Page 37 of Glitched Play

"Follow me."

The tour takes thirty-seven minutes, and it should be done in twenty minutes flat.

Why? People keep interrupting.

The first stop is Sutton's office. She immediately stands when we enter. "You must be Maci."

Maci shakes her hand.

Sutton smiles warmly. “Welcome to the chaos."

"It's nice to meet you. I’m interested to learn how we can work together."

Sutton taps on the keyboard before looking up. “There are overlaps but Synatrix is its own company. He convinced me to be the first professional team to sign up for the e-sports league and it’s paying off. You’re in good hands with my little brother.”

Sutton’s gaze flicks from me to Maci, then back again, too quick to be casual and too knowing to be harmless. I recognize that look. It’s the same one she gives Greyson when she has already reached a conclusion and is waiting for the rest of us to catch up. I do not intend to catch up.

I gesture toward the door. "We have several more stops," I tell Maci, moving before Sutton can turn whatever she just noticed into words.

J.D. is next. He spends five minutes talking about football, three minutes talking about gaming, and somehow works a barbecue invitation into the conversation.

Matt is worse.

Matt asks thoughtful questions about why she wanted to work at Synatrix.

Matt notices things.

Matt studies both of us with the same expression he uses when diagnosing quarterback problems.

I leave his office immediately.

"Do they always do that?" Maci asks.

"Do what?"

"Adopt people."

I think about my family. The ones she hasn’t met yet are even more nurturing—Noelle, Parker and Birdie.

Unfortunately, the answer is obvious. "Yes."

She smiles.

I don't understand why that makes me feel oddly relieved.

We tour the stadium, the gaming complex, the coding room, the cafeteria, and the marketing division. Maci takes in all of it with quick, efficient glances, but not passively. She notices the monitor layouts in the coding room, the flow of people through the cafeteria, the way the gaming complex is arranged for spectators as much as players. Her attention keeps shifting, cataloging and connecting. I recognize the behavior because I do the same thing.

The final stop is the executive offices, and I realize Maci’s office is directly across from Dara’s and diagonal from mine.

I may have to change that.

Currently occupied by one desk, two monitors, and approximately zero personality.

Maci steps inside and slowly turns in a circle. Her fingers brush the edge of the desk first, then hover near the back of the chair without touching it, as if she is verifying the room is real before she lets herself claim it. Her gaze moves from the monitors to the window, then to the blank walls, and something in her posture shifts. Shoulders straightening. Chin lifting. Like her brain has already started filling the empty space with plans.

"This is mine?"

"Yes."