Page 1 of Players Love Hard
Chapter One
Jamie
Every story has a villain. Mine is staring at me from across the room. All it takes is one look from her, and my pulse races. Cecelia Carmichael, my ex-girlfriend, stands one booth over from mine with her father, the chairman of 10X Games. Kevin Carmichael is all fake smiles reserved for the public, busy showing off his brilliant daughter to his business partners along with his latest technology.
Cece, as I’ve known her since we were kids, isn’t only beautiful and rich, she’s one of the smartest people I know. I haven’t stopped staring at her since we set up our booth for the Gamer Nation Convention in Las Vegas. Just knowing she’s here is enough of a distraction. And that’s what she wants—to distract me. Because she only cares about advancing her career as a video game developer and taking over her father’s company. I was nothing more than a subplot in her story, a detour on her way to the next big thing.
“I need you focused, J,” my dad says, tugging on my arm. “This launch is important.”
I peel my eyes away from Cece to look at my dad. He’s nervous about the unveiling of Mage Wars, his latest game in The Fallen Universe he created before I was born. My dad is like a god in this world. He has fans around the world who wait impatiently for each release of the role-playing game.
“I know. Don’t worry.” I pat my dad on the shoulder. “I got it covered.”
He flashes a closed-mouth smile that looks forced. “I hope so. Any time you go anywhere near Cecelia, you can’t function.”
I laugh so hard I snort. “Not even close.”
Dad’s eyes travel from Cece back to me. “You look at her the way I look at your mother, except your mom looks back at me the same way. Cecelia only sees you as an opportunity, as someone to use. Don’t let her get in your head, Jamie.”
He’s not entirely off base. When Cece broke up with me three years ago, I never saw it coming. I was so in love with her that I was blind to all the signs. They say you never forget your first love, and I’ll never forget Cece. Ever since she crushed me, I haven’t given another woman a chance. No one compares to Cece. She gets me to the very core of my soul. Or at least I thought she did. I thought we had an impenetrable connection.
“She’s your Gwen Stacy,” my dad says, referring to Spider-Man’s love interest in college.
Gwen was undoubtedly Spider-Man’s true love, killed by the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man. Even though he married Mary Jane Watson years after Gwen’s death, I always thought Gwen was ‘the one.’ Sometimes, I feel like I will never get over Cece. And for that reason, I can’t argue with my dad.
Spider-Man is his favorite comic book character. He’s mine, too. We’re both obsessed with Marvel Comics. He drew inspiration from Stan Lee while creating his characters and worlds in The Fallen Universe. I often do the same thing when I’m dreaming up new games.
I grew up on comic books, Star Trek, video games, and computers. My dad is a geek to the core, a master creator of worlds, and the best man I know. I learned everything from him except hockey. I learned that from my grandfather, a famous hockey player.
“My Mary Jane will come along eventually,” I assure him. “I’m not worried about girls right now. I have enough on my plate with hockey, school, and the new game I’m coding.”
The game Cece stole from me.
“How’s that coming along?”
Hmm… how do I answer his question?
I can’t tell him I let Cece demo it before she ripped it off. Admitting the truth would only lead to getting yelled at for something I already regret.
“It’s going,” I lie. “I should have a beta for you to check out next month, depending on how crazy it gets with school and my hockey schedule.”
“School comes first.” He flips open his laptop and sits behind the table I’m standing next to. “Have you thought about working for me full-time after you graduate?”
“Yes and no,” I admit. “I kinda want to see what happens with hockey.”
He peeks up from his keyboard and nods. “Well, if you change your mind, and I hope you do, you can always work for me. I’d always envisioned you, Mike, and Grace taking over the company after I retire.”
My older sister, Charlotte Grace—who everyone calls Grace—handles operations in the London office. Mike runs the Silicon Valley office. Dad still hopes I will take his place at the corporate office in downtown Philly.
I’m torn between two legacies. No matter which one I choose, I let someone down. My dad wants me to follow in his footsteps, whereas my grandfather wants me to chase the dream of professional hockey. No matter what I decide, I’ll never live up to either of their legacies. The paths they both forged are too narrow, leaving no room for me to grow.
In the NHL, people will compare me to my grandfather. He holds the records for most career points, season points, and playoff points. How could I ever compare to that? And then there’s my dad. He blew the gaming world away when he developed the artificial intelligence that controls his Universe. His face has been on every magazine cover, and his tech is mentioned worldwide.
I doubt I’ll ever be on the cover of Wired or have my games featured in PC Mag. It’s not that I lack confidence in my coding or hockey skills. I have that in spades.
Mike, my older brother, climbs the staircase leading up to our raised platform, smiling like the Cheshire cat. He has the same brown hair as my dad and me, except he wears his longer on the sides.
“They’re having issues over at the 10X booth,” Mike informs us. “Someone hacked their server.”
