“Is work okay? You’ve actually seemed pretty stressed out all week.”
So, that’s where she thinks my head is. It’s not like she’s completely wrong. Thatiswhere it’s been all week.“It’s been tough. VisuSphere is kind of stalled right now, as far as making any progress at expanding in popularity, and I feel like I’m failing at my job.”
Jax ran a hand through my hair. “You’re not failing. I’m sure you’re doing everything you can. What I’ve never understood is why they chose a name like VisuSphere. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.”
This comment made me perk up slightly, because there was a very good explanation for the name. It was actually one of the things I loved about the company. “The reason that’s the name is actually really cool. Visus means vision or sight in Latin. Everything our company does is to connect people with each other and give them access to the rest of the world and allthe knowledge that comes along with it, so you could say we’re providing them with sight.”
Jax smirked. “I love when you talk nerdy to me. It’s so sexy.” She ran her hand through my hair again. “That does make me like it more, but I still think it could be shortened or like, given a nickname, for marketing purposes. Something like Vise or Vis U that grabs people’s attention and can have some catchphrase made out of it like ‘What’s your Vise?’ I don’t know. Maybe that’s lame, but it’s just a thought.”
“I don’t think that’s lame at all. I’m always so caught up on numbers and algorithms that I miss the important things. You’re very business savvy, you know that?”
Jax shrugged. “I should be since Iwasa business major and want to own my own business some day.”
“You do?” That was certainly news for me.
Jax’s cheeks turned the slightest bit pink. “Yeah, I don’t really tell people, but my dream is to one day have myowncafe. It’s why I’ve been working at Serenity Sips for so long. I want to learn the ins and outs of the business.”
I sat up when an idea popped into my head. “My Uncle Ethan owns a cafe, you know.”
“Now that you mention it, I do remember Olivia telling me that at one point. I had totally forgotten though.”
“You should talk to him. He started his cafe completely from scratch and was somehow able to make it a success in conservative small-town Maryland, even though it’s owned by a gay man and known as a proud LGBTQ+ safe space.”
Jax’s eyes lit up. “I love that. Do you really think he’d be cool with sitting down and talking to me?”
I loved how excited she was. Even if I thought my Uncle Ethan would be hard to convince (which he wouldn’t), I’d still find a way since it clearly made Jax so happy. “Of course. He’d love it. We can even go down to Maryland if you want to. I’vebeen meaning to visit my grandparents forever anyway. This is the perfect excuse.”
Jax nodded eagerly. “Can we? That would be amazing! I’m so excited. How soon can we make it happen?”
Her enthusiasm was contagious, so I found myself unable to sit still either. “When is the next time you have a whole weekend off?”
“Next week!”
I was surprised Jax had two weeks in a row that she wasn’t working Saturday or Sunday. That was unusual for her. “You seem to be having a lot more weekends off lately.”
Jax wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “I’ve kind of been requesting it, so I could spend more time with you.”
Fuck, this girl had my whole heart. “Road Trip to Maryland next weekend?”
“With you, I’d go anywhere.”
Chapter 24
My Uncle Ethan had of course loved the idea of meeting up with Jax, so I asked to leave work early on Friday and after a late lunch, we made the long trip down to Maryland. It had become the perfect trip, because not only was I going to see two of my uncles as well as my grandparents, but my moms and siblings had decided to make the trip as well. Since it was last minute, Quinton couldn’t make it, and Mallory had decided to stay home with Duncan to avoid a long car ride with him.
Jax was going to go to the cafe on Saturday and work alongside Uncle Ethan while he taught her everything that came along with owning your own cafe. That gave me the perfect opportunity to talk to Olivia. It was as if everything had fallen together perfectly, which had to be a good sign.
When we arrived at my grandparents’ house just after seven, my brother and sister were already there. My moms were staying at my uncles’ house, so we probably weren’t going to see them until they came over in the morning for a big breakfast that Ronan had volunteered to make.
As soon as we walked into the door of the house, with Speck at our heels, Olivia ran over to greet us. She gave us both tight hugs then took a few steps back. “You both look amazing. I’m so excited we’re all here.” She turned to look at Jax. “There’s two extra bedrooms and a den. Ronan already said he’d take the den, so I figured you and I can share my Uncle Jamie’s old room and Carter can take my mama’s old room.” She clapped her hands together and did a little hop in the air. “Bestie sleepover just like old times.”
Jax gave me a quick apologetic look, before returning her focus to Olivia. “Can’t wait.”
We walked to the kitchen and said hello to my grandparents and Ronan, then ate pizza and wings together. After dinner, my grandparents announced that they were tired and needed to go to bed, and Ronan went to the den so he could FaceTime Mallory and Duncan.
“I should probably call Quinton too,” Olivia said as she stood from the table. “I can go to our bedroom to call him unless you want to go up there now, Jax.”
Jax shook her head. “You can go to the room. I’m going to make Carter give me a tour.”
