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“If you do wind up working with Kat, do you know if you’d be her partner or employee?” Henn asks, yanking me from my thoughts.
“I don’t know. Kat walked away with some big craps winnings in Vegas, so I think she’s got way more money to invest in a start-up than me.”
“Yeah, Josh told me he and Jonas made a killing, thanks to Kat’s hot rolling streak, so they gave her a bunch of their winnings.”
“Do you know how much they gave her?”
“No. But those boys bet big, so it had to be quite a bit.”
“When Kat and I were in Vegas, she said she was going to give her winnings to her brother, Dax. He’s in a band and they’ve been saving to record an album. But today at lunch, she made it sound like she’s still got a bunch of cash to invest, thanks to Josh, so maybe Dax refused to accept the money from her.” I shrug. “Either way, Kat’s got enough money in the bank to quit her job without notice and without having another job lined up, and also to invest in a new start-up. As long as I’ve known her, Kat has had no savings and plenty of credit card debt, so I think it’s highly possible Josh has been extremely generous with her, even beyond those craps winnings.”
Henn suddenly looks uncomfortable, which makes me think I’m being too gossipy for his taste. Luckily, the beers come to save me from the awkward moment.
After we’ve both taken sips of the beer and agreed it’s delicious, Henn asks, “So, did you and Kat talk about you possibly working remotely, if you wind up working with her?”
“We didn’t talk any specifics because it might not even happen, you know?”
Henn presses his lips together before taking a long sip of his beer. If I had to guess, he’s thinking about the future, as much as I am.
I touch his hand. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay? For all I know, Kat might decide to make her business a one-woman show. Or maybe Maddy won’t get into UCLA, and I’ll decide to stay here till she graduates. The future is kind of blurry for me right now. I can’t see anything too far ahead.” It’s the truth. I’m head over heels for Henn, but that doesn’t mean I trust my feelings enough, after only one week, to uproot my entire life for him. I took a foolish, embarrassing leap of faith with Angus and quickly learned I’m a naïve idiot who’s a horrible judge of character. I don’t think Henn is anything like Angus—of course, not—but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to jump head-first into a whirlwind romance, without a proverbial parachute, ever again.
Henn fidgets with his napkin. Takes another long sip of his beer. And then, “So, has Maddy heard anything about her application?”
“Not a thing. She logs into her dashboard twice a day to see if there’s been an update. Apparently, it’ll change to ‘received’ at some point. And then, ‘under review,’ at which point I’m sure my sister will start maniacally checking her dashboard fifty times a day.” I laugh, but Henn looks stiff and nervous. Am I imagining that?
The waiter appears and takes our orders. As he leaves, Henn shifts in his chair and says, “So, um, I’ve got some bad news. I’m really sorry, but I can’t stay a few days longer, after all. I have to leave tomorrow morning for a big job.”
“Oh, wow. Okay.”
“I got the call today, and I really can’t turn it down. I wouldn’t have said yes to them, but the potential payday is huge. Biggest of my life.”
“Wow. How exciting, Henn. Congratulations.”
“I tried my hardest to put off the initial meeting for a week, so I could stay here with you till Thursday morning, as planned, but they said the meeting has to be this weekend. There’s a big conference or summit or whatever this weekend, and lots of people they want me to meet with will all be there, all at once.”
My head is teeming with thoughts. Kat told me Henn worked with the FBI in DC before coming here to Seattle, but Henn’s never uttered a word about that. Is this job related to that one? The word summit seems like a governmental kind of word. Did Henn do such a good job for the FBI the last time, they’ve hired him again? “I’m thrilled for you,” I say. “It sounds like a huge compliment they’ve hired you for such a big job.”
“Well, I haven’t been hired, exactly. I’m being given the chance to compete for a huge payday, along with some other programmers. It’s highly possible I’ll put in a couple weeks of hard work, round the clock, for nothing. On the flipside, though, it could wind up being the most lucrative couple weeks of my life.”
