+Blood Circuit Game Launch

The hum of servers filled the air at Red Lantern Games.Lex stood there watching as Jack nervously clutching a can of energy drink. His hoodie looked like it hadn't left his body in days, and Lex was pretty sure Jack hadn't either.

"I still think we should have pushed this another week," Jack muttered, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at the monitors. "Beta testing threw up bugs I didn't even know could exist."

Lex smirked, as the clock tick down. This had been planned a week in advance marked July 22, he had lock Rose and had rope Mikey Benny go to script writer who some how magical was a tester and crazy mad into retro games. There was no moving the schedule, not when Benny had other bigger things planned for Rose.

"The market doesn't wait, Jack." Lex's tone was calm but firm. "And neither does momentum. We launch tonight."

Jack groaned. "You sound like a damn Wall Street guy."

Lex shot him a glance. "I am a damn Wall Street guy. I just happen to know good IP when I see it."

Jack exhaled slowly, squinting at the servers like sheer willpower would keep them from frying.

"I'm just saying, Lex—if the servers crash because half the city logs in at once, don't blame me."

Lex's smirk didn't fade. "Oh, I want them to crash. You know how much press that gets us?"

Jack blinked. "Wait, are you serious?"

Lex shrugged. "Half the hype comes from people thinking they're missing out. If we sell out launch codes and the servers overload, congratulations—we've just made Blood Circuit a must-play."

Jack stared at him for a beat. "You're terrifying, you know that?"

Lex grinned. "It's a gift."

Lex's phone buzzed. A text from Rose.

RR: We're outside with camera crew.

Lex smirked, turning toward the entrance just as the glass doors swung open.

Rose walked in first, looking effortlessly comfortable despite the swarm of camera operators trailing behind her. She had dressed down—hoodie, jeans, sneakers—but the way she carried herself still owned the room.

Mikey followed, wearing his usual half-exhausted, half-mischievous expression, like he had just rolled out of bed but was still somehow the smart guy in the room.

Behind them, a frazzled production assistant tried to wrangle the reality show crew, whispering urgent instructions about where they could and couldn't film.

Jack groaned from beside Lex. "Are we in an episode of The Real Housewives now?"

Lex chuckled, stepping forward to greet them.

Rose barely glanced at the cameras. "Tell them to stay back. This isn't their scene."

One of the producers—a woman with a headset and an exhausted expression—looked between Rose and Lex. "We just want a few shots of her in the gaming space, interacting. Maybe a clip of her and Lex talking—"

"No." Rose cut her off smoothly. "Tonight's about the game. Not me."

Lex watched as the producer hesitated, then nodded, gesturing for her crew to hold back near the entrance.

Mikey snorted, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "Rose politely telling people to back off? Must be a special occasion."

Rose rolled her eyes but smirked. "Lex going to buy me dinner. I'm in a good mood."

Lex tilted his head. "That's all it takes?"

Rose shrugged. "I'm simple."

Jack scoffed as Lex shufffled everyone into their places

The studio buzzed with energy as the cameras rolled. Lex, Rose, and Mikey sat in the main lounge, controllers in hand, giant screens behind them displaying live gameplay.

The countdown to the Blood Circuit live stream was ticking down, and already, the chat was going crazy.

The audience had come for Rose Russo.

They knew Lex Latham, but not as a gamer. He was the money—the investor, the guy who made things happen.

And then there was Mikey, sitting between them, looking half-bored and half-amused. To most viewers, he was just some random dude, probably a developer or one of Lex's business guys.

Until he dropped his username.

[Mikey_Rosewood has joined the match.]

The chat exploded.

[User: WTF. NO WAY. NOT THAT MIKEY ROSEWOOD.]

[User: IS THIS REAL. THE GUY WHO WROTE BLOOD CIRCUIT'S EXPANSION LORE?]

[User: DUDE, YOU WERE THE #1 RANKED PLAYER IN THE ALPHA.]

Mikey stretched, grinning as the realization rippled through the chat. "You guys act like I died or something. I just stopped wasting my life grinding leaderboards."

[User: THIS STREAM JUST GOT TEN TIMES BETTER.]

Lex smirked, rolling his shoulders as he picked up a controller and adjusted his headset.

"Alright," Lex said, his voice smooth, casual. "Let's make this interesting."

Rose raised a brow. "Oh? Think you can win?"

