It was late at night in New York but that didn't matter because the city was still populated and littered with cars but the bright lights of the apartments were a sight to behold. After a long trip, a taxi finally parked in front of an apartment.
Leo, Danny and Alexa got out, Leo and Danny taking out their bags and Alexa paying the driver. He gave them a thumbs up and sped off.
"Bye Vincent!" Leo shouted with a wave and the driver, Vincent, honked back.
"Nice guy." Danny said.
"Yeah." Leo agreed.
"Too bad we didn't know half of the things he was saying." Alexa said to which Leo and Danny agreed wholeheartedly.
"So this is the place huh?" Danny said, looking at the building "Looks...expensive."
"It was but I negotiated the price down to 50,000 dollars." Alexa says and they looked at her in shock.
"50,000 dollars!?" Danny exclaimed.
"How much was it originally!?" Leo exclaimed.
"A 100,000 dollars." Alexa replied which shocked the two even more.
"Alexa we may be millionaires but isn't spending that much money a little wasteful?" Leo asked.
"No, I don't want you guys going through that life again." Alexa said and they frowned at the memories of their lives five years ago "And besides, tomorrow's deal will pay back the money and then some."
"Alright, I'll let you handle it then." Leo said.
"You're the boss, I mean technically Leo is but, you're the – uh..." Danny tried to say.
"Momager." Leo said.
"Right! You're the momager." Danny said and Alexa smiled.
"Let's just get inside." Alexa said and they picked up their bags, entering the building to a lobby.
"Welcome to the Ross Apartments, what can I do for ya?" A young man behind the desk with a bright smile asked.
The young man had well-trimmed black hair and black eyes with Caucasian skin. He wore a green bell hopper uniform. This was Tony Chicolini, resident bell hopper of the Ross Apartments.
"Hi," Alexa said as she looked at his nametag "Tony. Yeah, we're here with a reservation for Star." Alexa said.
"Star...Star..." Tony let out as he scanned through a list on a clipboard "Oh, Star! Yeah, we've been expecting you guys. I've got your keys right here, just sign over here while I take your bags."
"Okay." Alexa said, walking over to the desk as Tony walked around and picked up Alexa's and some of Leo's and Danny's bags.
"I really like your accent, where's it from?" Leo asked.
"Oh, it's a mix of Italian and where I grew up." Tony explained as he pressed the elevator button.
"Where'd you grow up?" Danny asked.
"Brooklyn." Tony replied and Danny dropped his bags and raised his hands in fear "Whoa, what's with him?"
"He's been watching a lot of movies and thinks anyone from Brooklyn will rob him." Leo explained.
"Nothing against you it's just that...you people scare me." Danny said.
"Well you don't have to worry, I'd never hurt a fly." Tony said with a smile "Literally, a fly flew into my room once and we became roommates. I miss Bartholomew."
"Sorry for your loss?" Leo asked unsure on how to respond to that.
"Oh no he's not dead, I just had to crack the window open and he flew away. Jerk didn't even pay all that rent he owed me." Tony said.
"These are the people you're afraid of?" Leo asked, looking at Danny.
"Hey, Tony might be different but that doesn't mean everyone else from there is." Danny said and Leo rolled her eyes.
"Well you might wanna stay behind for tomorrow then because our meeting's in Brooklyn." Alexa said, walking up to them and the elevator door opened.
"What!?" Danny exclaimed as they got in the elevator and the door shut, Tony picking the floor.
"Awesome! Ooh maybe we'll get mugged, I wanna know how that feels." Leo said with a smile.
"For others it can be life changing, for me...it was Tuesday." Tony said with a reminiscent smile.
"How are you guys so okay with this!?" Danny asked and both Leo and Tony shrugged.
The elevator dinged on the second last floor from the top and opened to reveal a hallway of doors with two large double doors at the end of the hall. They followed Tony to the end of the hallway and in front of the double doors.
"You guys must be loaded or somethin', cause the only other place that's as big as this apartment is upstairs and those guys are really loaded." Tony said, unlocking the doors.
"Is it really that big?" Alexa asked.
