Christopher mouthed,Byewith a warm smile before drifting away into the crowd.
When the reporter had finished jotting down her notes, I glanced around for Christopher. I was exhilarated from theevening and more than a little surprised at how much I’d enjoyed talking to him. And then I spotted him engaged in a cliquish conversation with none other than my company’s CEO and a few of his henchmen. From across the room, Christopher blended in with the rest of the nerd bosses. And the sight of them conversing and laughing so easily—the fact that Christopherwasone of them—scrambled my brain. I’d forgotten, during our brief conversation, that there was a reason I’d disliked him in the first place. Okay, so it turned out that his company existed to try to improve the world. He was still part of that privileged white male club. After years of working in tech, the contempt I felt for my company’s CEO and everyone like him was so ingrained, it was like a visceral reaction. For a moment, I tried to shake it off, but then I thought—why should I? I was dating Stephen. I didn’t have to like Christopher.
I left without saying goodbye.
Before lunch the next day, I received a company-wide email stating, rather sternly, that all Q&A questions for future company-sponsored events would be screened in advance.
Huh.
Who says you can’t make a lasting impact as a mere technical support representative?
CHAPTER 7
“WHAT KIND OF MOTHERsees her daughter’s picture in theSeattle Timesand calls to scream at her?” I paused to sip my mimosa. The four of us, along with most of the population of Seattle, were enjoying a Sunday brunch at Portage Bay.
“Does she ask me anything about the event or congratulate me on my keen and penetrating mind? No. She wanted to know how I could make such a scene in front of Christopher. The only part of the article that mattered to her was the bit that said, ‘Other notable attendees included Pageant CEO Christopher Butkus.’” I stabbed my fork into mymigas.
“Maybe you should tell her about Stephen.” Amy had a mouthful of French toast. “That would calm her down, wouldn’t it?”
“It might. Or it might send her into a tailspin of despair. She seems quite obsessed with Christopher for some reason.”
“Some reason…” Sumira made the universal sign forcashwith one hand.
“You know, you’re right. I wonder if my parents forgot to start a 401(k) and now the future of their retirement rests on my marriage prospects. That would explain a lot.”
We chewed for a moment as the server refilled our coffee mugs.
“You know Christopher’s strategy?” Eva began thoughtfully. I had filled the group chat in on everything Christopher had said after the sustainability dinner. “Playing hard to get. Do you think it’s effective? It sounds like a cliché, but if it works, I’ll try it. Clearly I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I come on too strong.”
“Um,” Amy started before I could reply. She wore an embarrassed grin. “It worked for me.”
“What?”
“After Rachel told us about Christopher’s advice, I tried it on Ryan.” She laughed. “I literally just ignored him. I acted happy and busy but I didn’t seek him out or try to initiate sex or anything. And hedid.”
“He did?”
She nodded. “Clearly Christopher is onto something. I mean, he’s a guy, so I guess he gets it.”
Eva looked to me for confirmation.
“Yeah. I’m shocked to say that it worked on Stephen too. I didn’t text him for a couple days and now he’s a Chatty Cathy. He actually invited me to a wedding.”
“Really? Wow. When is it?”
“Next month.”
“That’s short notice for a wedding.” Sumira tilted her head back to drain her mimosa.
“Let me have this, okay? I love weddings. Free food, free booze, open dance floor… not to mention love in the air.”
Eva buried her face in her hands. “Don’t become a romantic now; I can’t handle it.”
Amy, Sumira, and I exchanged sympathetic glances.
“No word from Erica, then?”
“Erica? I haven’t heard from her in over a month. No, I met agirl named Sherry at the Wildrose on Valentine’s Day, but she’s ghosting me.”