Lex chuckled. "You've forgotten, Rose. I played before you ever touched a console."

Rose smirked. "Yeah, and I beat you before I even knew who you were."

The chat lost it.

[User: LEX LATHAM IS A GAMER? WTF.]

[User: HOW DOES ROSE KNOW LEX LIKE THIS??]

[User: TELL THE STORY!!!]

Rose shot a quick glance at Lex, who just smiled faintly.

"You really want to go down memory lane?" Rose asked.

The game loaded, throwing them into a retro-style neon arena—a callback to old arcade fighting games. The moment the music hit, Rose laughed.

"This is just like the games at Maddox's estate," she said.

Lex nodded, eyes flicking across the screen. "Dad always had the newest arcade cabinets before they even hit the stores."

"Because he knew the distributors," Rose added, her voice softer, remembering. "I used to sneak into the game room after hours, just to see what had arrived."

Lex smirked. "And you thought no one noticed."

Rose laughed. "They didn't! Well—except you."

The chat erupted again.

[User: WAIT. ROSE WORKED FOR LEX'S FAMILY?]

[User: WERE THEY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS OR WHAT??]

[User: THIS IS GIVING ENEMIES TO LOVERS??]

Mikey, who had been stirring his drink, finally chimed in. "So, Cinderella, how was scrubbing floors while Lex played rich boy?"

Rose froze mid-move.

Lex smirked. "Mikey, I'd rethink that line."

Mikey turned to Rose, realizing too late the look in her eyes. "Uh—"

Rose snapped his character's neck in-game.

[K.O.]

The chat exploded in laughter.

Mikey groaned. "Okay, okay. Bad wording."

Rose sighed dramatically, resting her chin on her hand. "Let me clarify before people start writing fanfiction. Yes, I worked at Maddox Holdings. No, I wasn't Cinderella. I cleaned, I ran errands, and in between, I stole time to play arcade games."

Lex smirked. "And then she stole my high score."

Rose grinned. "Best day of my life."

Mikey whistled. "Damn. And now you're out here headlining movies. That's wild."

Rose nodded, shifting slightly in her seat. "Yeah, well, Lex didn't give me much of a choice."

The chat flooded with curiosity.

[User: EXPLAIN??]

[User: LEX DRAGGED HER INTO ACTING?]

[User: WE NEED THE STORY.]

Rose rolled her eyes, side-eyeing Lex. "You want to tell them, or should I?"

Lex leaned forward slightly, his voice dipping lower, smoother.

"One day, she was scrubbing floors. The next, she was in Jason Wilde's studio, singing for a contract she didn't ask for."

Rose chuckled. "Yeah, and that's how I ended up in the business."

[User: YOU WERE JUST CLEANING FLOORS AND THEN??]

[User: LEX REALLY SAID, 'YOU WORK FOR ME NOW.']

[User: DID HE JUST PICK UP A RANDOM GIRL AND MAKE HER FAMOUS???]

Mikey grinned. "Damn, Lex. You really played the long game on this one."

Lex shrugged. "I recognize talent when I see it."

Rose shook her head but didn't argue.

They played a few more matches, the competition growing fiercer. Mikey was too busy stirring drama to keep up, but Lex and Rose?

It was like watching two veterans battle it out.

The chat was on fire.

[User: WHY IS THIS SO INTENSE.]

[User: ROSE IS CRACKED.]

[User: LEX ACTUALLY HOLDS HIS OWN WTF.]

Finally, in a final, brutal move, Lex knocked Rose out.

The game flashed victory.

Lex set his controller down, smirking. "Guess I still got it."

Rose sighed, grinning despite herself. "Enjoy it while it lasts, Latham."

The chat went feral.

[User: LATHAM?? OH, SHE'S MAD-MAD.]

[User: DID WE JUST WITNESS SOMETHING.]

[User: THIS IS BETTER THAN A MOVIE.]

Mikey leaned back, laughing. "Alright, alright, you two can flirt later. We've got a launch to celebrate."

Lex shot him a look. "I will disconnect your mic. Stick to writing scripts, Mikey. I dare you twenty grand that you can't write one on Blood circuit in a week."

Rose laughed. "Lex, he probably win that Bet."

Lex rolled his eyes, but he knew she was right. But he was going to win either way, a script for twenty was cheap and the stream at the peak, Red Lantern's player count surged past 500,000.

And Lex?

He was already thinking three steps ahead.