Alex had told himself, quite sternly, to keep their conversations about the baby and to leave if things ever got personal, but as the days rolled by, he let his guard slip more and more. He stayed late a few nights to watch a movie with Grace or bake cookies or just talk over cups of hot chocolate. It was nice to spend time with her again.
And there was no further word about the lawsuit. That was good, too. Alex began to hope that Grace might have dropped the whole thing now that they’d worked something out between themselves. He certainly felt much warmer toward her now, as long as they steered clear of sensitive topics like MatchupNow.
One night, Grace invited him over without even the pretense of a baby task, and Alex said yes. That was how he ended up at her small dining room table, eating a pasta dish with salad and garlic bread and chatting about nothing in particular.
“And that,” Grace said, “is when I decided I could never pursue a career in tightrope walking.”
Alex chuckled. “Fair enough. It does take a particularly well-balanced person to be successful at that, and falling off a sidewalk doesn’t exactly line up with that.”
“Are you calling me unbalanced?” Grace joked.
“Just clumsy.”
“Fair enough.” She raised her glass of sparkling apple juice to him. “I am clumsy. I just hope our kids won’t inherit that from me.”
“Better they inherit your clumsiness than my eyes,” Alex replied. “I have such bad eyesight that I can barely see your face if I take off my glasses—or contacts.”
“Well, I had braces for nearly five years as a kid,” Grace said, flashing a perfect smile. “That’s not a great trait either.”
“Maybe not, but I do hope our kids get your eyes,” Alex said. “And not just because you can see better. You have beautiful eyes.”
For a moment, Alex worried that the compliment might make things weird between them again, but Grace just smiled.
“Thanks. And I hope our kids get your smile. And not just because your teeth are naturally straighter.”
“Thanks,” Alex repeated. “And they should get your dedication. I’ve never seen someone as dedicated as you are. Or as hardworking.”
“Flag on the play,” Grace said, grinning. “You work harder than I do.”
“No way.”
“Oh, yes. I worked hard at MatchupNow, but you were still there longer than I was almost every day. And what other CEO still reviews every line of code himself?”
It was the first time they’d talked about work since the laptop disaster, but Alex didn’t change the subject.
“Hard work keeps my company afloat,” he replied.
“Oh, yes. And I get it. I know how it is to never feel secure enough to take your foot off the gas.”
“Yeah.” Alex sat back in his chair. “That’s definitely how I feel. And I probably always will. But you never back down from work, either.”
“I don’t, but I’m trying to change that,” Grace said. “I want to work again, if I can get someone to hire me, but I don’t want to be as single-minded about work as I used to be. No matter how busy my parents were, they always took time to listen to me tell stories about my day or take me to play at the park or tuck me in at night. That’s the kind of parent I want to be—not the kind who won’t leave work.”
“You’re right,” Alex said. He let out a breath. “My parents worked all the time to provide for us. I was proud of them, but it was hard. I always wanted them to show up at my school eventsor have family dinners, but they almost never had time. I want to be more present than they were able to be.”
Grace smiled, which warmed Alex’s heart. “That’s good to hear. You’ve taken time away from work to help me with baby stuff, but I wasn’t sure what your plans were after the babies come.”
“I guess I’m not sure either,” Alex admitted.
“Well, if I can say something…” Alex nodded, so she continued. “I’m so incredibly impressed by everything you’ve done with MatchupNow. You’ve worked so hard and achieved more than most people will ever dream of. Those achievements include building an amazing team that you can trust. A team you could stand to delegate to a little more. You could let Louisa, your assistant, actually assist you. And you could let the dev-ops team take over more of the code review. Just for example.”
For a moment, Alex was annoyed that Grace was offering feedback on how he should run his company when she was the reason he’d been working day and night for the past few weeks. But then he let out a breath and let himself see the truth in her words.
“You have a point,” he said.
“I do?” Grace looked surprised.
“You do. You’re right that I’ve taken some time away from work to help you get ready for the babies. And my team has managed really well despite the… challenges.” He didn’t mention the laptop specifically, but Grace still bit her lip. “You’re also right that I could stand to delegate a little more.”
