Page 1 of The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos

CHAPTER ONE

The airport is like Evan Saatchi’s second home. He’s used to the routine of waiting to check in, zipping through security checkpoints due to his Global Entry status, calculating how long it will take to walk from one end of the terminal to the other to plan the perfect route down to the second. Airports, no matter where you go, are mostly the same. The same kinds of food options, mostly sandwiches that are quick to make and easy to carry or eat while standing in lines; the same coffee chains, with the paper to-go cups and wooden stirrers and packets of sugar; the same bookstores, with the best sellers and magazines and gadgets for reading on long flights. He has the flight attendants’ entire safety speech memorized, knows all the sounds airplanes make, what actual bad turbulence feels like, the best angle to sleep at so as not to get a leg cramp, and the quickest route from the airport to the office that avoids Bay Area traffic. Efficiency at its finest.

This kind of efficiency has helped him chart his career, land his dream job writing and traveling for a living, and buy his own condo. It hasn’t let him down so far. And today is the day he’ll know if he’ll become a senior editor, his ultimate dream job.

The moment he pushes through the revolving doors to his office building, Evan spots a shock of red hair through thecrowded lobby. Riggs is waiting for him, as usual, so they can go up to the office together—a perk of working at the same company as one of his best friends.

Carrying a tray of coffee in one hand and rolling his suitcase in the other, Evan asks, “Did Tallulah give you any grief ?”

William Riggins—Riggs—looks up from his phone and grins. He always reminds Evan of a ginger cat, same coloring and temperament. “Tallulah? Total nightmare. Demanding as ever, running around in circles looking for you, bit me in the ass.”

“You probably deserved it.”

Riggs accepts a coffee from Evan’s tray and laughs. “Okay, I made that last one up. But she missed you.”

Tallulah, Evan’s elderly dachshund, prefers to lounge on the couch all day, lying on her own pillow like a proper hot dog, and falling asleep to eight-hour-long videos on YouTube called “TV for Dogs.” She’s everything Evan could have hoped for when he rescued her. Somehow sleeping in a four-star hotel without her curled at his feet makes him homesick.

“Thanks for looking after her,” says Evan. “I owe you.” His usual dog-sitter hadn’t been available.

For the past three days, he’s been in Paris, hardly his longest business trip for boots-on-the-ground research for Overnight, but it feels longer, especially after traveling for the past fourteen hours. While it’s the fastest-growing travel app according toForbes, Overnight doesn’t have the budget to send editors like Evan, junior ones at that, abroad any longer than necessary. Sure, being so tall Evan has a hard time sitting comfortably in such small spaces for prolonged periods and resents dealing with people hogging all of the overhead bins,and before he finally got pre-check, he’s had his fair share of annoyances from the TSA, what with having a Persian last name, but he can’t complain about the perks of the job. Getting paid to travel makes it all worth it, even if getting to and from the airport is an odyssey all on its own.

Riggs checks the time on his phone. “You just barely made it. Bettie break down again?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, but I managed to push her into a parking spot, so it doesn’t count.” Bettie is Evan’s car—a Honda Civic that’s old enough to buy beer without getting carded by the bartender. Some might call her a piece of shit, others might call her a road hazard, even more might call her a piece-of-shit-road-hazard. Her red paint flakes off like rose petals in the wind, she’s constantly coughing like she’s got black lung, and she still smells like cigarettes from the previous owner no matter how many times Evan cleans the upholstery. Everyone told him not to buy her, but he didn’t listen. She’s his first car paid for with his first paycheck from Overnight, and that matters to him.

“Can’t believe you came in to work today,” Riggs says as they file into the elevator with the other nine-to-fivers. “If I were you, I’d be home right now.”

“And miss the all-hands-on-deck meeting? Not a chance. I have to know if I got the job or not,” Evan says as he takes a sip of his Americano and winces. Paris has ruined American coffee for him. Not to mention wine.

“Naomi wouldn’t tell you in private first?” Riggs asks.

“She said she’d make the announcement at the end of the week.” Evan gestures around them, as if proving a point. “It’s the end of the week.”

He’s been eyeing the senior editor position ever since Naomi, their boss, talked about starting an Urban Asia division to reach a larger audience. As soon as the listing was posted, he applied. Becoming a senior editor would be a big promotion, with all the perks of his current job, including an all-expenses, multicountry tour through Asia, a part of the world he’s always wanted to visit.

Currently, Evan and Riggs make up half of the European editorial team for Overnight, writing guides about hidden gems and the best deals for tourists in all the perennially popular and coolest up-and-coming cities across the continent. They spend hours compiling data and working with locals to determine the best experience for users. Some of the most beautiful cities in the world now feel like a part of him. He practically has a map of the best coffee shops in Europe imprinted in his soul. But he’s ready to see more.

Objectively, he knows the new job would be a reach. He’s never even been to Asia. But he’s always dreamed of going, and Naomi knows he’s a fast learner. Plus, visiting Tokyo on Overnight’s dime? He’d be crazy not to apply, at least to see what happens.

As the elevator rises, Evan slides his travel bag between his legs and unzips his bomber jacket with one hand while checking his reflection in the shiny walls of the elevator, making sure his dark curls aren’t sticking up every which way from the blustery San Francisco winds and staticky airplane pillows. He can’t come in looking like he rolled off the tarmac, even if that’s exactly what he did.

When the elevator doorsdingopen, the two of them make their way into the bullpen, finding the office mostly empty,with everyone already gathered in the conference room. “The meeting could be about layoffs,” Riggs says, scanning the empty desks.

“It’s not layoffs.” Evan taps Riggs on the chest with the back of his hand. “That doesn’t make sense. We’re expanding.” While Evan is generally the more cynical of the two, he’s not the type to catastrophize. “I think you’ve had too much caffeine this morning.”

Riggs inspects his coffee cup and twists his jaw in consideration. “Yeah. Probably.”

The conference room is already packed by the time Riggs and Evan slip through the door. The chatter is light and conversational, not the type you’d expect ahead of an announcement that a quarter of the company had been “impacted.” Evan and Riggs stand together at the back of the room, finishing their coffee, as some of the higher-ups chat with one another in front of a large projector screen with Overnight’s logo as the screen saver.

Riggs leans in and murmurs. “Fine. If it’s not layoffs, wanna bet we’ve been bought out?”

Evan quirks an eyebrow. “Doubt it.”

“Twenty bucks.” He flashes Evan a bill folded between his fingers.

“If it is layoffs—which it’s not—you’re gonna need those twenty bucks.”

“Being proven right will make it all worth it.”

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