Today's Reading
Martin furrowed his brow as if he were about to respond with a profound botanical metaphor, then jumped up. "Aha! Before I forget..."
He went behind his desk and pulled out a Murderscape hoodie from a clear plastic bag. It was from the first merch collab they'd done, with Adidas. The brand's logo had the game's iconic stiletto dagger slicing through it. With a broad smile, he held it up and plucked a Sharpie from the pen cup on his desk.
"Would you do me the honor? His name is Eric," he said, tapping the marker on a framed photo of a toothy teenager.
"You bet," said Addie, suddenly ashamed for having doubted his sincerity. Martin handed her the sweatshirt and she flipped it over. Brian's logo for his company, Closed Casket, was stamped on the back.
"Feel free to cross that out," said Martin, pointing at the logo with a wink.
"No, he deserves half the credit," she said, uncapping the Sharpie and drawing a large ampersand next to the two stacked C's, then signing her name.
"Thank you," he said, carefully folding the sweatshirt and placing it on the desk. He sat back down across from her and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "You know, business relationships often mirror failed marriages. Highly emotional situations. I just want to prepare you..."
Addie's chest tightened. She looked around. "It's a bit stuffy in here, isn't it? I think I need some air."
"Of course," he said, jumping up again to open the window.
The noise of the bustling avenue outside momentarily invaded the room as a cool breeze wafted in. Addie closed her eyes and breathed deeply as the street sounds gradually subsided into soothing white noise.
"Let me start over," Martin continued. "I noticed you rescheduled this meeting a few times. It's okay if you're not ready to do this."
Addie shook her head. "I was struggling to decide what to do before, but then I saw this," she said, handing Martin her phone with a 'Fast Company' article pulled up:
MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES GAME STUDIO ACQUISITION
Today Microsoft announced its plans to acquire independent game development studio Closed Casket, founded by newcomer Brian Perry, for an undisclosed sum. The studio is behind the beloved multiplayer episodic game Murderscape, which has over 85M monthly active users.
Murderscape features "crime traveling" detectives who solve mysteries in different eras, from belle epoque Paris to hard-boiled 1920s San Francisco and pharaonic ancient Egypt. The gameplay blends breathtaking action and puzzle-solving with nostalgic Easter eggs from classic whodunits sprinkled throughout.
The acquisition is seen as part of the tech giant's wider strategy to develop more exclusive originals in-house. "Brian is a visionary, and the immersive worlds he crafts attract players of all kinds," said Microsoft in a statement.
"I am so deeply honored and excited to join the Microsoft family," said Perry.
Martin handed her phone back. "I'm sorry."
"I have a feeling 'undisclosed sum' translates to 'piles of money.'
"
He gave her a small smile.
"Until I saw that, I was still holding out hope he might have included my name somewhere. Stupid, I know."
"It's not stupid. Just means you believe in the goodness of people." He tilted his head slightly. "Can you take me back to the beginning?"
Addie spent the next hour dissecting the anatomy of her relationship with Brian. She outlined the creation and launch of Murderscape while Martin listened with attentive care, asking so many insightful follow-up questions that Addie had to remind herself that he was a litigator, not a therapist. She reached into her bag and took out her laptop, turning it around to show him the screen.
"I don't have records to show my work versus his. But see this email chain?" she said, pointing to the screen. "I wanted Murderscape to have the best story possible, so I handpicked writers from The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption. And I made sure the narrative team collaborated with everyone, from the art team to the dev team, from the very beginning." She pulled up another email. "This exchange happened when I brought in a big television writer who used to work on Poirot. You can see Brian fights me on it in his reply." She read aloud from Brian's email: "No way, that guy is in his sixties. Too old. He won't understand nonlinear writing."
Martin followed along, squinting at the screen.
"Anyway, I held my ground and insisted on these specific writer hires, and we ended up winning a BAFTA for the game's narrative design. It was always a tug-of-war between us. He was obsessed with the mechanics and I was obsessed with the story."
"Did you ever have any kind of employment contract with him?"
"No. That's the thing. I didn't want a contract. I didn't want to work with or...for...the guy I was dating. At the time I'd just been promoted to senior art director at the ad agency I work for, so I wasn't going to leave my job for a side hustle. And anyway...I trusted him."
Martin took off his glasses and polished them on his tie. "In terms of the origination of the idea, when did that happen?"
Addie fidgeted with her wristwatch. "Well, it's a bit of a cliché, but it happened in a bar."
"Some of the best ideas in the world are hatched in bars."
This excerpt ends on page 14 of the hardcover edition.
Monday we begin the book Easeful Death by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.
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