Page 41 of Wants and Needs
Doing so would mean acknowledging how nice it was, how in that moment I got a front row seat to how good a man Carter is.
I won’t acknowledge the attraction that I’ve only ever felt once before.
It’s way too intense.
That more than anything had me reaching for my earbuds once Dirk finally left us alone.
It hits me then, that I can’t not go to the Mayor’s Ball. And now that I know Dirk will be there, I can’t not go with Carter.
We’re going to have to pretend he’s my boyfriend and has been for two years.
“Sit, Liam.” London’s soft voice brings me back to thepresent. They’re all staring up at me with worried frowns. I sigh and pull out the chair.
“Pass me the lasagna?” I ask Larson.
“We gave Carter two big squares to take home,” he says as he does.
“We like him,” Logan says for some reason I can’t figure out right now.
Still . . .
“I like him too.”
I was goingcrazy at home, waiting for the time to come for me to leave so I’d be at MP on time. So ... I came early.
Okay, I’ve been here since eight in the morning, so four hours early.
Still, I found it instantly peaceful with the sweet scents mixed with the coffee, and I wandered over to the tables inside the fenced-off area that has been full of dogs the whole time.
I’m glad I brought my laptop so I could get some work done. The few adjustments still left to review before we can launch an alpha version of the app will take us a few weeks, but we’re getting through them easily enough.
I texted Carter last night once my siblings left my apartment. Just as I was about to go to sleep, actually, and he wrote back right away asking when I had time for us to meet.
I informed him I’d be busy all of Thursday and Friday because of the booking I’d just received earlier, and he asked meto meet him here at noon so we’d have today and the weekend to get ready for the ball.
He was more than accommodating, and so were his bosses when he informed them he’d need some time off today for a personal matter.
Though considering his bosses are his college best friend and the husband of his other college best friend—who I’m sure Carter considers a good friend as well—I imagine he did tell them the truth about why he’ll be busy today.
I need to ask, though, because I want him to know I trust him to tell whoever he feels needs to know.
In any case, I’ve been productive today, talking back and forth with Tristan about how high the chances are of actually getting Michelle Blackwell to become an investor.
He’s told me he thinks they’re high, and he also assured me he’ll be at the ball with his husband as well, so I’ll have some support besides Carter and my parents. Though Tristan offers a different kind of support for me.
My hope is to only need one investor since William and Parker, my two programmers, will also receive a small percentage of ESoothe once it launches, and like I told Carter, Harvard has a thirty percent ownership.
To be fair, I like Harvard.
I think they’re a great institution that, despite the cost and pedigree, strives toward education and seeking the truth in this world.
I don’t necessarily mind the fact that they own a part of my research, since it’s thanks to their belief in me that I managed tomake it in the first place, but I’m just always aware of the fact that this isn’t up for grabs.
I also want to protect ESoothe and my algorithm. I’ve maintained that I want to keep it as secret as possible so no one can use it for nefarious purposes. It could—in theory—be used to manipulate people’s emotional state to the point of physical pain. Not that I’ve told anyone that.
Like has been happening since I parked myself at this table hours ago, a dog comes over and distracts me—not that I was getting any work done, I’m well aware that I was lost in thought.
The cute little dachshund does his best to keep his legs perched on the table, but he keeps falling over, so I look around for his owner and see an older woman smiling at us, and she nods. I lean down and pick him up without taking off my earbuds.
