Page 7 of Jalen & Colby

It’s a good way to sidestep my blunder, so I smile and nod, then ask them about their work instead. Jalen starts regaling us with anecdotes about his office job that he clearly doesn’t care about. But I notice that Colby has gone quiet, simply watching his best friend with a sad, wistful look in his eyes.

It pulls on all my heartstrings. I’m drawn to both of these young men, but there’s something about Colby that reminds me of a wounded bird. I just want to wrap him up warm and take care of him until he can fly on his own again.

“So what’syourjob,” Jalen asks with a flick of his eyebrows before taking a sip of his Champagne. We’ve finished our appetizers and are currently waiting for our mains to be brought out. “I bet it’s way more interesting than working in an office or a shop.”

I want to argue that there’s nothing wrong at all with either of those jobs. But it’s clear that they both hate what they do for work and are still struggling to make ends meet with what they earn. So I don’t insult them by trying to convince them that their lot isn’t so bad. Plenty of people in their twenties have stepping-stone jobs. I really hope that these two young men get the chance to pursue their dreams soon enough.

“Well, like I mentioned before, I’m a graphic designer,” I say, looking between the boys.

It makes my heart skip a beat to see them giving me their rapt attention. To them, I probably seem older and wiser, when in reality, I feel like at thirty-seven, I’m still fumbling through life just as much as I was doing ten years ago.

“Is that what brought you to Sydney?” Colby asks. It makes me so happy whenever he’s brave and speaks up. I don’t miss that Jalen beams at him proudly for asking the simple question.

“Yep,” I tell them, pausing a minute as our food arrives.

After I thank the waitress, I continue with the story. I kind of want to skip over it and save myself some embarrassment, but at the same time, I also want to ensure that when I tell these boys that dinner is on me, I really, truly mean it.

“I was lucky, though. My first job over fifteen years ago was as an intern at a large company back in London. They got the opportunity to design the logo for a social media group that was just starting out. Snippet.”

As usual, when I tell this to people, it only takes a second for realization to dawn on their faces. “Snippet?” Jalen repeats.

“The video app?” Colby splutters.

I nod and take a second to sip some creamy tom yum soup from my spoon, not wanting to let it get cold. “They had their top designers working on the pitch, but one of them was my mentor, and when I showed her something I’d worked on, she threw it into the pile for consideration without telling anyone who’d come up with it.”

“She wanted to claim your work as her own?” Jalen says with a frown, sitting up straight. I try and repress a grin at how adorable he is for getting defensive on my behalf a decade and a half after the fact.

“No,” I say with a shake of my head. “She didn’t want them to dismiss me because I was only an intern. She told them right away once the client selected my work as their favorite.”

Colby’s jaw drops open, a forkful of pad Thai hovering in front of his mouth.“Youdesigned the Snippet logo?”

“I think I was in the right place and the right time more than anything,” I start to deflect, but Jalen isn’t having any of it.

“Katy on a kite! That’s so cool! So…did you get a commission or whatever, or did your company take credit?”

Again, I shake my head. “Obviously, it did the company a lot of good, and they got paid handsomely, but yes, I got an individual bonus as well as earning royalties from the company so long as they use my design.”

Jalen looks at the Champagne and back to me. “So you really are rich, aren’t you?”

“Jay!” Colby yelps in horror, smacking his friend on the arm. Jalen just laughs, though.

“What, baby cakes? You were the one who was worried about Andreas spending money on us. I’m merely pointing out that he probably has a lot of it to spare.”

I chuckle at his bluntness. He’s not wrong. I tilt my head and give Colby a reassuring wink. “I do have a few quid knocking about. It’s nice to be able to spoil some new friends. Especially at Christmas—it’s the time of giving!”

Colby finally puts his fork down and bites his lip for a second. “That’s really nice of you, Andreas. Thank you.” He leans over and hisses into Jalen’s ear with a scowl. “That doesn’t mean we can be greedy, though.”

I can’t help but laugh and so does Jalen, but Colby doesn’t look hurt. In fact, his expression is mollified. “I pinky promise to behave myself,” Jalen says, holding up his little finger.

Colby rolls his eyes and links his own finger with him. “Let’s not go that far,” he mumbles, making me laugh again. “But if Andreas can really afford all this easily…well, I’m just going to say thank you for the fifteenth time.”

I grin as I reach over and squeeze his arm in a reassuring manner. “You’re very welcome, hun. And anyway, like I said, it’s all purely selfish. I just need some friends in real life to geek out with over Jurassic Galaxy.”

Jalen’s eyes go wide. “We haven’t even heard what your favorite episode is yet!”

Colby shakes his head. “I really want to know, but do you mind if I use the men’s room first?”

“Of course not,” I say sincerely. “I promise not to discuss anything interesting until you return.”

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