"Chloe?"
Gus Harper blinked, surprised to see Chloe Quinn.
"You didn't go to San Francisco?"
Slurp.
Chloe sipped her lemonade, looking defeated. "We're back."
That fast?
Gus perked up.
Maybe the deal fell through. Morning trip, afternoon return—too quick for a done deal.
Perfect.
If it tanked, he'd have time to grind emotional points for Escape.
"Rough talks?" Gus asked, waving her in to sit.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers glanced over, curious.
Chloe shook her head. "Too smooth. Like, weirdly smooth."
"We locked in with IndieVibe Tech. Next game's going on VibeX1," she said. "I'm here to tell you the project kickoff meeting's happening soon."
"Whoa!" Luke gaped. "Zoey closed it by noon?!"
Chloe's smile was grim.
Fast? She threw double the price at them. You'd sign faster.
"Yup," she nodded. "Zoey's all in on this, so the pressure's on you guys."
Chloe was guessing, but Zoey's $150,000 splurge on VibeX1's landing fee screamed obsession.
Why else pay double?
Maybe she was betting on the low market share to tank sales.
She's dead serious.
Gus's face tightened. "First VR project, makes sense. Zoey's hyped, and we're not slacking either."
"Thanks, Gus, Luke, Jake," Chloe said, standing. "I'm off to prep the meeting room. Catch you later."
…
Once Chloe left, the trio dropped their chill vibes.
"From Chloe's face, this budget's gonna be massive," Luke said, lighting a cigarette.
"It's VR," Gus nodded. "Even a small project costs more than all our games combined."
"So… any ideas, Gus?" Jake asked. "Meeting's soon. We need a rough plan."
Gus rubbed his temples. "Got a genre, but no specifics."
"No worries," Luke said. "Tons of VR games out there for inspiration. What's the genre?"
Gus paused. "Horror."
Crickets.
The office went silent.
Luke broke it, slow. "…You and Zoey taking turns losing it, huh?"
Horror games?
What kind of inspiration was that?
Horror was a dead genre!
Luke was numb.
Last time, Zoey's pixel-art rant at the kickoff meeting was wild, but Gus pulled off Vampire Survivor like a wizard.
Now Gus was unhinged.
Who was gonna save them?
Nobody!
"Bro, snap out of it," Luke said, grabbing Gus's shoulders. "Horror's been dead for a decade!"
"It's worse than visual novels now! Nobody makes horror games—zero market!"
"Uh, Luke…" Jake cut in, timid. "Visual novel fans are people too…"
"That's not the point!" Luke snapped, shaking Gus. "Horror in VR? We're just starting! It's risky enough, and you wanna bet it all on a dead genre?!"
Click.
The office door creaked open.
A bun-haired head poked in, lollipop dangling. "Yo, what project's got you losing your pants?"
"Zoey?!" Luke jumped, scrambling to his feet.
It was Zoey Parker.
She'd been in the bathroom, passing Gus's office when she heard Luke's "lose your pants" yell.
Jackpot project?
Her curiosity spiked, and she barged in.
"No biggie," Zoey waved, casual. "Heard you guys getting loud, so I popped in. What's the project?"
Gus, free from Luke's grip, exhaled. Thank God.
Any longer, and his brain would've rattled loose.
"We're talking VR game genres," Gus said, shaking his head.
"Oh?" Zoey's eyes lit up. "What's your pick?"
"Horror," Gus said. "It's a tough sell—low demand, players don't trust it—but…"
He wanted to say, I can break the jump-scare mold and use VR's immersion to carve a new path.
But Zoey clapped, cutting him off.
"That's the WindyPeak spirit! Hell yeah!"
She was thrilled.
Perfect!
She'd been scheming to pitch VR horror but wasn't sure how to sell it.
And Gus just handed it to her!
He's riding high.
No wonder Luke said they'd lose everything.
Zoey's grin widened, slapping her thigh. "Gus, you're our rockstar! Supernova designer!"
"Be bold! Get wild! Full throttle!"
"Horror it is! Let's hit the meeting room and nail down the details!"