Chapter 16
Gabriel: #FeelingMoreThanNothing
T he retreat goes decently well. I don’t make any dent in the strategy, but I make some supposedly excellent suggestions and ask the right questions, at least right enough to see myself rising in my colleagues’ estimation.
The one thing that is very apparent to me is that the company wants to continue doing what they’ve always done—open chic stores in the chic areas of the city. While I agree with that, I feel that the stark absence of any digital media is alarming. Somehow, the Paris team doesn’t feel that.
So, the way I see it, I have my task cut out in front of me. Before the Board of Directors takes the final decisions for the future of the US team two weeks from now, I need to build a case for the importance of having a strong online presence without diluting the brand and what it stands for.
Once I’m back from the retreat, the week flies by as my entire time goes into the new office—meeting the people, understanding the business, its history, and the financials. Thankfully, the US team is new, young, and unencumbered by the old thought processes of the French team, and therefore more open to my ideas and brainstorming about them.
As the weekend approaches, I’m pleasantly surprised to realize that I like this work. In fact, I think I can make some impact here.
The downside, or maybe it’s an upside, of all this has been that I’ve barely had any time with Nora. I can’t tell you how relieved I was that Clark never made it to her bed. What’s even better is that whatever happened on their date, it’s not leading to the next one. So, at least that man is out of her mind, and therefore my mind.
But I don’t know what to make out of the fact that she seems to have no memory of that night—of our kiss. Does that mean the kiss meant nothing to her?
I, on the other hand, can’t get it out of my head. Every time I see her, I want to do it again. So, I’ve been doing what any sane man in my place would do. Avoiding her.
The only time we spend together is the drive to her office, which is quite a short one, and we either talk about work or she’s busy scrolling through her phone and commenting and posting stuff on her social media. She’s been living up to her end of the bargain, to keep up the lie she told Mom. Every day, she posts our photos on her Instagram to make ‘our’ story more believable before the weekend dinner. Since we used to hang out a lot earlier, too, I don’t think it’s sparking any change in belief in anyone.
She’s been posting on my behalf too, a mix of personal and professional posts while teaching me how to be better at this. I’ll need the understanding to convince the Board. I’m amazed to see how fast my followers are growing each day! Of course, the main reason was a viral reel I’d made with French and American cliches to announce our new office in Boston.
I have a scheduled meet-up with Alex today about MooreGames’ financials. Maybe he can help me with this, too. I mean, he has experience of losing a person and getting her back. Doesn’t get more messed up than that.
I meet him at his office. It’s a tiny place he’s rented where he holds meetings and stuff. Most of his work, he does at client sites or his home, but this is his place if he ever needs it.
We discuss the MooreGames financials. The investor, Gerard Dumas, has restarted the funding discussions. Alex has been through most of the past financials by now.
“Frankly, I didn’t expect the books to be so clean and well organized, Gabriel. I’m not having any trouble at all.”
“Thanks.”
“If you ask me, this Dumas fellow is making a mistake. I’ve seen the books of so many startups and they are a mess. A mess! And that’s putting it mildly. MooreGames is a breeze in comparison. It’s as well-organized as any large company. You’ve done some good work and I’m sure you’ll easily be able to handle the finances of your entire family business if that’s the way you think and work. I’m genuinely impressed and I don’t say that lightly,” he says, turning his computer screen away once we’ve finished the work discussion.
“Ah, let’s see how that goes. I have some ideas for the business that I’ve been thinking about. But that’s not what I wanted to discuss with you when I said there was something else, too.”
“Oh. Okay. Then what is it?” Alex asks, lowering the screen of his laptop and leaning forward on the table.
Well, maybe this was a mistake. Thinking I could talk to him. But what do I do? I need to talk it out and till now I’ve always talked about such things with Nora. But this is about her. I let out a sigh with my gaze focused on the table instead of Alex.
“It’s about Nora.”
“No. No. Don’t tell me you want to poach her. I won’t allow that man, and neither will Ryan.”
“What? No. Not work-related. It’s personal.”
“Ah. Go on. You guys have a fight or something? You have a new girlfriend and you want me to help find a place for her to stay so you can easily take your girlfriend home? She can stay with Lily and me if she’s okay with it. We have a spare room.”
“Will you just listen, man?”
“Hey, sorry bro. Go on.”
“We kissed.”
He lets out a low whistle and leans back in his chair, his hands interlocked behind his head.
I wait for him to react more but he doesn’t. “ Now you don’t have anything to say?”
“You told me to listen. So I thought you have something more to say than two words.”
He closes his eyes to process the information. I know he’ll take his time to answer. That’s what he does, analyzes, assesses, and examines a situation before giving his views. And that’s why I trust his judgment.
Finally, he looks at me. “I’m assuming it was not a kiss on the forehead or the cheek or you wouldn’t be talking about it. So, the important thing is….” He leans forward again and locks his gaze with mine. “What does Nora think about it?”
“She doesn’t remember.”
“What? Did you kiss her in her sleep or what, man? How’s that even possible? How does one not remember kissing a friend?”
“She was drunk, so was I, though not as much as her. We were dancing and suddenly we started kissing. Nothing else happened, and I took her home. The next morning, she didn’t remember a thing.”
“Wow. That’s interesting.” He pauses again for a few moments. “So from your perspective, was it a one-off thing and you feel guilty about it and don’t know whether you should tell her what happened? Or was it an I-want-to-do-it-again kiss and you don’t know how to talk to her about it?”
“I don’t know, Alex. Seriously. I mean, y’know how I am with relationships, right? And Nora, well, she’s more important to me than any other person. And I can’t mess that up. I can’t lose her friendship. But…” A sigh escapes my lips. “I can’t get that kiss out of my head. Maybe it was the effect of alcohol, but I felt more alive in that kiss than I’ve ever felt in my life. More happy and complete.”
He continues staring at me. Even though I’ve averted my gaze, I can feel his eyes boring into my head, but he doesn’t say anything.
I raise my eyes a little. “I don’t know, man. What’s worse is that she’s told Mom she’s dating me.”
Alex’s eyes open wide. “What kind of melodrama have you going on in your life? Why did she do that?”
“Mom wants me to marry this girl from France, some daughter of a rich business family. To help me avoid that, Nora, in a sudden spurt of enthusiasm, told her we’re dating. Now we have to go home for dinner and pretend we’re a couple. And I don’t know what Nora is thinking or feeling. Maybe nothing. But I’m definitely feeling a lot more than nothing.”
“Dude, you’ve got yourself into some hot mess,” Alex says, then bursts into chuckles. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. This is insane. But,” he says, getting serious again. “This is also an opportunity. While you’re doing this fake dating drama thing, it’ll give you a sense of what she feels and what it’ll be like if you’re together. It’s actually perfect. Go along with it and see where it leads. But next time you kiss her, make sure it’s good enough that she remembers it.” He chuckles again.
I push my chair back and stand up. “Stop it, man. I’m a great kisser. She was drunk, otherwise I’m sure she would’ve remembered it.”
“Yeah yeah, if you say so.”
“I can kiss you now and show you how good I am. Stop making fun, dude.”
He pretends to zip his lips as I leave his office. But what he said makes sense. We should get more serious about this fake dating game and see how we are together. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll know. If it does, well, I’ll be the luckiest man alive.