Not rly. Can U come over after work? I fire off without rereading. Inviting Brian to my house to deal with some Decker drama is both familiar territory and risky business. But we’re adults now. We’ve moved on from what happened the last time we were in this boat. We’ve declared it a mistake we’ll never make again.

Crazy shift followed by 7am tee time tmrw morning. Don’t think I can come over tonight, sry.

I don’t know why, but as I reread his text my heart sinks a little bit. Maybe he’s not in the mood for this? Maybe spending his lunch hour with Bella cleared up the hesitations he had about her and now they’re back on track? Maybe I just got used to Brian being available for anything and everything Charlotte-Decker-related this past week? Or maybe...he’s just busy, like he says he is.

The screen lights up again seconds later: I can come over after golf tho. Maybe around 2 or 3?

I toss my phone to the side without a response. His reply makes me sound like a consolation prize, a charity case. I don’t want to talk semantics right now. I’ve got an iPad to charge, a presentation to load, and a five-year-old financial disaster on my hands.

Chapter 17

“So as you can see, I’ve pretty much perfected its mate matching functionality,” I say to Warren after completing a thorough demo of my algorithm from my iPad to the screen of his (Decker’s). All of the Apple tech is fitting, considering Warren looks eerily like Steve Jobs.

“It’s impressive. Truly. What are you calling this thing?”

“I don’t have a name for it yet. But I’m open to ideas,” I say.

“Well, from my vantage point, whatever you end up calling it, it certainly seems to have the potential to be a full-blown, industry-changing dating app. You should get on that.” He sets the iPad back down on the table. “I want to ask you: Where do you see this going, Charlotte?”

“Call me crazy,” I say. “But I’m thinking of selling my project to some big online dating firm in the next five years and then I’ll work on it for a bit, and then move on to solving the next big tech dilemma.”

He breaks off a piece of his seventy-two-layer, fifteen-dollar buttery croissant and tosses it to the back of his molars for a lengthy chew. He tilts his head back and forth as if he’s contemplating just how lofty a goal that might be.

“If that’s what you want to do, I’d say you’re well on your way to doing just that. But I can do you one better. Don’t sell it to one of the big guys. Be the big guy. Trust me, I know plenty of people in the tech world who would be all over investing in something like this.”

Butterflies dive-bomb in my stomach. Hearing something so promising from a person like Warren Holmgren is a big deal. It’s like LeBron James saying your free-throw form is good, but would look even better in a Cavs jersey.