[ALEX'S POV]
It's been exactly a week since the game launched. I wouldn't say much has changed in that time. There are just some small key moments. Let's start with the fact that I finally got my own place to live. I found an apartment overlooking the serene Gotham River. It's one of the most amazing condominium buildings in the entire city.
The 40-story building offers only 40 apartments, one on each floor. My apartment is at the very top, and consists of five bedrooms, 600 square meters of living space, and a huge private terrace of 160 square meters.
The residential complex itself has a beautiful landscape design: a lobby in a classic style and exquisite architecture. An apartment with panoramic windows and sliding glass doors, huge master rooms, large living rooms and glass showers that can be accessed directly from the open terrace. And all this stuff cost me $25 million, which hit my wallet hard.
By this point, I had managed to save $36 million. And to be honest, I didn't want to spend it so thoughtlessly. I planned to invest it in the company, because soon we will have to expand, and this requires solid capital. But, in the past, I gave myself my word that as soon as we release "Subway Surfers" I will definitely get a normal home.
Damn! Who made me say it! But once you give your word, you have to keep it. Even if I promised it to myself. Maybe it sounded stupid, but that's my principle. If you set a goal for yourself, you must definitely achieve it. And no excuses like "I'll do it later" should ever be heard.
Let's close the topic of real estate and return to reality. The main event of this evening is a festive party in honor of the success of our first mobile game. And I just drove up to the restaurant where this event will be held.
I got out of the car, walked around it and opened the door on the passenger side, helping a charming lady in a blue dress to get out.
"Did I tell you that you are insanely beautiful in this dress?"
"Yes, and this is for the third time," Vikki said with a charming smile.
"In that case, Miss Vale, let's not linger," we walked towards the restaurant. "But if you think about it, we have so much in common with this place. We had our first date here, filmed a video clip."
"That's why I also hope to get pleasant memories here this evening," my companion said. - "And I feel that today they will be more intense."
"I'll try to arrange that," I said, with a hint of mystery in my voice.
The restaurant was already full of guests. Upon seeing us, the hall exploded with thunderous applause. As soon as silence returned, I went to greet the guests.
The first ones I came across were the valiant Gotham police officers. "Commissioner Gordon, glad to see you. Thank you for coming."
"I couldn't miss today's event. After all, not only is this the success of your company, Alex, but also the first successful project under my daughter's leadership. At first, I was a little worried about her new job and position. If you had failed, your enterprise could have gone bankrupt, and then all her work would have gone down the drain. I'm glad that didn't happen."
"And I'm equally glad," I laughed quietly, turning my attention to the girl standing next to me. "Renne, how is my favorite detective doing?"
"She's blooming and smells great," Montoya said with a sly grin. "And it's quite cozy here. You filmed your video here, right?"
"Yes, the owners of the restaurant are my good friends, they allowed us to film here."
"You know, I would look good in your video too. Get the hint?"
"Of course, When I shoot my second video, I'll definitely ask you to help me."
"Okay. By the way, meet my partner, Detective Harvey Bullock," she introduced a man of about fifty, large build. "Gordon and I decided to take him with us, otherwise he would have hung around in the department all night. He's not in a very good mood lately, I hope at least here he can distract himself from his gloomy thoughts."
"Don't get your hopes up, Renne," the detective said in a firm voice, and extended his hand to me. "Nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Harvey."
"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you, Detective. I'm happy that you came here with your friends today."
"Well, I don't know about them, but I came for the free food. And since I haven't had a bite to eat today, I think I'll start eating, if no one objects."
"What are you saying, I'm all for it," I threw after the departing figure. Harvey Bullock... Quite an interesting character. He is a detective, seasoned by experience and hardened by the criminal life of Gotham. He understands better than anyone that justice in a city like Gotham is not always carried out according to moral standards and often requires the use of unethical methods.
Therefore, he does not disdain immoral acts in the name of justice, although in the past he was different. Cruel, but fair. At least I know that he can be trusted.
Having searched, I soon found a familiar silhouette, even two.
"Bruce, Dick, glad you dropped by for a light," I greeted my tormentors, ahem, that is, I wanted to say, teachers. "Alfred is not with you?"
"He stayed at the estate," answered Grayson. "The old man does not really like all these social events. But he willingly drives Bruce through them," he threw a sly glance at his mentor. "So, thank Alfred, if not for him, the most eligible bachelor of Gotham City, would not be here today."
"Really? Oh, what a good man he is. I'll give him a present sometime. Hey, Bruce, stop being silent, say at least a word."
"I read "It","he suddenly said. "And when did you even have time!"
No, seriously! It's only been three days, and personally I doubt that he has been painstakingly reading all this time. How fast can he read? After all, this book about a clown is incredibly large in volume.
"The other day," Wayne blurted out, as if it was something self-evident. "Groundbreaking work, I'm impressed."
"And how do you like the character Pennywise?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in anticipation of an answer. "You know, I've had enough talk about clowns in this city," I said, as if cutting it off. "So, we'll skip the details."
"As you say."
"The main thing is, don't leave early, there will be a short performance at the end," I said, leaving the two superheroes.
Then, I greeted my employees and their family members, who, of course, were also invited to rejoice at our successes with us. Among them, I remember Paul Diaz's younger sister the most.
"Mr. Reath, I'm very glad to meet you. I'm a big fan of yours," the girl blurted out with a happy face, looking into my eyes. "I like your books, composition, and also the game you came up with."
