CHAPTER 4
“She still hasn’t responded,” Stella shared as she pulled a piece of sweet-and-sour chicken out of the red-and-white take-out box.
“Amber? I thought you two were on for tonight,” Jen replied and took a drink from her massive water bottle that she carried around the office from meeting to meeting, telling everyone that she was trying to stay hydrated.
She’d been doing that for the past two months, and it made her have to run to the bathroom after every single one of those meetings, but Stella admired her dedication to drinking enough water throughout the day.
Stella was convinced that her own veins were filled with coffee since birth because she’d grown up drinking it even as a kid and still drank three to four cups of the stuff a day.
She had water every so often, but despite the fact that Jen had bought her a massive water bottle just like hers but in a different color, she’d yet to even wash the thing to use it.
“We are. I meant Violet.”
Stella leaned forward and tapped her mouse to refresh her inbox for the fiftieth time that day.
“Violet? Oh, Vicky.”
“You have got to stop doing that,” she said and shook her head at her friend before she went back to her Chinese food lunch.
“Why? Not like it matters. I’ll never have to talk to her, so she never needs to know that I thought her name was Vicky Roberts forever before you told me that it was Violet Russell.”
“Russell, as in Russell Textiles, Russell Investment Corp, Russel Pharma-Tech, Russell, Maxwell, Locke, and Associates, Russell–”
“Yeah, I got it. Her family collects businesses like I used to collect Pokémon,” Jen interjected.
“Please, you still do that.”
“Only when I’m bored and my phone is charged,” Jen argued.
“They have everything under one umbrella. I looked it up last night. I think they own, like, fifty-plus subsidiaries or something. They’re in just about every industry.”
“Good for them. Why are we still talking about this not Vicky Roberts?”
“Because it could be a way for Cerebral to get a foot in the door at Russell. If I can get this language company that she owns, that isn’t under that umbrella for some reason, she can get me some introductions everywhere that is under that umbrella.”
“Now, I have Rihanna stuck in my head. Can we stop talking about umbrellas?”
“It could be a big deal, Jen.”
“Yeah, that’s great. Your date tonight could be a big deal, too. Amber said she really liked you.”
“It’s weird that you’re friends with the woman I’m going out with. Did she text you after our first date was over, or did you text her after me?”
“Neither. I texted her first because I knew you would make me wait and she’d answer me right away when it was over. She said you were hot. Personally, I don’t see it. I mean, you’re all right, I guess, but I’m too close to you to gauge that properly.”
“Gee, thanks,” Stella replied with a little laugh. “She said she wants to cook for me tonight. Isn’t it a little too soon for the cook-for-someone-else date? It’s only our second.”
“Is there a rule for that?”
“I don’t know. It feels like we should still be in that go-to-the-restaurant stage and maybe add a movie this time or something else, but going to her house and having her cook for me is like a whole step, I thought.”
“You said yes. Why did you do that if it’s too soon?”
“She offered, and I didn’t want to be rude. She sent me a long text with, like, a whole menu, asking if there was anything I don’t eat on it.”
“That’s thoughtful, Stella.”
“I know. It’s very sweet. It just feels a little soon.
Like, I’m going to her house. Do I bring a bag or, at least, my own toothbrush?
Is that too forward for a second date? What is a second date to her, exactly?
Is that the sex date? We haven’t even kissed yet, and I’ve never had sex on a second date. ”
“These all sound like excellent questions for the woman you’re actually dating,” Jen replied.
“We’re not dating. We’re just going on a date. That’s an important distinction.”
“Fine. Whatever works for you. Just don’t be an asshole because I don’t want to have to choose between you and her if this all goes south.”
“You’d actually choose Amber over me?” Stella asked. “Your best friend?”
“No, but it sounded more dramatic, saying it like that. I’ve got to go. Text me later and let me know how it went?”
“You’ve got to pee again, don’t you?”
“Yup.”
When Jen stood up and carried the food that she was still eating, as well as her giant water bottle, out of her office, Stella refreshed her inbox again, and seeing nothing from Violet but ten other new emails, she decided to get back to work while she finished her lunch.
◆◆◆
“How is it? And please be honest. If you like it, I want to make it again for you in the future, but if you hate it, I want to cross it off the list of meals to cook.”
