“How did it go?!” Lea squeaked as soon as Emily stepped inside the hotel room.

Emily walked into the living area with a spring in her step. A wide smile took over her face as she ran a hand through her hair. “Great, I guess!”

Lea moved to the edge of her seat and paused the cartoon she had been watching.

Emily pointed at the other corner of the room. “Ordered room service?”

Shaking her head, Lea explained, “No, Jahani’s assistant called me to ask what I wanted for breakfast!”

Emily’s lips parted. “Really?”

“Yes,” Lea said, getting up. “I’ll tell you later. First, please tell me about your meeting.”

“What can I say? Jahani is very impressive,” Emily replied, walking over to the table and picking up a left-over strawberry from Lea’s plate.

Lea fidgeted with the waistband of her PJ shorts. “What did you two talk about?”

Taking off her blazer, Emily said, “It’s hard to explain. We talked about so many things.” She hung the blazer over a chair.

Frowning a little, Lea asked, “Like what?”

Emily straightened and stared at the wall with the tv. One of the armadillo characters from the ride yesterday was frozen in place on the screen. “She asked me why I haven’t found a new job.”

“Okay,” Lea said, “What did you say?”

“I told her the truth,” Emily said, shrugging, “That I have no idea what to do next.”

“Sounds like an odd job interview,” Lea chuckled, scratching the back of her neck.

“Actually, that’s the really weird thing,” Emily continued. “We didn’t even talk about a job yet.”

“You didn’t?” Lea asked, lowering her hand. “I thought she wanted to offer you a job here?”

Emily nodded, “I know. She asked to see me again about that tomorrow morning.”

Lea felt the tiniest pang of disappointment. She had thought they would have the rest of the week to themselves to enjoy the park together.

“So, will you?” she asked.

“Of course,” Emily said, “I’m curious to hear what she has to say.”

Joining Emily at the table, Lea asked, “What else did you two talk about then?”

Emily pulled back a chair. “Gosh, where to start! She told me about why she started Full Circle Games.” She popped another strawberry into her mouth.

Half weary, half curious, Lea took a seat as well. “Why did she?”

Emily swallowed before explaining, “She felt like I did at Sanders Tech!”

Lea tilted her head. “That she wasn’t using all of her talents?”

“And not for the right cause,” Emily replied. “Armies across the globe bought her chip in large quantities as soon as it was commercially available. That was a big wake-up call for her, she said.”

“Okay, that’s interesting. She felt guilty about all the money she made?” Lea asked, placing her elbows on the table.

“I guess, yes,” Emily nodded enthusiastically. “And I get that. I get a lot of what she was saying.” She bit down on her lower lip as she thought for a moment. “It was really nice to talk to someone who has gone through the same struggles.”

Lea smiled despite the tightening in her chest. She hadn’t seen Emily this enthusiastic about anything or anyone work-related since they had met. She was happy for her!

But she also felt as if she had done something wrong. There were clearly some things she didn’t understand. She certainly had tried to. Still, it sounded like Ayesha Jahani had done a better job.

“That’s great,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” Emily said, stretching out her hand toward Lea. “What’s wrong? I’m sorry the meeting took longer than planned.”

Lea met her eyes and was tempted to say ‘nothing.’ She knew Emily would know that she was lying, though. It was just so uncomfortable to tell her the truth. She didn’t want to sound selfish or, god forbid, jealous.

“What made her want to start a gaming company?” Lea asked instead.

“She believes we learn a lot about life while we are playing,” Emily replied, entwining her fingers with Lea’s.

“Right, like puppies do?” Lea asked.

Emily chuckled. “Exactly. Except their playing is usually harmless and ours is not.”

Lea frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Ayesha wanted to create an alternative to violent games. No one ever dies or even gets seriously hurt in her games. Never!”

“Ayesha?” Lea thought. Emily was already on a first-name basis with Jahani? Wow, they really had hit it off instantly.

“That’s true,” Lea replied slowly, trying to focus on the conversation instead of the panicky voices in the back of her mind. “Games can be very violent.”

“So are movies and books and..,” Emily said, lifting her shoulders. “Pretty much everything in our culture is violent.”

Lea considered this for a moment. She had never thought about it that way. She considered the thriller books she loved to read and wrinkled her nose. A lot of women were tortured and killed in them.

“Jahani has a point,” she admitted.

“That’s why this park feels so different!” Emily continued, more excitedly. “She applied the same principles to this place. She wanted it to be fun but loving.”

“Loving?” Lea giggled.

Emily grinned. “Her words.”

“She sounds like a very inspiring person,” Lea said, somewhat reluctantly.

Her eyes sparkling, Emily replied, “She really is!”

Lea rubbed her upper arm. She understood why Emily was feeling all excited. But did she have to be *this* excited?

“Did she tell you why she wanted to meet you specifically?” Lea asked, pushing herself to continue the conversation.

Emily chuckled. “No, she said she would tell me tomorrow. She had another meeting after breakfast.”

She squeezed Lea’s hand. “And I, of course, wanted to come see you.”

Lea smiled back.

“Hey, Ayesha told me about the best spots in the park,” Emily said, her voice light and playful. “Want to go check them out?”

“Sure,” Lea replied with more excitement than she actually felt.