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And we’re back. “I really am just a business associate. I think the world of your grandson, but I’m not involved with him in any emotional way.”
She stares at me for a moment. “Aren’t you? You certainly didn’t have to come with him to see his injured grandmother. I assume you were together when he got the call. You came with him when you easily could have stayed behind.”
She’s got me there. “Okay. I can’t be emotionally involved with him. We’re working together, and I don’t date where I work.”
Her eyes feel like they’re piercing through me as she studies me. “Because you did once and it went wrong.”
That’s not much of a stretch. I’m lucky she’s not in the tech world or she wouldn’t have had to guess. “Spectacularly wrong. Possible career-ending wrong. So wrong I really won’t make the same mistake again. Heath and I are going to be friends and I’m going to take his work and make him a lot of money. He’ll be set up so he can do whatever he wants, though I’m looking around here and wondering if he’s not already there.”
She glances into the room behind us. “The apartment? This place has been in the family for years. I have enough to stay here and be comfortable, but I’m afraid medical bills ate up much of what I could have left Heath. First my husband and then me. I had a bout with breast cancer last year. I’m perfectly healthy now, but Heath insists on bringing Maggie in a few times a week. And there’s a lovely woman who cleans my house and helps with the groceries. Doris. Such a nice lady. But the point is a lot of money goes into making sure Heath doesn’t have to worry. I don’t know how much there will be at the end because my goal is to live a long time. Long enough to see my great grandchildren. I suppose he’ll sell this place when I’m gone. It will bring in some money, but not enough for him to build a company from. Odd. I never saw Heath building a company as such. He liked programming his games. I didn’t understand them, but they were beautiful to look at.”
“They’re fun to play,” I admit. “I did some game programming in my time. I enjoyed it. It felt like storytelling to me.”
“You liked being creative in that way?”
“Oh, yes. I liked a lot about those days. I worked for a game design firm in Austin and it was just…fun. It was cool when the work was done and we got to watch people play. Don’t get me wrong. Some people suck, but most liked it. I went to conventions and met fans, and they would tell me how I took their mind off the world for a while. That was a good feeling.”
“I think that Heath liked that part, too,” she replies. “See, so much in common.”
She smiles and it’s the kind of smile that makes me nervous. “You know the cancer was so hard on me. In some ways, I’m still recovering. Not physically, of course, but mentally. I still think about what could have happened. Do you know? I need a distraction. Ivy, would you be so kind as to indulge an old woman?”
“Indulge?” I’m not sure if she’s going to ask me to write a game for her or marry her grandson here and now so the babymaking can begin, and I’m not ready for Alex or -er or -dra.
“Yes.” She sits back with the surety of a woman who is going to get her way. “I don’t matchmake much anymore. I’ve only got a handful of clientele. I’d like you to fill out my questionnaires.”
I shake my head. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I’m concentrating on my career.”
Which is on the rocks and needs all the attention it can get.
She waves that bit of information off. “It’s more than matching you with one person. I can tell you what you should look for in a partner. Think of it as one of those frameworks you were talking about. I can build a list of what you need in a partner, and you use it or don’t. It’s just something I do for fun.”
I seriously doubt that.
“You’re looking for an office.” Her eyes narrow, and there’s such ruthless intelligence behind them. I’m surprised at the turn. “How much space do you need?”
“I’m thinking an efficiency if I can find it. I need a couple of desks, space for me and Heath. We need white boards.” I’ve been thinking about this all day. “The truth is we can probably work at Heath’s and have the coders work remotely, but if we ever have to get the team together, we’ll be meeting at the library or something. Also, I’d really like to get to know the coders, but I don’t think Darnell is giving up his half of the living room.”