Stella had only just taken the first bite of the chicken pasta dish that Amber had made for them, and while it wasn’t the best pasta in the world, it definitely wasn’t the worst. It just had a little too much red pepper in it for her taste, and she could see and feel the flakes in the sauce hit her tongue, which wiped out the creamy flavor from the sauce.
She didn’t know how to approach this, though, because the meal was fine.
She would want Amber to lay off the red pepper and maybe dial back on whatever that other seasoning was that she had added, but she could eat it again.
“It’s great,” she lied before she let out a little cough and reached for the wineglass, wishing there was also a water glass next to it, but Amber had only put out wine for them.
“You coughed. Is everything okay? Too much pepper?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
Stella coughed again and took another long gulp of her wine.
“Sorry, I like things with a little kick to them,” Amber shared. “I should’ve adjusted it for company, and then you could’ve added more.”
“It’s okay,” she replied and cleared her throat. “I’m just not a big fan of spice. I can handle it sometimes, but I don’t even have red pepper flakes at my place.”
“Really? Oh, I love them. I add them to my pizza. Red pepper and parmesan cheese all over the place.” Amber took a bite of the pasta, and once she was done chewing, she asked, “Can I make you something else?”
“Oh, no. It’s good. It’s just a little spicy for me, but I’m okay.”
“Need to pop a heartburn pill?” Amber asked with a little laugh. “We’re at that age now, aren’t we?”
“Sorry?” she asked.
“When the spicy food starts to get to us. I took one before you got here.”
“Oh, no. I should be fine.”
“I guess I am a little older than you, huh?” Amber said.
“I don’t think I asked because it didn’t matter, and some women consider it rude.”
“I’m forty-three,” Amber offered. “Forty-three and starting over yet again.”
“Yet again?”
“I was in a long relationship that started in college and ended when I was about twenty-eight. We were engaged when she broke up with me, so that was fun. We’d picked out the wedding invitations already.”
“Oh, wow. Sorry, Amber.”
Stella finished her glass of wine and decided that since she didn’t have anything else to drink, she’d have to pour herself another glass, so she did and topped Amber’s off as well while she was at it.
“It sucked, but right after that happened, maybe a few months later, I met the woman I would then marry about two years later. We were actually both out with some friends, trying to wallow and get over a heartbreak, if you can believe it.”
“Yeah?” Stella asked as her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket.
She ignored it so as not to be rude, but in her mind, she wondered if it was Jen checking in, which was unlikely since she’d know the date would still be ongoing, or if it might be Violet Russell replying to her email, which had her more interested in checking the notification.
“My wife and I divorced about two years ago. We separated before that, but it became official two years ago, and I decided to take some time to get to know myself a little first and not date this time since I didn’t do that the previous time.
I met Jen when I’d decided to put myself back out there, and that didn’t work, obviously, but she’s a good friend.
Then, I met my ex-girlfriend, if I can even call her that.
It didn’t last long, and now, I’m here with you, learning that you don’t like spicy food. ”
“It really is good, Amber. I’d tell you if it wasn’t. Maybe just no red pepper for me next time, and I’ll be all good.”
“Next time?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Stella said, trying to be non-committal because she really didn’t know if there would be a next time.
Part of her was interested, but she was pretty sure that the part of her that was thinking about going out with Amber again was actually her libido, which was overriding everything else.
It didn’t help that she hadn’t finished her lunch earlier, was also only taking small bites of her spicy dinner, and had had already downed one whole glass of wine before starting in on another.
She’d always been a lightweight, so she’d have to be careful.
“You can get that, you know?” Amber said when Stella’s phone buzzed again. “I won’t be offended.”
“Shit. Sorry, I should’ve put it on silent. We’re working on getting a big account right now, and I’m never really off work, you know?”
“What’s the big account?”
“It’s a website hosting service. They’re interested in integrating with our tool, and they have a massive market share, so if we get this right, we can meet our quarterly sales goal with this one account.”
“And you’re always on call? Is that how it works in tech? Academia is a little different.”
“Sort of, yes. It depends on the position and the company, but I have a director working on this one, and he knows to reach out to get approval for things, so… Do you mind? I’m so sorry.”
“No, go ahead.”
