Page 13 of Rewrite the Rules

“Joel Lewis, sit down right now,” she hisses. “I’m a regular here so don’t you dare cause a scene or offend the chef. Wiping peanut crumbs off my noodles is a small price to pay to have the privilege of a little Thai grandma preparing the delectable authentic cuisine of her homeland for me. If she insists on the peanut garnish—just let it be.”

I resettle in my seat with my eyes still glued on Adler’s deep blues. Apparently, it’s all fun and games until you mess with her favorite noodle place. I’ve never seen her look so dangerous before.

“Yaai,” I say.

“What?”

“Yaaiis the Thai word for grandmother. For your mother’s mother. Your father’s mother would beyaa.”

“I didn’t realize you were bilingual.”

“I’m trilingual, but I don’t speak Thai. My little sister does. She’s living abroad, helping to teach English to elementary-aged children who don’t have the means to access education.”

“She’s an English major?”

“Yes.”

Adler points to her chest. “Me too!”

“How do you go from English major to working as an executive assistant?”

“Oh, that’s an easy one. It’s called rent and utilities. But tell me more about your sister. Didn’t you mention she calls you from Thailand every week? Isn’t that phone bill astronomical?”

“It’s worth it. I’m really proud of her. It’s not easy to live where she is—she’s basically living as one with the earth, free of amenities. But she’s still enthusiastic. When we talk it’s a Thailand infodump for an entire hour,” I say, tapping my temple. “It’s a beautiful country. I have this picture of Sunset Beach at Koh Lipe that she sent me.” I pull out my phone and open a recent email from Cami. I scroll to the picture of the golden yellow and orange sky that appears to touch the water. I slide my phone to Adler. “Tell me that’s not the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen.”

She scans the picture and her eyebrows arch in surprise.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing…it’s beautiful.” She slides my phone back across the table. “Well, Mr. Lewis, I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“Impressed?”

“You can appreciate a pretty sunset. And you talk to your little sister weekly? Pretty charming. Do I need to worry that your lucky girlfriend is going to misinterpret this late working lunch and go all apeshit bananas on me?”

“You consider this working?”

“Well, we’re not drunk so—yeah. I’d still expense it to Aura.” Adler winks.

“Don’t tell your new boss that.”

“I thought my new boss was cool.”

I harsh a laugh. “By the way, you’re safe from the apes. I don’t have a girlfriend.” And I doubt my ex would consider herself lucky. “I could not be less interested in women right now.”

Adler’s mouth makes a perfect ‘o’. She makes a clicking sound with her jaw as she nods at me. “Oh, I got ya. Totally understood.”

“What’s understood?”

“No judgment here! Actually, my ex-boyfriend all through college didn’t realize he liked men until well after we graduated. But in my defense, he dated another girl after me, so I choose not to believe that I had anything to do with his major change of heart.”

I pinch my eyes in irritation when I realize what she’s insinuating.

“Okay, that’s…a lot to unpack. Let’s start with how you date a guy for years and not realize he’s gay?”

“It’s complicated.”

“How so? Seems pretty clear to me that wouldn’t uh…work.” I prod her for clarity as I take another bite of my crispy but also fluffy fried rice. Michelin-star worthy, indeed.

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