Playing Games with My Billionaire

Playing Games with My Billionaire An Off Limits Enemies to Lovers Romance Taylor Friste Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Taylor Friste All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents 1. Trev Adams 2. Lindsey Gibson 3. Trev 4. Lindsey 5. Trev 6. Lindsey 7. Trev 8. Lindsey 9. Trev 10. Lindsey 11. Trev 12. Lindsey 13. Trev 14. Lindsey 15. Trev 16. Lindsey 17. Trev 18. Lindsey 19. Trev 20. Lindsey 21. Trev 22. Lindsey 23. Trev 24. Lindsey 25. Trev 26. Lindsey 27. Trev 28. Lindsey 29. Epilogue: Lindsey Ready for More from Taylor Friste? Chapter 1 Trev AdamsI stretched on my bed. Didn’t want to get up. 5:30 a.m. Get up now, you slug!I had taken up working out quite young at my father’s insistence. For years, I had spent nothing less than an hour and thirty minutes working out every day, and having my gym in my house made it a whole lot easier. I stayed strong and it got my head working. Well, the “head working” thing isn’t going so well lately, is it?My years in middle school and early high school flashed through my mind, and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. I quickly pushed the thought away. I needed to be in high spirits and those memories were downers. I was meeting with my executive committee this morning first thing. I needed to have something to present to them. I had been stalling for months, and they were antsy. Why am I worried about how they feel? I’m the founder of the company. I don't have to answer them. Not really. But they represent tremendous support for me and the business. You need them to be happy.By the time I was ready to leave the house, it was ten past eight. My meeting was slated for 9 and the drive to the office was under thirty minutes. Right on time. I looked at myself in the mirror before taking off. The bags under my eyes were real.Gotta get your mojo back, man! "Good morning, sir. I just tried getting hold of you. They are waiting for you," my assistant Olivia said as soon as she saw me. I had forgotten my phone was still off. I did that every night but forgot to turn it back on."Good, thanks. And good morning," I replied to her greeting. I entered the conference room where my committee was gathered. Their conversations stopped as soon as I entered; it almost felt like they had been talking about me.Well, duh. Of course they are. They need you to step up, and you are not!I took my seat at the head of the long table. The formalities were soon settled, and my mind drifted away from the meeting. I remembered that I had a lunch meeting today with my mother. It had been a while since I saw her. She had been vacationing in the Maldives, a trip I had suggested she take. My mother was everything to me. She had been supportive in the best of ways. When I realized as a kid that I had a knack for app development, she and my dad had given me a quality laptop to help with my work. She and Dad encouraged me more than anyone else. Now she was the only one I had. Strict and also soft-hearted. I love you, Mama! My face contorted into a frown. I again pushed away those bleak memories from my school years. "Trev, is there something that you don't like?" Eric, a member of the committee, the company COO, and my best friend asked. He had seen me shake my head, so he assumed I was uncool with whatever they were talking about."No, not at all," I said. Get a grip, man! This is serious business we’re talking about.Getting lost in my head was one thing I did more and more frequently. I would zone out of whatever conversation was taking place. "How are we moving along on the new game idea?" Eric asked, turning the attention of everyone in the room to me. His question didn’t really catch me off-guard. I’d been expecting it for days. I had nothing. I was as blank as a sheet of printer paper waiting to be fed through the machine. "Slowly,” I lied. The looks on their faces showed they were onto me, but I didn't care. "Why don't you let someone else try thinking up an idea for you? There are many kids with really good game ideas and designs, we could easily buy it off their hands," suggested Mark, another executive. It was a solution I had always adamantly declined. I frowned hard at his statement; he should have known better. I was popularly known for my originality. “Mr. Fun and Games.” That’s what the media called me. The idea of having to buy ideas from others didn't sit well with me. I created and designed my games. Period. I spent time working on them, which was what made it all the more satisfying when I got good reviews. I had the money to buy ideas from people, certainly, irrespective of how many zeros they wanted. I shook my head. “It’s the principle of the thing. You know that.” My first game had gone viral, selling worldwide, and it was still downloaded tens of thousands of times a month. The joy and personal satisfaction I got from making my first game app pushed me to dedicate myself to making more fun games from my own original ideas. I had over a dozen games out there, all popular and selling like hotcakes, making us—me—wealthy even in our sleep.The meeting soon concluded after I snapped at Mark. I was in a foul mood. They had no clear idea of what it meant to be creative. All they cared about was the