"That's what she said." Leo said and Danny snorted.
"Check it out." Tony said with a smirk and he opened the doors.
The sight of the place made their eyes go wide and jaws drop. It was a big place with wooden floors, an assortment of luxurious furniture and decorations with a staircase leading to the different rooms of the place and a balcony looking out at the city.
"Whoa!" Danny let out as he spun, looking around the place.
"Five bedrooms each with their own bathrooms, two bathrooms, one dining room, one fully customized kitchen, one living room, an overlooking balcony and an empty room as per requested." Tony listed with a proud smile "Took me all day to memorize that, now excuse me as I do my victory dance."
Alexa shook her head in amusement at Tony's dance and Leo sat down on the couch, letting out a relieved sigh.
"I can see why this place was worth so much." Leo said and Alexa sat next to her.
"Only the best for my kids." Alexa said, pulling Leo into a side hug.
"No, affection...my only weakness." Leo whined and Alexa giggled.
Danny's stomach suddenly groaned and he rubbed it "And that's mom's cooking. Tony, where's the bathroom?"
"Upstairs, first door to the left." Tony replied as he stopped dancing.
"Seriously?" Alexa asked as she gave Danny a bored look.
Danny's stomach groaned again "Yup."
Danny dropped his bag and dashed upstairs, shutting the bathroom door with a bang.
"Is my cooking really that bad?" Alexa asked, looking at Leo.
"Gordon Ramsey would have a heart attack if he tasted it." Leo replied and Alexa cringed.
"Anyway, thanks for the help Tony. We really appreciate it." Alexa said.
"No problem, if you need any help just call, my number is loaded into the tablet on that desk." Tony said as he pointed to a desk by the door "Now I can finally get home, hopefully Bartholomew came back."
"Sure..." Alexa said with a freaked out smile.
"Welp, my duties are done for today. I'll be going home now." Tony said, heading for the door.
"Bye Tony." Leo said.
"Bye." Alexa said.
"See ya." Tony said with a wave as he left the apartment.
They heard the bathroom door open with sounds of the toilet being flushed. Danny walked down the stairs, rubbing his stomach with a happy sigh.
"Marked your territory?" Leo asked.
Danny flopped onto the couch next to them and let out a satisfied sigh "Yup."
"Now that we're all here, meeting time." Alexa said and Leo sat up.
"Seriously? You wanna have a meeting now?" Leo asked.
"If we don't have one now then we won't have time to have one tomorrow." Alexa said.
Danny groaned "Fine."
"So the meeting tomorrow will basically be another pitch from a gaming company." Alexa explained.
"Another one?" Leo asked in an annoyed tone.
"I know how you guys feel about them but I think this one's gonna be different." Alexa said.
"They always say they're different but they always turn out to be money hungry jerks that end up overworking Leo." Danny said.
"To this day, I still haven't touched a Call of Duty game." Leo said.
"Let's just give them a chance because I really think they might be different." Alexa said.
"Different how?" Leo asked.
"Well they're a relatively small company with a small team, they mainly work on mobile games, they've never had a representative so Leo might be their first one," Alexa listed.
"How small is this company?" Danny asked in surprise.
"Very small but their main selling point would be the fact that they've partnered up with a celebrity." Alexa said.
"Who?" Leo asked.
"Double G." Alexa replied and the two kids looked at her in shock.
"Double G!?" Danny exclaimed.
"Drop That What, Double G?" Leo asked and Alexa nodded "Wait, you're talking about that company...Game Shakers!"
"So you have heard of them." Alexa said.
"Doy! I have almost all their games on my phone. I was actually playing Sky Whale on the toilet." Danny said.
"Gross," Leo said turning to Alexa "So we're meeting them tomorrow?"
"Yes, we just have to show up and listen to their pitch then Leo can decide if she wants to play games for them or not." Alexa explains.
"Dude! We're gonna meet Double G!" Leo exclaims excitedly.
"Heck yeah we are!" Danny exclaims in equal excitement.
"Then after the pitch, we have a meet and greet panel." Alexa finished.
"Sweet, I love meeting my viewers." Leo said.
