Derrek waited patiently in the waiting room that led to Shale’s office, watching as those with appointments went in, and quickly came out. By his count, there were only three ahead of him. As soon as Shale’s assistant informed him of Derrek’s arrival, he made sure she turned away anyone who came for a meeting after him, as this was much more important in his eyes, but he always made a point to keep his word.
He leaned back in his seat on one of the six couches that stood against the walls as a woman opened the door and left his office, marching through the waiting room with her head held high as the next person went in, a smug-looking man with a bright blue shirt. Shale had told him once that he met with up to a hundred people a day and wanted to be sure they had ample seating while they waited. He could tell he also wanted them comfortable and could almost feel himself melting into the cushions.
He was dressed in his suit, which Shale himself had tailored for him. He rarely wore it, sporting it only on important occasions, namely, two weddings, a handful of events, and a bar mitzvah, all of which Shale dragged him along to. It was dark as night, with a pristine white button-up and a deep-blue tie, all tied together with his well-shined dress shoes, although it may have clashed with the large bandage on his cheek. He could feel the eyes of everyone waiting in front of him, nervously sizing him up. He figured they thought he was their competition in one form or another and paid them no mind, as he was no threat to them or vice versa.
The door opened, and the smug-looking man stepped out, the smug look wiped from his face as he avoided eye contact with everyone and made his exit as fast as he could. The next appointment was called in, and he nervously shuffled through the large oak door, closing it behind him. Shale had told him once that the door was built from reclaimed wood from his childhood home, pieced together over years as the seams were sanded and sealed over, making it look like a single, grand piece of wood instead of the dozens of boards it was made of. He then went on to make it into a metaphor, saying something to the effect of, “With enough hard work, anything is possible, regardless of your materials’ past,” which Derrek thought was cliché at the time, a sentiment he still maintained.
As he stared at the door, reflecting on its metaphorical past, it opened once more, and a man walked out with his head held high; he had apparently gotten what he wanted and left the room with a spring in his step as the last appointment, an intern of some kind, went in, leaving Derrek alone as he continued to patiently wait.
Before he could pick another object to reminisce over, the door opened once more and the intern hurried through, holding a stack of papers she didn’t have before. With the waiting room empty, and the assistant calling Derrek’s name, he made his way past the still-open door and walked into Shale’s luxurious office. No matter how often he visited, the awe-inspiring view of the city below never got old. He walked past the lounge area and the well-stocked bar, approaching the grand mahogany desk, where Shale was sitting, the back of his chair turned to him as he admired the view.
“Twenty years I’ve had this office, and this view never gets old,” he said as Derrek took a seat across from the back of his chair, eyeing the chessboard set up in front of him, noticing the white pieces were on his side. “Over the years, I’ve watched this city grow, thrive even, from this chair. I’ve done my best to do my part, but, as everyone should, I know when it’s time to move on.”
He turned his chair around, greeting Derrek with a smile without an ounce of surprise at the reveal of neither his wound nor his hair’s odd color, or rather the lack thereof.
“Think you’re ready to take this chair from me?”
Derrek met his smile with one of his own. “You’re on, old man.”
“Then, by all means, make your move.”
Derrek pondered his options and settled on moving his rightmost pawn two spaces ahead in an attempt to get his rook out early. “Did I miss much while I was away?”
Shale moved his left knight onto the field. “Aside from Hanes complaining about having nobody to dump his work on, it’s been business as usual.”
Derrek moved his rook behind his pawn. “I think I’ll transfer him to Seattle when I’m in charge. A master of delegation should do well there.”
Shale laughed as he moved his other knight, mirroring his previous move. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You still have to win.”
They each made several moves before either of them claimed a piece, with Shale breaking out his bishop to claim one of Derrek’s pawns, leaving his knight directly exposed.
“How was Germany? You look like you have some stories to tell.”
Derrek didn’t miss a beat as he captured the bishop with his rook, causing Shale to blink and raise an eyebrow in surprise. “Aside from Jeffrey’s intense training regimen, a few scuffles at a few pubs, and the amazing food, it was business as usual.”
Shale moved his knight away from the path of Derrek’s rook. “But what about the last two weeks? Life isn’t—”
“‘Life isn’t only work’—you’ve said it a thousand times,” Derrek said as he moved his bishop alongside his rook, aimed at Shale’s rook.
Shale moved his queen, aiming at Derrek’s knight. “A thousand times or once, it’s still true. Tell me about the other two weeks.”
Derrek took the rook. “I spent most of it studying, although I did make a friend who I spent a good amount of time with. Complete weirdo but a great conversationalist.”
“Friends like that are always good company,” Shale said with a smile as he took Derrek’s knight, putting Derrek in check.
Without taking a moment to consider his options, he moved his bishop once more, capturing Shale’s queen, leaving him baffled.
“Really got me with that one,” he said, figuring his next move.
“Never take your eye off your opponent. The moment you blinked was the moment you lost.”
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Shale looked up from the board, surprised by his words but impressed nonetheless.
“Seems you’ve picked up some new tricks—courtesy of that friend of yours, I assume.”
“You could say that.”
Shale kept looking at Derrek as he made his next move. He had almost no defenses on his king, but he was determined to put up a fight. He moved his remaining bishop to pin down Derrek’s remaining knight. “Tell me about him.”
