Page 7 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“Assistant?” Now Mia laughed, even as she shook her head. “It’s hilarious that you think I have an assistant. No way.”
Evan winced internally at his misstep. “Well, either way, that’s a great story. You’ll be telling that at cocktail parties for years.”
“I definitely won’t. I’m so embarrassed.” Mia looked down, her blush returning. “You must think I’m a total idiot.”
“Not at all. Although I do wonder how you missed the signs.” He tilted his head toward the large, cursive-lettered signs announcing thePark-Saint Claire Wedding.Mia took her hand off Evan’s shoulder to whack herself playfully on the forehead.
“Okay, now Ireallyfeel like an idiot. I promise, I don’t do things like this very often.”
“Really? You aren’t in the habit of accidentally crashing weddings?” Evan was grinning. He spun her around and dipped her back.
“No. I promise.” She came back up from the dip smiling. “This is the first — and hopefully last — time.”
“So, what do you usually do?”
“I’m a high school math teacher at a school in San Jose.”
“Really, math? That was my favorite subject in school.”
Mia’s eyes lit up as though he’d just told her that she’d won a million dollars and a crateload of puppies in the lottery. “I know, right? Math is so underappreciated, but it’s the best subject. Each equation is like a little puzzle, just waiting to be solved, and as long as you have the tools, you can figure anything out.” She caught his eye. “Oh, no. Now you think I’m an idiotanda nerd.”
“Not at all. Maybe it’ll help if I tell you that I run a tech company. I’m a nerd, too.”
“What company?”
The song ended, and they stepped apart. “It’s called Reign,” Evan explained. He looked around at their fellow dancers, who were either filtering off the floor or pairing up for a second dance. “Can I interest you in some champagne?”
“I have to drive back to San Jose tonight,” Mia said regretfully. “But maybe some sparkling apple cider.”
“Sure thing.” They left the dance floor and got drinks — sparkling apple cider for both of them. Evan had work to do later, so he’d stay clear-headed too.
“So, Reign.” Mia paused, her eyebrows lowering in thought as she sipped her cider. “I’ve heard of it. It’s a company that makes project-management and HR software, right?”
“Right. Not the most exciting stuff.”
“But it is! It’s great. I remember reading an article about how Reign’s task distribution system, CollApp, optimized efficiency in small and large companies by reducing the need for long meetings and check-ins. I remember it was called, ‘The future of agile’ or something like that.”
Evan grinned. “CollApp was one of our bigger successes.”
“What did you say you do there, again?”
“I’m the CEO and founder, actually.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s amazing.”
“Your work sounds pretty cool, too. I could never teach high schoolers.” Evan shook his head. “Me and kids are like oil and water.”
“Well, calling them ‘kids’ would certainly be a bad start if you were to work at a high school.” She shook her head. “But you have to tell me more about your work. What was your inspiration for starting an HR and project-management company?”
“I did a college internship at one of the big tech companies, and I realized that hours were lost every day in meetings — one-on-ones with supervisors, stand-ups with the team, all-hands with the entire company — sometimes, almost half of my day would be meetings, and I was just anintern. And most of the time, people were only checking in on which tasks were completed and who was struggling with what. I figured there must be a better way. That’s what led me to think of Reign.” Evan could usually have talked about Reign all day, but he didn’t want to monopolize the conversation. “How did you get started with teaching in high school? Especially math?”
“I got the idea when I was in high school myself, actually. I volunteered at a student-run tutoring center at my high school, and I saw how much people struggled with and hated math — even though I loved it. I decided I wanted to become a teacher so that I could help people fall in love with my favorite subject.” She shrugged, smiling.
Evan was impressed, not only by the profession that she’d chosen, but by how she talked about it. Mia was clearly passionate not only about math but about her students, too. Evan could never imagine doing her job. Teaching was difficult, especially teaching math, and he admired that she loved it so much.
“That’s awesome.” Evan flagged down a passing waiter, and they each took a canapé. “Teaching is one of the most important professions.”
“Thanks. I mean, I love it, but it isn’t as exciting as being a CEO, I’m sure.”