"And that's about it guys, just wake up by nine tomorrow and we'll get the day started." Alexa said.
Danny yawned "Yay! Meeting over."
Leo giggled as she stood up and picked up her bags "C'mon sleepy head, let's go pick out our rooms."
"Now you've got the right idea." Danny said as he stood up and picked up his bags.
Alexa's phone started to ring as Leo and Danny were walking up the stairs "You guys get some sleep; I'll be up in a sec."
"Kay, kay." Leo replied.
"Night." Danny said as they went to choose their rooms.
"Hello? Christina, hey...yeah we found the place, pretty hard to miss and the apartment is amazing...gossip? You know I'm always up for that, let me get the wine." Alexa spoke on the phone.
Meanwhile Leo and Danny had picked their rooms, which were across from each other, and said their goodnights.
Leo put down her bags as she looked around the large yet simple room with wooded flooring, a flat screen T.V., a king sized bed, a bathroom door and a closet door next to it as well as a balcony.
"I really hope we get to stay here for a while." Leo said, impressed by the room.
She changed into a pair of shorts with a large white shirt, hopping into bed and under the covers with the lights off.
"I think tomorrow's gonna be fun." Leo muttered sleepily as she dozed off.
~
The next morning, things were almost as normal as they could be...aside from the fact that Babe was pacing up and down in a nervous state whereas the others were scattered around, waiting on Leo's arrival.
"Babe calm down, it's gonna be fine." Kenzie said from her desk.
"I'm perfectly calm!" Babe exclaimed as she continued to pace.
"Yeah, that totally convinces me." Kenzie said with an eye roll.
"Why are you so nervous about this?" Trip asked, pausing the game he was playing on his phone.
"Because she has a cr-" Kenzie tried to say but Babe stopped her by grabbing the banana Hudson was eating and throwing it at her. Kenzie managed to dodge the banana and looked at Babe in shock "Banana!?"
"I'm nervous because this is a big deal, Leo's a big deal." Babe said, ignoring Kenzie's complaints and answering Trip.
"Wait, if Leo's gonna play games for us, does that mean Trip is fired?" Hudson asked.
"What? No!" Trip exclaimed but then he gave Babe a fearful look "That is a no, right?"
Babe shook her head and continued to pace up and down as Double G and his squad arrived through the back doors.
"Greatness has arrived!" Double G announced.
"Leo's here!?" Babe asked, looking around.
"Me! I'm greatness!" Double G shouted, gesturing to himself.
"LEO ISN'T HERE YET!?" Ruthless shouted.
"No, but she should be arriving in a few minutes." Kenzie said.
"You guys ready?" Bunny asked and they nodded.
"All right, run this by me. How are we gonna get Leo on our team?" Double G asked.
"Simple, all four of us prepared pitches that highlight the best aspects of Game Shakers and we're gonna present them to her." Kenzie explained.
"Yup. I've got gameplay, Kenzie's got numbers, Babe's got advertising and Hudson's got...something." Trip explained and Hudson giggled.
"Three out of four is not that bad." Double G said and Bunny nodded along with Ruthless.
"Argh! I gotta go to the bathroom." Babe said, pushing past Double G, Bunny and Ruthless and going to the bathroom.
"What's her deal?" Bunny asked in confusion.
"I don't know she's weird." Trip said with a shrug.
"VERY!" Ruthless shouted in agreement.
"Hello? Game Shakers?" Alexa called out, walking towards the front door.
"Is this the right place?" Danny asked, looking around nervously.
"I'm pretty sure the signs in front were a big clue if this was the right place." Leo said with an almost fully finished popsicle in hand.
"They're here!" Trip exclaimed.
"Hudson get the door." Kenzie told him, standing up and dusting herself off.
Hudson stood up and ran over to the front doors, opening them "Welcome to Shakers Game!"
"You mean Game Shakers?" Danny asked.
"Right!" Hudson nodded with a smile as Leo, Danny and Alexa entered the building.
"Hi, I'm Kenzie, co-owner of Game Shakers." Kenzie said with a smile.
