Free Elemental Pleasure by Mari Carr Page A

treat that as a single input for the next trigger?”
    Charles nodded. “We might need to ra ndomize it, otherwise groups might find a way to manipulate the game, if they know it’s an aggregate.”
    “And you know they would.” Carly picked up her laptop. “That sounds good.”
    “I’ll do a first pass.”
    “Send it to me when you’re done.”
    Charles saluted her. “Aye, aye, Capitan.”
    Carly smiled and left the testing room. As she walked to her office, she nodded to everyone. She knew most of their names, but Nexus Six had grown. S he was always both horrified and delighted it had reached the point where it was big enough that she didn’t know everyone.
    Shelly, Carly’s executive secretary, sat at a glass and steel round desk in the center of a bright atrium. Carly, the CFO and the COO all had offices off the atrium. Framed copies of their ads and box covers lined the curved walls.
    “Carly, we might have a problem,” Shelly said.
    “What?”
    “Security has two men downstairs. They said they’re here to meet with you, but they’re not on your schedule. I checked and you’ve never met with either of them before. Security let them up because they’ve got solid credentials. Dave said he didn’t want to turn them away in case they were here for something not on the schedule.”
    Two men .
    “What are their names?”
    “Preston Kim and Lance Glassco.”
    “Let me see.”
    Shelly turned her computer monitor around. The feed from the lobby security camera showed Preston lounging on a couch, staring at his phone, while Lance stood, one hand clasping the opposite wrist behind his back as he examined some of the framed articles and photos on the wall.
    “Send them up.”
    Shelly’s brow s rose. “Really?”
    “Yes. I…met them in Boston. I might bring them on as consultants.”
    Shelly nodded, and Carly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t owe Shelly an explanation, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself.
    “Let me know when security gets them up here.”
    What she had to say to them was going to be said in private.
    *****
    Lance glanced around, taking in everything, as a security guard led them to Carly.
    This was her company?
    He needed to re -e valuate his understanding of her. Preston had explained what he knew about her over drinks. Lance wasn’t a fan of story-based games, as he preferred things with patterns and clear ways to win, but he’d heard of Nexus Six.
    He hadn’t fully understood exactly how important the games she made were, or how important she was, until Preston pulled up articles about her and her company on his phone. According to Preston, she’d revolutionized modern gaming and developed an entirely new kind of technology.
    The company had offices with security to rival a military base. It had taken them an hour just to get onto the grounds, and they’d only managed that because they’d both handed over their business cards. The guard had been willing to let someone from DARPA and a fancy scientist onto the property. They’d been passed through two different vehicle checkpoints, then a buzz-in front door, before making it to the lobby, where they heard the guard calling to check on them.
    He’d been sure they’d be turned away there, that Carly would have security escort them out, but instead a guard was now leading them deeper into the building. The space was bright and colorful, and unlike any offices he’d ever seen, with toys and comfy furniture everywhere.
    “Here you are,” the security guard said, opening the door into a round room.
    A large skylight illuminated the space, and a pretty woman sitting inside a round glass desk looked up when they stepped in.
    “Preston Kim, Lance Glassco?”
    “Yes,” Preston answered.
    “Just a moment and Ms. Kenan will be w ith you. Can I get you anything? C offee, tea, juice, or water?”
    “Water,” Lance said, more curious about how she got out of the desk than he was thirsty.
    The woman rose and pressed both