All Bets Are Off

2.) Setting The Bar

~The Next Morning~

The four of them were crowded around Gavin's desk, eyes wide in disbelief. Ray's fingers grazed the bright red bow that was taped to the top of Gavin's mouse.

Ryan: That crafty ass son of a bitch.

You see, Geoff had bought him a new desk. The old one was damn near destroyed what with all the holes being carved into it. Gavin had complained about it several times, but everyone just ignored him.

Until now that is.

Jack: You think he planned this out from the beginning?

Michael: He bought him a /fucking desk/! Of course he planned it!

Geoff chose that moment to walk into the office, a bottle of bourbon is his hand and a shit eating grin on his face.

Geoff: Nice to see you all here bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Michael: Geoff you fucking cheater!

Geoff: Hey, hey, hey. There's nothing in the rules about using what you already had. The desk was my original gift for him.

Ray: But you made that challenge knowing you were gonna win!

Geoff: Who says I'm gonna win?

Everyone gave him an irritated and disbelieving look. Geoff ignored them, choosing instead to set up his X Box and clean his desk a bit. They would be doing a Trials Evolution Let's Play today.

Ryan bid goodbye to his co-workers as he went to his desk located in the warehouse.

Ray, Jack and Michael waved him off before sharing a look.

Jack: I guess he's /kind of/ right

Ray: Yeah. Maybe Gavin won't even notice.

Michael scoffed as he sat down at his desk. Gavin may have been a total idiot most of the time, but not even /he/ could be that oblivious. Still, he slid a piece of paper over where the large hole in his old desk use to be. Maybe he could delay the reaction just a bit.

His hope was short lived.

Gavin noticed almost as soon as he walked into the office. By then Lindsay was stealthily positioned in the corner by the couch, her trusty camera in hand.

For a minute, Gavin just stared. Then, a bright smile lit up his face.

Gavin: No way! A new desk!

He ran his hands over the sleek tabletop, admiring how there were no holes or soda stains or scratches. His eyes were practically glowing.

Geoff: I thought you might like it.

Gavin's head snapped up in his direction before he practically tackled the older man in a hug.

Gavin: Ohhhh, thank you, Geoff! This is absolutely top!

Jack rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath as he synced up his audio. At least the others had a /little/ time to plan their gift. It was his turn tomorrow, and there was no way he could compete with Geoff.

He managed to zone out until everyone was ready and recording. The game loaded and everyone was, surprisingly, their most used colors. Jack was yellow, Geoff was red, Michael was green and Gavin was blue.

Gavin: Ohh! Front flip for style! Speaking of which I finally saw the shirt and it looked tippity top.

Ray: Better than the 'People Like Grapes' shirt?

Gavin: Hey, now..

Michael: How many of the Rooster Teeth shirts do you have, Gavin?

Geoff: Only all of them.

Ray: Seriously? Well, I can kinda see that happening. Most of them are quoted from him anyway.

Michael: The only ones the fans care about come from his special brain, Ray.

Gavin: I happen to think the fans appreciate my creativity.

Jack contributed to the banter every now and then, adding in a few front flips of his own just to mess with Gavin. He let his mind wander, though.

Geoff didn't know it yet, but he had given Jack the greatest gift idea.

Once they had stopped recording Geoff offered to take everyone to lunch. Jack declined, saying he had brought his own today. The others shrugged it off as he practically disappeared somewhere in the building.

And that's how Barbara came upon him an hour later, a sketch pad on his lap and a half eaten turkey club next to him.

Barbara: Any reason why you're hiding under the stairs like Harry Potter?

Jack sighed in frustration as he tore off another piece of paper and balled it up.

Jack: I'm trying to win this stupid bet against Geoff and the guys.

Barbara: Ah, yeah, Lindsay told me about that. Geoff set the bar pretty high.

Jack scoffed, taking an angry bite out of his sandwich.

Jack: He totally cheated and he knows it. The fucker bought him a /desk/.

Barbara: So what are you working on then?

Jack: A stupid idea that looked good an hour ago. But since I can't draw for shit I might as well just get him a gift card.

Barbara sat down next to him and took his sketchpad, nodding to herself before picking up the pencil and re-drawing the basic design that Jack had started.

Barbara: There. How's about that?

Jack took the sketchpad and stared with disbelief. He had been working on this simple design for almost two hours, and she had managed to not only draw it, but make it ten times better in a matter of minutes.

Jack: This is great! How'd you do that?

Barbara shrugged before turning to a new page, beginning to draw something else.

Barbara: I'm a girl. Doodling is a basic instinct. Like bitching about our hair no matter how good it looks. Now, if you /really/ want to beat Geoff, you gotta think big...

When Jack returned to the office he had a smug grin on his face. Michael and Ray gave him a questioning look, and Geoff looked almost nervous. He didn't say a word to them, but instead turned to Gavin.

"Say, Gavin? What kind of cookies do you like?"