Page 21 of Played By Design

He blinks, then laughs. “Okay. We can collect some.”

The logic tracks. “Yes. That’s what collaborations are for.”

He pauses for a beat. “Sure, let’s collab.”

His tone throws me off. He makes it sound as if I’m the one who suggested the collab, but isn’t that why he approached me? Working together means a group effort, right?

Kain returns, his arm warm where it brushes mine. “Hey, Bunny, I got your drink.”

He holds out a white and orange can of Critical Hit Pixel Peach, condensation beading on the aluminum. His other hand rests on the back of my neck, thumb massaging the tense muscles under my nape guard.

I frown at the can. “No ZeroSignal?”

“Does it look like it?” He cracks it open for me and pops in a straw. “Besides, you like Pixel Peach more.”

I glare at his audacity.

ZeroSignal’s purple and green can speaks to my soul, as does the idea that it could be named after my Dusk Protocol handle. While objectively, Pixel Peach is better on every other level that doesn’t include loyalty to my OG handle, I’ll never admit it.

Especially not with the smug satisfaction rolling off Kain.

“Why would they stock Pixel Peach but not ZeroSignal?” I ask, still not taking the can. “They’re from the same product line. The distribution makes no sense.”

“Bunny.”

“The shelf space allocation is probably based on sales metrics, but ZeroSignal has a cult following. The Dusk Protocol demographic has buying power. They should⁠—”

“Bunny.”

My head lifts.

Kain’s eyes shift past me, and I turn.

Mercer is gone. Or rather, Mercer is three feet away, still standing where he was, one hand half-raised, caught mid-sentence when my attention collapsed.

His mouth is open.

He closes it.

I blink at him. I’d forgotten he was there. The thread of our conversation has vanished from my mind, erased by the more pressing problem of the missing ZeroSignal.

Kain’s hand slides from my neck to the center of my back, a warm pressure between my shoulder blades. “Meet-and-greet starts in five. We should head over.”

“Right.” I take the Pixel Peach and slip the straw under my mask.

The fizzy peach hits my taste buds, sweet and metallic. It is the best. I take a long drink, and it’s exactly what I wanted, which annoys me.

As Kain steers me toward the east corridor, I glance back toward Mercer.

He shrugs and lifts a hand in a wave.

I return the gesture and face forward once more, focusing on consuming artificial energy. I’m going to need it for the gauntlet ahead.

The straw gives an empty slurp at the bottom of the can, and Kain takes it from me to toss into the trash as we pass.

His fingers spread wider across my back. “Deep breath, Bunny. Ten minutes, and then we can leave.”

We step into the meet-and-greet corridor, and my instinct screams to turn back. I force it down. Neighbor chores, I think, like in my farming sim.