"Really? It makes me so happy when you have such beautiful fans supporting you. Paul, you have a wonderful sister," I looked at my employee.
"You are right, I am very lucky to have her. She supported me in difficult times. Without her, I would have given up long ago. She is very reasonable and hardworking. When our mother fell ill, it was she who took on the care of the house on her fragile shoulders. As far as I can remember, Alice, I have never been interested in anything. She devoted all her time to studying. And when a misfortune happened in our family, she withdrew into herself. I wanted her to find some hobby to distract herself. However, due to difficult financial problems, she discarded this idea. Now, thanks to you, our family's situation has improved. And she was able to find something that makes her smile and be happy," he finished his monologue, looking at his sister with warmth. And I didn't even know that I had such an influence on his family.
I wonder if I had a sister in the past world? The memories are vague, perhaps in the future I will be able to find the answer to this question.
"Alice," I turned to the little girl. "How old are you?"
"It's not polite to ask a lady her age," she muttered, puffing out her cheeks.
"She recently turned 13," Paul answered for her.
"Brother!" she looked at her brother with a displeased and condemning look. I suppose she didn't want to seem too small in front of me. That's why she didn't want to mention her age.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Um, me," she looked at Paul with doubtful eyes. "I've always dreamed of becoming an actress and making movies. But I understand that it's a very difficult job. And success, in most cases, depends on luck. My brother reproached himself a lot for choosing the profession of a game programmer. After all, it brought him a lot of suffering. And I don't want him to worry about me as well. That's why I haven't decided what exactly I'm going to do yet."
"But you already know what you want to be. No need to destroy your dream. Strive to become a famous actress and a great director. I will help you in these endeavors."
"Really?" the girl asked in an uncertain and at the same time happy voice.
"Sir Reath, this is …"
"Don't worry, Paul. I feel a kindred spirit in your sister. And I also want her to be happy. I will not harm her," I hastened to calm my nervous brother.
Thank you!" he thanked me, lowering his head.
"So, study hard, Alice. When you grow up, you will make wonderful films." Leaving the young girl with her brother, I met with Barbara and Heather.
"No serious incidents occurred?" Looking at the two of them, I asked.
"Don't worry, the evening is going very peacefully," Barbara said.
"Even somehow surprisingly," Heather supported the conversation.
"Enough, you'll jinx it," I said in a worried tone.
"There are even more people than I thought," said Miss Gordon, looking at the room full of people. "You even managed to drag Bruce here, I'm simply amazed!"
"Now, many will understand that our modest company has a rather good relationship with the chairman of Wayne Enterprises. I think this is a good sign," my assistant noted, adjusting her glasses. While we were talking, Madame Alexandra and Sir Maxwell approached us.
"Hello, Alex," the owner of the restaurant greeted me. "Well, you surprised me again. I didn't know that you had such a good relationship with Bruce Wayne. Despite the fact that he behaves like a spoiled rich kid, he is a very good person."
"Do you know Bruce?"
"Yes, and not only that. I was friends with his father in the past. An old story." Sir Maxwell said.
"Alex, I think it's time for you to give a speech," said Madame Alexandra.
"As always, you are right, I will begin immediately," I said, heading towards the piano. Having pressed the keys several times, I successfully attracted everyone's attention. "Hello, let me introduce myself again, I am Alex Reath. I am grateful to you for coming to support us today. The company "Alritex Entertainment" organized this event to celebrate the success of our first mobile game - "Subway Surfers". I hope everyone has heard of this game?" I asked jokingly. "Not everyone knows, but just recently, I was simply a nobody. No one even knew about my existence… But one day everything changed. I will not dwell on this in detail, I will simply express my sincere gratitude to one specific person. Without him, there would be no tonight. This person saw something in me and offered to help. Of course, I did not refuse and asked my benefactor for a million dollars,"
After what was said, quiet laughter was heard in the hall.
"And do you know what he did? He gave me this million dollars! Can you imagine? I was shocked as well! True, I missed a few key details of the story, but let's not get hung up on the little things. This man's name is well known in this city. Gotham's most eligible bachelor, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist - Bruce Wayne. Please greet this man."
All attention in the hall was focused on the large figure of a man holding a glass of champagne in his hand. And after a short silence, applause poured in.
"Bruce, I express my sincere gratitude to you. Thanks to you, I founded my small enterprise, and now, after some time, we have achieved our first success."
"I have no merit in this, you have achieved all this through your own labor, Alex," Bats took the floor. "You are a genius, such a person cannot remain a nobody all his life. Even without my help, you would have been reborn like a phoenix."
"Maybe he is right, but I still owe him. Without his help, it would have taken me a lot of time and effort to get to where I am now. You should not devalue the meaning of "time", it is precious. In my case, even more so. - My company began its ascent with a mobile game. The next step is computer games. I do not know how much time it will take to turn Alritex Entertainment into the largest company in the entertainment industry. But I hope that those people who helped me successfully create the game "Subway Surfers" will continue to support me and lead the company to the top. One person can not achieve much. He needs allies whom he can trust and who will help him in difficult times. Let's move forward together," I raised a glass of juice, finishing my speech.
The hall immediately burst into thunderous applause. And while people were comprehending my words, I quietly sat down at the white piano. Having knocked on a few keys, I again cast my gaze into the restaurant hall. The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone carefully watched me.
"I hope no one will mind if I play a few compositions?"
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Please vote with power stones.
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