

Leonard Miller nearly dies a dozen times completing every level of a mysterious game in closed beta. The moment he returns to the real world, the game goes live.On Earth, for everyone, whether they signed up or not. Dragged back in against his will, Leonard has one edge no other player does: he's already been through all of it. Armed with maxed-out attributes and complete knowledge of every trap and pattern, he tears through the stages, protects the people he loves, builds alliances, and slowly pieces together a chilling truth that a higher civilization has been using Earth as a playground. He intends to shut it down permanently.

Vertical superstars Tess Dinerstein and Lottie Guidi test their unbreakable friendship and discuss everything being a girlboss in the entertainment industry entails. From Shakespearean origins to modern day mantras (plus a surprise special guest), you won’t want to miss the insight these titans of vertical entertainment have to offer!

Landy Taylor quit school as a teenager to put her siblings through theirs.She built Reverie Hotel from nothing and runs it quietly, without fanfare. At her father's seventieth birthday, she shows up simply dressed, and her siblings make sure everyone knows what they think of her. What they don't know is that three of the most formidable people in the country are on their way and happen to call her Mom. The reckoning is public and thorough. Later, a chance encounter on a flight with her son's fiancee, who doesn't know who she's insulting, sets up a second one. Landy has never needed to announce herself. She just waits.

On the way to his divorce, Mason suddenly wakes up to how much of a jerk he's been all his life. He can't stop his wife from leaving, but accidentally gains the ability to predict the future. Price surges, real estate swings, stock ups and downs, and global trends are all within his grasp. Years later, a reporter asks Mason, "You're now super rich. What do you want most?" Mason smiles and says, "I just want to give my wife and kid the best life possible."

I was dragged online by one of my own employees. According to her post, I was a stingy boss who refused to give out holiday gift boxes for Memorial Day weekend. What the internet did not know was that my company already had a long-standing tradition. Every holiday, and even every employee birthday, each person received a $300 gift card without fail. But once the whole internet started tearing me apart, I decided to give everyone exactly what they claimed they wanted. I issued a company-wide notice. To respect everyone’s demand for a more “thoughtful” holiday gesture, this year’s Memorial Day gift cards would be canceled and replaced with holiday gift boxes for all employees. The moment the notice went out, the entire company exploded. Employees crowded outside my office, begging me to bring the gift cards back.