrienne shrugged.“No one told me.”
“The chosen one is always the last to know.”Jeremy handed Sonya a bundle of cables.
She moved to the next computer in the setup.“And when Venus moves into retrograde, and chaos descends upon love and work, the summoning ceremony will be complete.”
“What am I summoning?”Adrienne asked.
“Good press, incredible reviews, and Christmas bonuses, I hope.”Jeremy moved to a new section of the booth, and grabbed a box.
I shook my head, but I was amused.“Pretty sure y’all’ve already nailed all three.”
“All hail High Priestess Adrienne.”Sonya made bowing motions and Jeremy joined her.
I already knew creatives were weird, but writers took strange and random to a whole new level of epically bizarre.
All of us spent the day setting up, watching Dustin and Brandon run through the announcements, and generally making sure the Aces booth was set for the show Monday morning.
It was dark when we finished, even though it wasn’t even six.Danny, Brandon, and I hopped on the light rail and rode it a few blocks to Temple Square.It didn’t matter that none of us were Mormon—at Christmastime, this was one of the most beautiful places to see in the valley.
As we wandered through the lit-up grounds, nostalgia pinged inside me.Mom always let me believe these lights had been set up just for me.
The temperature dropped as we walked, and then the snow started to fall.I loved the way the lights looked through the big, fluffy flakes.I loved even more that I got to experience it all with my hand nestled in Danny’s, and his in Brandon’s.
We decided to head home before the snow got too heavy to drive in.Brandon’s mood was softer than I’d seen in a few weeks.At their place, we watched Christmas movies and he even looked entertained by Frosty rather than annoyed.The Grinch was still his favorite, though.
The next morning I realized the house was down a person.“Did Adam find a new place to stay?”I asked as we were eating breakfast.
Brandon’s scowl was like a crack in an illusion, but it vanished quickly.“He and I argued.He decided to stay with a friend.”
“You need to go easier on him,” I said.
There was the scowl again.Dark and heavy.“It turns out his business partner is the one who stole our assets.Because Adam gave him access to our network.That cost us days of work.”
“Okay.”I held up my hands in surrender.That still didn’t sound like Adam’s fault, but I wasn’t in the mood to face Brandon’s abrupt irritation.“I didn’t realize.”
“It’s fine.”Brandon bit off the words.His mask was back, modified with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.“We should put up the tree.”
