Page 15 of The Big Race
“It’s aspirational,” he said, flashing a grin. “Besides, your button-down screams IRS audit.”
“Professionalism isn’t a crime.”
“And charm is an asset,” he shot back, settling next to me on the couch with theatrical ease. “Let me know when I should turn it on.”
“Please don’t turn anything on.”
The Zoom link popped up in my inbox at 10:58. I clicked it and prayed my audio wouldn’t cut out.
A chipper young associate named Zoe introduced herself, followed by Miranda, now revealed as a poised woman with cat-eye glasses and a background that looked suspiciously like an L.A. production office.
“Thanks for joining us, Jeffrey and Ray,” she said. “We loved your video—your son is incredibly talented.”
“We keep telling him he could go pro,” Ray said, flashing his dimples like he was already on camera.
“He’s a good egg,” I said, then immediately wondered if I sounded eighty.
Zoe grinned. “We just have a few follow-up questions, nothing too scary.”
“Unless you ask us to eat bugs,” I joked, trying to seem relaxed.
“Don’t tempt us,” Miranda said with a wry smile.
Ray leaned toward the webcam. “We’re ready for anything.”
Miranda raised an eyebrow. “Let’s test that. How would you describe your communication style under pressure?”
“Evolving,” I said carefully.
“Explosive,” Ray said at the same time.
We looked at each other.
“See?” I added. “Still evolving.”
They both laughed.
“What’s something your partner does that drives you up the wall?” Zoe asked.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Ray said. “Jeffrey narrates everything he’s doing when he’s stressed. ‘I’m just going to move this file to the shared folder, even though Ray didn’t label it correctly.’”
“Because you never label it correctly!” I snapped.
“Which is why I leave it to you,” he said, smug as a cat.
I forced a smile for the camera. “Ray, on the other hand, leaves wet towels on the bed. Constantly. For twenty-five years.”
“Can’t confirm that’s true,” he said. “I dry off in the bathroom now.”
“One time does not make a trend.”
Zoe was scribbling furiously. Miranda nodded like she’d just spotted a prime conflict arc.
“Let’s shift gears,” Miranda said. “Tell us about a time you overcame a major challenge together.”
Ray and I hesitated. I glanced at him. This was the moment, the real test of what story we were choosing to tell.
“We became parents overnight,” I said. “My cousin and his wife died unexpectedly. Their son was five. We weren’t prepared, but we said yes anyway.”
