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“Right?”
I loved seeing Maddox like this. So very much.
Adam pushed us toward Joystick’s. “We’ll plan world domination after you guys win.”
I laughed. “The announcement isn’t for an hour.” Such a long hour.
Like with the qualifying round announcement, so many of our friends trickled in over the next little bit. Evie, Gage, Aubrey, and Raven. Deacon and Brooke joined Adam not too long after we arrived. Kandace and Eli—who we didn’t see often, but were really nice—were here with Joystick.
Kandace approached me. “Xander is running late, and he’s sorry. He asked me to tell you if for some reason he doesn’t make it before the big announcement, don’t leave after.”
Maddox’s scowl lacked conviction. “Why did he call you, when he could’ve called me. Or Alys?”
“Maybe the why is a surprise.” Kandace’s smile was mischievous.
So that was something additional to fixate on—what was Xander up to? Not that the question replaced the creeping anxiousness about the contest, but it was like the cherry on top of a nervous sundae. We all ate and talked and laughed, while the radio station played at low volume in the background.
I missed this, and in the last few weeks I’d gotten addicted to being around everyone. I’d felt lost for a while now, and being here healed that sensation. I was so busy ignoring what I needed from my friendships and love life that I almost surrendered what mattered most. My past had nearly let me believe I didn’t deserve this.
Judith, Xander, and Dominic showed up less than twenty minutes before the announcement. Maddox hugged Judith and Dominic, and stuck his tongue out at Xander.
I laughed. Too perfect.
“I need to borrow Alys,” Xander said.
Maddox scowled. “Whatever you have to say to her—”
“Are you fucking with me right now?” Xander rolled his eyes.
Dominic tugged him back toward Onyx. “They’ll tell you when they’re done,” Dominic said.
“But you know.” Maddox sat anyway.
Dom held out a free seat for Judith. “Of course I do.”
Nice to see that some things weren’t going to change. I followed Xander to the same quiet corner of Joystick’s that we’d talked in just a few weeks ago.
“There’s a bidding war for your tech,” he said.
I knew what the words meant, but my brain wouldn’t process them. “What?”
“It won’t be official until tomorrow morning, but what you gave me? People want it.”
That couldn’t be right. “I wrote that in a week. Not even a full week. It’s a silly little piece of code.”
“Don’t tell anyone else that. Or do, the results could be funny. The point is, it’s a great idea. The concept has further reaching benefits than you’ve allocated it for, but what you’re doing with it is good too. I’ll start running offers by you tomorrow, and we’ll talk through every single one. You don’t have to sell to anyone you don’t want to, and you can ask as many questions as you want. If you have a question, it doesn’t matter how dumb you think it is, you ask it.”
“Okay?”
“Promise.”
“Yeah. I promise.” I was still trying to wrap my head around this. “Is it okay that this is overwhelming?” There. I’d asked my first question.
“Not only okay, but expected.” Xander smiled.
Next question. “What kind of offers are we talking about?”
“More than your salary for the next ten years.”
