Page 52 of Derivation

“Oh, sure. We just have a funding schedule for our big investor, and the next amount is now in our bank account, which means… we can finally…” Violet faded out, too busy smiling widely.

“We don’t need an office,” Arlowe stated.

“Yes, we do,” Violet insisted. “Arlowe, we’ve been in that garage for almost a decade. It’s hot in there in the summer, cold in the winter, and I’m sick of having to sit next to you and listen to you mumble the song you’re listening to in those damn headphones, having to hear Enya reciting words in languages I don’t understand, or watching Sarai wipe off that dry-erase board ten times a day when her first idea was already the best one. I want to work in a real office building, Arlowe. I want air-conditioning, a breakroom that isn’t also where I eat dinner, and an office of my own with a door that I can close that isn’t also my bedroom. Are you getting the idea here?”

“It’s a waste of money, Vi. Who has an office anymore?”

“Plenty of companies. And it’s also more professional. Asset almost wasn’t interested when I told them that if they wanted an office visit, they’d have to come to our house.”

“You never told us that.”

“I didn’t want to worry you guys, but that doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve got the money. We’re making progress. We can afford to rent a decent-sized place in a reputable building. A lot of companies here moved out of their first offices and into bigger ones, and those smaller ones are for lease. We’ll have our name on the door, and a suite number, and I will no longer be embarrassed to tell people where I work.” Violet smiled again. “I can finally put all the real estate research I’ve done to good use.”

“You’re going to make us look at places, aren’t you?” Arlowe asked.

“Yes, I am. You can have an office or not; it’s up to you. If you want to keep working in the garage when the rest of us are in a cool, new office with actual office furniture, and again, I stress, air-conditioning and heat, that’s fine with me, but, Arlowe, this is a huge deal. We’ll have a real office. You should be excited about this.”

“I guess I am. It’s cool, Vi. I just… You just moved out. It’s a lot of change.”

“What’s a lot of change?” Enya asked, walking up.

Gabi felt really out of place, so she thought about letting them talk about their work alone, but she didn’t know anyone else here besides Stella, who was at the grill again and talking to someone else, and Jen and Haley, she guessed, who were at the table with Sarai, whom she was mad at.

She thought they’d had such a good time at the bar the previous night, and then breakfast had been fun, as well as the whole day at the house because after they’d done the dishes, Sarai had offered to help her organize, and Gabi had taken her up on it. They’d planned to leave for the party together, and they’d done so, and the drive over had been fun, too. Gabi had even caught Sarai checking her out, which had been great because she had worn this dress specifically for her, having remembered that when they’d been walking around Amsterdam, looking at packs of tulip bulbs for Gabi to take back to her mom, Sarai had said that she liked the red ones the best because it was her favorite color. At the party, though, Sarai had had a chance to introduce her at least as her friend, not just as her new roommate who’d, apparently, taken Arlowe’s old room, and Sarai hadn’t taken it.

“Vi wants us to get an office now,” Arlowe told Enya.

“Act as if we’ve never talked about this, Arlowe.”

“I know we did, but I didn’t think it would happen, like, a week after you moved out. Now, we’ll be moving out of the garage, too? It’s a lot, Vi. That house is our home.”

“It is, but it doesn’t have to be where we always work, too. Don’t you want to be able to park your car in the garage, Arlowe? We’ve never been able to do that, and now, you and Enya could take turns with Sarai and Gabi. Gabi, don’t you want to park your car in the garage?”

“Oh, I am not taking sides here. I’m Switzerland,” she replied and ate one of the chips on her plate.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Sarai asked. “I could see Arlowe’s furrowed brow all the way from my table twenty feet away.”

She moved to stand next to Gabi, who took a step away from her.

“We’re getting an office,” Arlowe said. “Vi wants us to start looking at those places she’s been checking out for years, despite us not having the money to afford them.”

“It hasn’t been years, and we can afford them now.”

“You’re ready to talk offices?” Sarai asked Violet.

“Yes. We have the money from Asset, and it’s the right call. We’ve got momentum, and we can actually start talking about getting our software into schools now, with the most recent update we just did to get certified by–”

“The curriculum police,” Arlowe joked.

“Arlowe, come on. I know it’s a lot of change, but these are good changes. I am no longer pulling my hair out every time I check the balance in the company’s bank account, and I don’t have to use my own trust fund to keep us in business. I have a hot girlfriend who actually wanted me to live with her.” Violet motioned to Gabi then. “Gabi’s here, too. She might help us out with the hardware we’ve wanted to make forever. We need this office. It will be small; not extravagant, but professional. I’ll get us a good deal on a lease.”

Arlowe looked around the backyard and said, “As long as I’m not required to go in there every Monday through Friday at eight and stay until five.”

“As if anyone could get you to work a normal schedule,” Violet replied.

“What’s normal, anyway?” Arlowe countered.

“Big, philosophical question for another night,” Violet suggested. “Right now, we all need to agree that this is where the money goes. I should mention that I’ve already talked to the board about this being the next step, and they all loved the idea, but it’s still ultimately our decision. So, all in favor?” she asked and raised her hand.