I huff a laugh. “It’s not horrible,” I say. “It just needs some…love.”
Everett smiles at me, mirroring the one on my face that slipped after his little wisp of humor. “I think you could do something great with this place, Teeny.”
My face falls. “Did you do this?”
“What?”
“This.” I gesture my arms angrily around me. “This meeting with Eric. Is this your doing?”
He shakes his head, the smile that matched mine long gone and a look of earnest shadowing his features. “No.”
“Are you sure? Because this seems like too much to be just a little coincidence.”
“No, Teeny. I didn’t.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and ducks his head. “I didn’t even know that you’re a designer. Eric told me about a designer who was referred to him. Something Ellis? You did a restaurant or something?”
“Linguine Lane,” I tell him, remembering the entire gut we did of the space of what used to be an indoor trampoline park, stripping everything from windows to drywall to fixtures. It’s now an upscale Italian restaurant and gourmet grocery store. It’s done really well since opening last year, despite the silly name attached to it.
“But I didn’t know it was you.” His eyes soften into something that looks like pride and admiration. “You’ve done well for yourself, Teen.”
I start to fidget with my fingers, no longer having my arms crossed across my chest like a barricade. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How have you done for yourself?”
“Good,” he answers. “Really good.”
My brow quirks, that nagging curiosity about Everett’s life poking at the hard ridges of my heart, wondering if he’s been okay. If he’s struggled or if he’s skated through life without a hitch. Or if he’s done nothing but think about me just as he’s never been too far in the depths of my mind. “Well, the hotel business has its perks. Especially in areas like this.”
“This is just something I’m investing my money in, and my time too, I guess. Eric and I, we go a long way back. I was actually with InnoDex up until a week ago.”
“InnoDex?”
Everett nods with pursed lips, almost like he’s withholding something from me. “Are you not familiar?”
“No,” I answer, a little flustered. “I am. I just…” InnoDex is the lead tech company rivaling HP and Dell. We use it in our home, in what used to be Leo’s office and in Sadie’s room on her white, neatly polished, Pottery Barn desk. I use InnoDex products for my CAD software. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to do my floor plans and layouts. It’s household name level. Of course, I’m familiar. “What, were you like, IT or something?”
“More like CTO.”
My hands involuntarily splay in front of me, as if moving around this imaginary well of information to sort it around so that I could somehow understand it. “You’re the Chief Technology Officer of InnoDex.”
“Was,” he corrects, scratching the side of his head with his index finger.
“Everett, that’s a huge deal.”
He shrugs, adding a small noncommittal hum.
“You just decided one day to quit?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
His face grows silent and dark, mulling over my question. “Personal reasons,” he finally says, sounding so mysterious and evasive, I’m not sure if I want to pry or just take his answer at face value.
“Wow,” I breathe. “So, you’re just a real ass grown up with a real corporate job.”
I expect him to laugh at my sarcasm, but he doesn’t. “I’m still me, Teeny.”
