Page 60 of Due Diligence

“Sounds good,” I said.

***

There was a shitty, overpriced rooftop gastropub right around the corner from the office. It was the kind where all the décor looked like rusted leftovers from a shipyard, even though the place was only a couple years old and there were no industrial ships for miles. Most of the beers were at least fifteen dollars, and all the food should have been fried—and yet none of it was.

When we got to the roof on the twelfth floor, Cassie took one look at the menu (which was naturally a single sheet of paper affixed to an entire clipboard) and shook her head. “Hell no,” she declared.

“Why not?”

“Let me guess,” she said, glancing at me. “The owner knows your name and you’ll definitely be able to finagle us a free spinach artichoke dip.”

“I mean, probably an edamame hummus, but I make no promises,” I deadpanned.

When Cassie smiled, I wondered if she really thought I was funny or if she was just smiling because that was what everyone did when I told a joke. “You know what? Fine. Show me what Marcus Fitz is like on a date.”

“Nope,” I reminded her as I guided her towards the bar area. “This isn’t a date. You’d never be so lucky.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Well, if it’s not a date, I’m buying the first round.”

“Like hell you are,” I said. “I have a standing tab here.”

“Astanding tab?” she confirmed. “Wow, that’s embarrassing.”

“Not as embarrassing as you pretending you ever had any intention of paying.” I tapped my hand on the wood surface of one of the free cocktail tables. “Hold down the fort.”

When I got to the bar a few yards away, I nodded at the bartender, who recognized me. Cassie was right. It was downright embarrassing that I had spent a small fortune onsaisonsand these vegan pot stickers I thought tasted like the bottom of an eggroll, but Alex loved them. Within a couple of seconds, I had a beer for each of us and I knew a waiter was going to show up out of nowhere with food I didn’t order.

When I got back to the table where I left Cassie, she was typing away on her phone as usual and grinning.

“Here you go,” I said as I placed the beer in front of her. Then I sat opposite her and waited for her to acknowledge my presence. When she finally looked at me, I was hit with this wave of recollection. I remembered the way that she looked at me right after she finished coming. It was that same look of satisfaction and mild surprise.

“This is asaison?” she asked as she tilted her head to the side to study the beer I bought her. “That’s my favorite.”

“Mine too.”

We clinked glasses and we each took a long sip. For a beat, I savored the fruity notes in the beer and the gentle tinge of the alcohol hitting me. I loved drinking—and in the healthiest way possible. I loved the way my arms started to feel lighter and the way the warmth kindled deep in my stomach. More importantly, I loved the way it killed my nerves around her. There was definitely something exciting about being around Cassie and feeling like the whole world was more electrifying and erratic, but I also so badly wished I could just be as suave as she was.

The alcohol helped.

“Good?” I asked.

“Amazing,” she confirmed. There was a small line of foam right on her lower lip. Boldly, I reached forward, pressed my thumb against it, and brought it over to my own mouth. When I sucked on the pad of my thumb, Cassie raised an eyebrow.

I didn’t acknowledge it, mostly because I knew she wanted me to. Instead, I nodded my chin at her phone. “Who are you always texting?”

She shook her head. “Nobody. And I’m not even trying to be coy. I’m really not texting anyone.”

“Oh,” I said, frowning lightly. “I just assumed—”

“I’m on Reddit. I like to read posts about horror films, and sometimes I leave comments.”

This revelation shook me more than any of the countless things I had learned about Cassie in the last few weeks.

Reddit was a website, largely a discussion community, with a reputation for being overrun by guys sitting alone in their homes and trolling each other. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Reddit was a treasure trove of knowledge. Back when Alex and I were trying to figure out how to run a business, we spent alot of time reading posts on the “Startups” subreddit (a place on the site where people just talked about startup companies).

Nowadays, I read Reddit most nights before I went to bed—even if I lied in interviews and said I read nonfiction business books, like Lilac said I had to.

“No shit,” I finally commented. “I do the exact same thing.”

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