Derrek moved his rook forward, taking out one of Shale’s pawns and giving himself a straight shot to put Shale in check. “He likes to drink, but I’ve never seen it get to him. He’s always smiling and quick to joke. Fiercely loyal, too; he even backed me up when some punks tried to give us a hard time.”
Shale pushed back, pouncing on Derrek’s knight. “Sounds like a good friend. Does he live in Germany?”
Derrek moved his rook forward and put Shale into check, pinning him down behind two pawns with no rooks to back him up. “He said he was ‘technically homeless,’ but he had an American accent, so I have to think he spends a lot of time in the states.”
Shale took the only move he had, moving his king ahead, out of the way of Derrek’s rook. “I hope you’ll be seeing more of him then. A man is nothing without those close to him.”
Derrek finally moved his queen and put Shale’s king into check once more, again leaving only one move for it.
Shale counted his options, but he knew the only way he could win was if Derrek let him. He was brimming with pride.
“Would you do the honors?” Shale asked, putting his hands down on the table and a big smile on his face.
Derrek smiled back at Shale and moved his knight, blocking him in completely.
“Checkmate.”
Shale leaned back in his chair, looking ahead at him for several seconds until he opened a drawer in his desk and produced their scorecard, updating their totals—1532 to 1532.
“Well played, son.”
“Likewise. You really made me work for it.”
Shale laughed. “You already won. There’s no need to lie to me. I could tell from the start that I had no chance this time around, just from the look in your eye.”
“I guess it has been an … educational six weeks.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Shale reached into another drawer and pulled out a stack of papers, which he went to work signing, one after another.
“I had these forms printed the morning of the last time we played. As soon as they’re all filled out, you will have sole ownership over Frostbyte, including all its assets, funds, and resources. My name will be completely removed from the ongoing records, and I will no longer be involved in any company decisions, to be made public in a press release I’ll set up for this afternoon.”
He signed the last paper, shuffled through the stack, and slid a single sheet and a pen to Derrek, pointing the tip toward a line at the bottom of the sheet, alongside a large X.
“Sign here, and it’ll all be official.”
Derrek picked up the pen and found it weighing heavy in his hand. He had been working most of his life toward this moment, even if he hadn’t realized it until just months prior. He looked up at the man who had been a father to him for a decade and a half and saw the warmth in his eyes, and the smile on his face, and he signed his name.
“Wonderful!” Shale exclaimed as he clapped and jumped out of his chair, then walked around his desk and gave Derrek a firm handshake before he pulled him to his feet and gave him a loving embrace.
“I’m so proud of you, Derrek. I know you’ll do great things.”
Even with the reaper’s touch, his mouth was still curled into a huge smile.
Just then, from beyond the office door, the two heard a muffled voice, presumably the secretary, call out, “Sir, I told you, you need an appointment to go in there!”
They also heard another voice say back, “And I told you, I don’t care,” followed by the office door swinging open, slamming against the wall loudly, while causing no visible damage. They watched as Discord strode in, eyes fixed on Derrek.
“Havok!” he exclaimed, “I’ve been looking all around town for you! Took, like, twenty minutes, dragged on forever.”
“You could’ve just called.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
The secretary rushed in. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shale. I couldn’t get him to stop!”
Discord looked back at her, then to Shale with a surprised look on his face.
“Son of a bitch. Billy Shale, is that you?”
Shale squinted at him briefly, before his eyes widened and he started walking toward him. “Discord? My Lord, all these years, and you haven’t aged a day!”
The men shook hands and shared a laugh. Shale looked to his secretary. “It’s all right, Janice. He’s a friend.”
Janice nodded and slowly went back to her desk, closing the door behind her.
“You two know each other?” Derrek asked.
“Discord knows everybody,” Shale said, letting go of Discord’s hand and making his way back to his chair.
“Billy and I fought in the Gulf War together. Lost touch after he went home though.” He turned back to Shale. “So, how’ve you been? Last I heard, you were trying to make humans live forever.”
Shale gave a small laugh. “I prefer ‘allow’ rather than make. And as you might be able to tell by the view, the office, or perhaps the building itself, I’ve done rather well. And you?”
“Same circus, different clowns.”
Discord noticed the stack of papers, especially the one Derrek had just signed.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Derrek and Shale exchanged a look, and Derrek decided to answer.
“I just won a game of chess and claimed ownership of Frostbyte.”
Discord was stone-faced for a moment before jumping and pumping his fists in the air as the other men watched, confused.
“Hells yeah! I knew there’d be some kickass dramatic reveal! Let me guess: Billy took you under his wing, Little-Orphan-Annie style, and you’ve been working your way up the corporate ladder ever since?”
Derrek and Shale exchanged another look, and Derrek said, “Yeah, got it in one.”
Discord jumped again, and as soon as he was back on his feet, he reached into his coat, producing three green bottles of beer, which he handed to the men.
“Sounds like cause for celebration. Don’t you think?”
Derrek and Discord both took a seat in front of the desk, and the three men opened their beers, meeting in between them in a toast.
“To a better future,” Shale said before the men drank.
Shale’s face curled into a disgusted expression, and he examined the beer as Derrek and Discord chugged away at their drinks, not coming up for air until they were done.
“How can you two drink this?”
Discord let out a loud belch before Derrek answered, “It’s more of a chugging beer.”