"And partner to the illustrious Double G." Double G said stepping forward with a charming smile and taking Alexa's hand "How are you, pretty mama?"
"Happily single." Alexa said, pulling her hand back and Double G backed up.
"Anyway, I'm Leo. Nice to meet you." Leo greeted with a smile.
"We know, and please don't hold this against me but can I have your autograph!? Please! You're a legend in the gaming community!" Trip exclaimed.
Leo giggled "Sure but I'm not a legend, I just like playing games."
"I'm sorry but holding the world record for Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Call of Duty and Resident Evil takes someone who does more than just play games." Kenzie said.
"I make YouTube videos too?" Leo said, unsure on how to respond to that.
"You know your stuff." Danny said, impressed on how much she knew.
"I had to prepare a lot for this pitch and I was shocked to see the impact Leo has on the gaming community." Kenzie said.
"Like how every Fortnite tournament she's been in ends with her being on top." Trip said.
"And how she beat Minecraft with a steering wheel once." Hudson said.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Ruthless exclaimed.
"Oh no it's possible, Google says it right here." Bunny said showing both Double G and Ruthless on his phone.
"Dang!" Double G exclaimed in an impressed tone.
"Guys, loving the praise but we're here to hear about you, not me." Leo said.
"We don't have a lot of time so I recommend you guys start now." Alexa said, checking her watch.
"Oh right! The pitch." Kenzie said, grabbing her iPad.
"Hold on a sec, you guys got a bathroom? My hands are a little sticky from this popsicle." Leo said, tossing the popsicle in a nearby bin.
"Right over there," Trip said as he pointed to the back "Just turn the corner, you won't miss it."
"Thanks." Leo said as she made her way over to the bathroom.
"While we wait, I just gotta ask. Are you all from Brooklyn?" Danny asked and they all gave him a weirded out look.
Meanwhile, Leo walked down a hallway and ended up in front of two doors. She entered the female bathroom and went to the sink, starting to wash her hands.
One of the toilets flushed and a closed stall opened, Babe went to a sink next to Leo and started washing her hands, not noticing the person standing next to her. Leo on the other hand noticed the pretty girl that was now standing next to her and smiled.
"Hi." Leo said, turning off the tap.
Babe turned to look at her and as she did so, her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. She backed up a bit and tripped, almost falling but Leo had managed to catch her by her arms.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Leo asked, looking into Babe's eyes.
"Y-you..." Babe stuttered in shock as Leo's smile faltered a bit "You're Leo Star!"
"Yeah, I am and you are?" Leo asked.
"O-oh, I'm Babe, Babe Carano." Babe said, staring at Leo 'Oh my god, she's hotter in person!'
"That's a really pretty name." Leo said 'For a really pretty girl.'
Babe blushed "Thanks."
"So Babe, you also work at Game Shakers?" Leo asked.
"Oh I'm the co-owner. Kenzie and I started Game Shakers together." Babe explained.
"Wow, that's really impressive." Leo said.
Babe shrugged "We love what we do here and I guess you can say I'm one of the few people that love their job."
Leo couldn't help but smile at that because the girl in front of her was wowing her by the second "You're amazing."
Babe smiled with another blush "You too."
Leo checked her watch and blinked in surprise "As much as I'm enjoying this, and believe me I am, we gotta go."
"Right the pitch." Babe said with a nod.
"Let's go see what you guys got." Leo said and both of them left the bathroom but they stopped in the hallway because of Leo "Oh and Babe."
"Yeah?" Babe asked, turning to look at her.
Leo leaned closer and whispered "You're doing a really great job."
Babe shivered as she watched Leo wink at her and walk past her. She took a few deep breaths and gathered herself, following Leo back to the others.
"Oh, I see you two met." Kenzie said with a smirk.
Babe gave Kenzie a look as Leo responded with a smirk of her own "Yup, Babe's pretty cool."
"That's a step in the right direction at least." Alexa said.
Leo made her way over to Alexa and Danny, turning to look at the Game Shakers "So you have a pitch for me?"
"Yes ma'am we do." Kenzie replied with a smile.
"Alright, shoot." Leo said.