Obviously, I was not going to wait around and check out my emails in the morning. I immediately pulled it up and checked out the email.

Dear Zephaniah,

It was an absolute pleasure meeting you this evening, along with your friends. I apologize if I startled you by mentioning your nickname so casually. I was hoping that we could meet to discuss a business opportunity between yourself and Riverlight Incorporated. I believe that it would be mutually beneficial.

Sincerely,

Joshua

Riverlight Inc., Vice President of Operations

Naturally, I was extremely creeped out. First off, how did this random dude get my email address, and how does he know who I am. However, I am also a man of opportunity, and leaving this email unanswered was not within my capabilities, so I immediately responded.

Dear Joshua,

Thank you for your time this evening. Would you mind elaborating on how you knew me before we further any potential business opportunities?

Thank you,

Zephaniah

Self-Employed, CEO

Naturally, he immediately responded. To be honest, the unease began to leave with his professionality, and my intrigue began to grow. As well, I was offended by his lack of notice of my self-assigned job title, but that is neither here nor there.

Zephaniah,

While I was not expecting your presence at tonight’s events, I was grateful for this fateful opportunity that our encounter has brought forth. The company, Riverlight, has run into a slight problem with our upcoming release. While finding an individual who was suitable to assist in such regards we ran across your name in several recommendations as a game tester who has an extremely accurate skill regarding finding the source of glitches. All of this said it is also clear that you are quite a successful gamer. With your impressive resume, I was hoping that we could meet tomorrow to discuss details in person. Let us say, 8:00 am?

Looking forward,

Joshua

Riverlight Inc., Vice President of Operations

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

One thing will never be said about Zephaniah, that he was an early riser. However, I saw a gift horse and I wanted to look inside his mouth. I responded immediately to confirm the time and receive details for the meetings, which Joshua sent over promptly. Joshua was such a professional, almost made me sick, but I was able to fall asleep with the knowledge that I was a CEO while Joshua remained, forevermore, a simple Vice President of Operations.

Upon rising at the crack of dawn I realized something. That word crack, according to my extensive knowledge acquired from the esteemed search engine Google stated that the word crack is due to a loud noise since the sun rapidly rises. This was nothing enlightening so I moved on with my morning. The usual beginning to a morning, a quick run-down Broadway Street, eggs, checking on some Reddit forums, all commenced without much to note on, but then my phone went off.

Iris: Hey, what an amazing night last night. By chance did you get an email from Joshua last night?

Upon receiving that text, I also saw that I was left a voice note from Shane in the middle of the night.

Shane: “Hey dude, you’re probably asleep, but I have to know, did you get a weird, oddly specific email from that dude from the Rinc table last night? Message me as soon as you are awake!”

Since I am not one for juggling social situations before my coffee, I decided that group texts were all the rage in my early 20s so they could be now. However, I am still a man with priorities, so considering the dire situation developing on my phone I opted for some instant coffee rather than my normal frenched-pressed brew. Once the cursed machine began brewing my coffee, I grabbed my phone off my counter and began to format the group text.

You have invited Shane & Iris to a Group:

Zephaniah: Hey guys, so you both texted me saying that we all have received a message from Joshua…

Iris: Leaving me on read! On such an important, time-sensitive message?

Zephaniah: Coffee… entering.... my body… soon

Iris: Understandable, I personally have not been able to sleep. He asked to meet with me at 8 AM.

Shane: Hola madam and sire! It would appear I am also going to be with you Iris for this meeting.

Zephaniah: Same here. 8AM downtown.

Shane: This is fantastic news! We will be able to uncover this mystery together.

Iris: What a bonding experience…

Zephaniah: Would have preferred brunch rather than a business meeting.

What do you guys think it’s about?

Iris: I assume that there is a problem with this game, but I am unclear of what he would want with you guys… no offense

Shane: I do not believe we ever got to speak on our various occupations, but I am a game designer with decent coding experience.

Zephaniah: I thought I mentioned on our date last night. I am a beta tester.

Iris: Well, this makes a bit more sense then

I am a bit of a level designer and mighta-sorta have a rather successful run as a gamer on some streaming platforms…

Shane: Do we have a celebrity in our midst?

Iris: No, nothing that large, but that is the only connection that I can think of…

I guess we will find out in about an hour. Ttyl

Zephaniah: At least I won’t be alone

Shane: I got you, my brother. See you in a few moments.

With that, I was able to put my phone down onto the frigid countertop. At least I won’t be alone, I repeated in my head. With that knowledge, the butterflies in my stomach began to dissipate, which I wasn’t even aware of until they were nearly gone. Sitting down and attempting to find news of the supposed Fabula game the sites were blowing up. I guess that Joshua was not lying, the corporation was letting it drop worldwide last night. I could already see Twitter’s trending threads with hashtags such as #Riverlight #Rinc #Fabula as some of the top ten trends. With the amount of attention that this game was receiving I was beginning to get the good kind of excited for what was to come up in the meeting in, oh canoes! 20 minutes. I ran out of the apartment, quickly throwing on a tie and attempting to juggle the watered-down coffee and my sports jacket. With that success, I raced down to my car to see what was in store for me at Riverlight Incorporated.