AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, it appears that your friend might not have followed your rules.” Benjamin picks up the menu. “You should discuss it with him. We need to figure out if we can get in front of Huffman before that article comes out. Even if it means flying Ivy to wherever he is.”
“I doubt it will come to that. This is going to be all right. Nick is being an asshole. I’m filing the patents on Heath’s process in the next couple of days. I assure you he doesn’t have anything close.” I try to let the words bolster my confidence. Nick is trying to make quick money. It won’t come to anything, and it certainly shouldn’t scare anyone off.
“Ivy’s right. We should move forward with the project.” CeCe nods my way like I’m a toddler who’s done something new and fabulous. “But it might be good to see if we can get Lydia a bit more involved. Maybe we can get our own press. I’ll reach out to some of my contacts. This could be interesting. We frame it as an East Coast/West Coast fight. You know we always win those.”
We don’t, but I’m going to ride CeCe’s certainty for as long as I can because anxiety is bubbling in my veins.
I pray that article doesn’t ruin everything. I settle down as the server brings the first course, but I’ve lost my appetite.
Chapter Twenty-One
Two hours later I make my way into Lydia’s apartment. Ria had been the one to bring Buttercup down and return her to CeCe’s loving arms. CeCe had told me not to worry and then Thomas had taken off like a bat out of hell.
I’m back in my world, and worry is pretty much all I have.
“You should know there’s an experiment going on upstairs.” Ria pushes the button to take us to the right floor.
“Experiment?”
“Ye Joon thinks he’s got the restaurant app working. He wants us all to test it and Lydia said she wasn’t feeling up to cooking this afternoon, so he asked her to let Wendy choose for her.”
“Wendy?” This is new to me. Because of all the paperwork I’ve done, I haven’t really seen most of the progress being made. It makes me realize how much I miss sitting in front of a computer trying to figure out how to make things work. I’ve spent all my time on administrative things, and it’s got me anxious.
She shrugs. “He’s from Ohio. Apparently they have a lot of Wendy’s there. Heath let him name her. We had to talk him out of Popeye. He likes his fast food. Anyway, Lydia agreed to let Wendy select lunch for us. Ye Joon wants to test the group feature. It not only picks an overall restaurant, it cuts the selection down to three or four items to match the individual diner’s taste profile.”
“That sounds fun.” I had eaten very little of the truffled gnocchi CeCe had pushed me to order. I’d sat there and listened to her and Benjamin go over all the scenarios on how this project could crash and fail.
And the whole time I’d been wondering who had talked. There’s not a chance in hell Nick came up with this on his own. There’s no coincidence here.
“So it took all of our data, and our lunch was delivered a few moments ago by Star India.” Ria grins. “I’m pretty sure she blames me. Lydia went a little pale. I think she’s worried her mouth is going to explode, but she’s going with it. How do you live in New York all your life and never eat Indian?”
“You live in an Italian community known for their food,” I point out as the doors open.
I hate the fact that I’m wondering if Ria might be the one who talked about the project. I hate that I’m going to have to ask the question. I hate that I’m going to wonder if someone on our team hasn’t been giving Nick information and maybe more.
“Well, Wendy was so easy on her. Chicken tikka and butter chicken were her only options. Our AI understands gateway foods.” Ria is beyond cheerful as we make it to Lydia’s door. “And when Heath tried to order too little naan, Wendy pointed out Ye Joon is a carb addict.”
“What did it order for you?” Despite my worry, I’m happy the app is working.
“Fish curry. It’s absolutely what I order from there,” she responds. “I know there are going to be people who enjoy spending half the night trying to figure out where to eat, but I’m all in on Wendy. I think she’s a game changer.”
I’m glad because Emma might be dead on arrival. We might still be able to salvage something.
My head hurts, and an ache is starting to go along with my anxious gut. I follow her inside and Heath is there looking stupidly cute and huggable, and I realize how much I’ve started to count on his affection as comfort.