Stella pulled out her phone and checked her email. Nothing from her director or from Violet, whom, she realized, she was still thinking about. Stella shook her head at herself.
“Nothing yet, I take it?” Amber asked.
“No. I’m also expecting an email from someone about a possible lead, so I was hoping it was one or the other. It’s just automated emails, though.” She slipped her phone back into her pocket. “It’s kind of funny, actually. There’s a story there if you want to hear it.”
“Sure,” Amber replied.
Stella took another sip of her wine because of thirst and proceeded, “When I was in college, I did a semester abroad in Amsterdam.”
“I’ve never been,” Amber shared.
“Great city. I really liked it. But there was this bitch of a girl named Violet in my program. She was one of those superrich kids who didn’t need to take a spot, but she did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I found out when I got there who the scholarship kids were, meaning the ones who couldn’t afford the program on their own, and she was one of them.
She did not need a scholarship. We all formed this little scholarship group, and someone in it told me she’d gotten one, but Violet did not join the group because, of course, she didn’t. ”
“Scholarships aren’t only given out to students in need of financial support,” Amber told her.
“Sorry?”
Stella hadn’t heard her because she was too busy letting the wine go to her head before she took another drink of the stuff.
“Scholarships can be awarded for a variety of reasons. Some are because a student is of a certain ethnicity and they applied. Some are because they wrote the best essay. Others are because of overall academic performance. It’s not always because of the money.”
“Yeah, but either way, Violet shouldn’t have taken the scholarship from someone who could have used that money and that spot.”
“Maybe not, but it can also be tricky. What if she won the spot because of her academic performance? Should she be penalized because she has money?”
Stella thought about that as she took another small bite from her pasta and replied, “She could’ve taken the spot but given the money to someone else.”
“Do you know that she didn’t do that?” Amber asked.
“No. She didn’t join our group or even talk to me, really, unless she was being a pain in the ass in one of the classes we shared.”
Stella finished her second glass of wine, and before she could tell Amber not to, Amber had refilled her glass.
“Well, I don’t know the situation, obviously…” Amber replied and then added, “So, I made dessert, and I promise, there’s no red pepper in that.” She chuckled. “Would you like to maybe not finish your pasta and just eat that instead?”
An hour later, Stella had nearly finished a bottle of wine on her own, and that was very much not like her. She’d have to unpack why she had felt the need to get tipsy on her second date with Amber later, but in the meantime, she’d decided to blame Violet and take an Uber home.
“Sorry. I promise, I don’t usually drink this much.”
“It’s my fault,” Amber said. “I meant to put water out on the table, but I got distracted when you arrived early.”
“Jen has been on my ass about not being late.”
Amber laughed a little and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay taking a car home? You can stay the night. I have a guest room.”
“No, I’m fine,” Stella replied. “I didn’t drive here anyway, so I don’t have to leave my car.”
“You didn’t drive?”
“No, not a big fan. I drive when I have to, obviously, but I take public transportation when I can. I took an Uber here because there’s no train or bus stop nearby.”
“I think the HOA would lobby against one of those popping up in their neighborhood. They’re the worst.”
“I should go. It’s pulling up now,” Stella said when she checked the app and noticed that her car was one minute away.
“Okay. Well, text me when you get home so that I know you’re all right.”
“I will. Thank you for dinner and a great evening. Sorry, I drank too much and rambled on about some girl who annoyed the shit out of me in college.”
“No problem,” Amber said and pulled open the front door. “Get home safe, Stella.”
“I will. Have a good night, Amber.”
Stella walked outside just as the car pulled up, and it had not dawned on her until she got home that they still hadn’t even kissed, which wasn’t a requirement by the second date, but it felt a little weird.
Shouldn’t she want to kiss Amber? Well, her libido certainly did, but Stella wasn’t sure yet if the rest of her did.
She also felt bad because their night had felt stilted, and that hadn’t been Amber’s fault.
It had been hers. After sending Amber that text she had promised her, Stella flopped down on her sofa, really feeling that bottle of wine now, and knew she needed to get up and grab a giant glass of water to help prevent a hangover.
Instead of doing the smart thing, though, she pulled out her phone and did a ridiculous thing.
She typed and then hit send on an email.