“And that is?”

“I like you, Brian. I just... I like you.”

He leans over and kisses me softly on the lips. It doesn’t last more than a second or two. But when his lips touch mine I can’t help but think how good it feels to let go and live in the moment.

Epilogue

It’s been a few weeks since a) I deleted Tinder, and all other dating apps, off my phone and computer. And b) I returned to The Influencer Firm. Things were weird at first, obviously. Other than Monica and Zareen and our freelance Human Resources lady, no one on the staff really knew what had happened to me or where I was that whole time. I’m sure my unexplained absence provided the interns with plenty of fodder for bathroom gossip, but so be it. I ended up really enjoying my time off.

We landed the Voyager account. Sure, the guys were impressed by the few slides I showed them, but that’s not what sealed the deal. Marigold came up with a really cool idea to do a “mannequin challenge” video in our office of everyone wearing their shoes. It showed off our cool digs—and all the cute girls we employ—as well as our creativity. They signed the contract during my second week off.

As such, things have been pretty busy getting their account set up. So much so that I was moved off the less demanding WeHot account to focus on getting Voyager live by September 1. Not only did that account shift free up my resources a bit, but it saved me an awkward conversation with Zareen. Plus, it removed future contact with Gemma over work servers. I can’t give HR another run for their money like that.

We’re on good terms, though—Gemma and I. And, well, Debbie and I, too. After things cooled down and the urn was officially rehomed, Debbie coordinated us getting together at the next pool party. Aiden got to see his dad’s ashes and meet the woman he married—not to mention give her a hug.

I don’t plan on making it a regular thing, seeing Aiden. But Debbie said they do something for his birthday each year, and this year’s a big one—thirteen—so I’ll be there. I’ll need to first do a little research on what teenagers think is cool these days, but I’ll definitely be there. Probably with Brian.

With all that going on, you’d think jumping back in the work pool would have been hard. Especially considering all the custom coding Voyager is requesting for their reporting. But it’s been fine, despite my two-week break. If anything, it’s just been a little more time-consuming than usual because I’m training Marigold on the keystrokes while I’m at it.

Yes, you heard that right: I am training Marigold, who is poised to help open the SoHo office in New York in the next couple of months. And, no, I’m not giving her faulty codes so she purposefully screws things up when she tries to repeat the same thing at her desk. This isn’t about sabotage, shockingly. It’s strategy. After convincing Zareen that account management and a junior coder are really the only faces who need to physically be in New York, she is letting me handle back-end Voyager stuff from my desk in LA. As such, I resolved it would behoove me to turn Marigold into my little rock-star sidekick. Loading her up with training now means that someone else gets to stay late at the office running reports. As for me? I’ll go home early to walk Leno and cook dinner with Brian. Yeah, we’re giving that whole dating thing a try now.