Chapter 21
Ian
The next day, I went out to lunch with Dylan at Dumont’s. We were meeting Ryker and Hunter there. My mind was on Ellie ever since we talked about her job offer. I needed to distract myself. Working hadn’t achieved that. Sleeping hadn’t either. Lunch with the guys was exactly what I needed.
I meant what I said to Ellie. I wanted her to make the best decision. But I was feeling restless.
Dumont’s was packed with the lunch crowd, but we found a table for four. We were going to wait for the other two guys to arrive before ordering.
"I want to talk to you about something," I told Dylan. This was a good time to talk about the coding platform I had in mind. At any rate, it might keep my mind off other things… like Ellie.
"Okay, shoot."
"I've been thinking about this for a while. I liked teaching when I was in college. You know I was the substitute for the SQL teacher for a while."
"Yeah, I remember. It was the butt of all jokes that a party guy was a teaching assistant, then everyone shut up once they heard about how good you were."
I nodded. "Anyway, I was thinking about making a platform where kids can learn how to code."
"You mean online lessons?" Dylan asked.
"Yes. They'd be prerecorded, and maybe I'll also have live Q&As. I've put some ideas together. But it would be a huge undertaking, so I'd wait until after the rollout phase of Project Z is over before starting it."
"I think it's going to be a big endeavor."
"Okay, it will. But this in no way means I will step down from my duties at Gallagher Solutions. I'm proud of the business we built. I might just have to split my focus for a while."
“Ian, we're in a position where we can decide what we want to do with our lives. It would be a pity not to do something you really want to do."
"I know many people warned you off about going into business with me."
"I never gave a fuck. You're my brother. I trust you more than any of those morons. Do your thing and tell me if you need anything."
"Thanks, man," I said. The wheels were already spinning in my mind. I already had the structure and bare bones of the platform.
Just then, Ryker and Hunter arrived. Hunter was Josie's husband, and we'd always been on good terms. I couldn't wait to run my idea by these guys because they were smart, and I’d like to listen to their input. Hunter owned a big real estate company, and Ryker was a Wall Street guru.
"What's everyone ordering?" Ryker asked.
"I'll just go with the daily special. I always get that for lunch.
" I never had the brainpower to focus on mundane things like what to order for lunch.
We all ended up ordering the daily special—some kind of rice and stir fry dish.
While we ate, I told them all about my ideas for the platform.
As expected, Ryker pitched in with ballpark numbers about the rate of customer acquisition and the lifetime value of a customer.
Hunter was talking about cost structures.
It was way too early to discuss details like this, but I committed all of it to memory anyway.
I was going to circle back later once I put my mind to this more seriously.
I couldn't wait to tell Ellie about all of this. I knew she was going to be proud of me. And just like that, she was front and center in my mind again. I lost track of the lunch conversation for a while.
"What's wrong with you, man?" Ryker asked. I looked up from my plate to find all of them looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You're talking like 50 percent less than usual," Hunter said.
"Right, I was just thinking about Ellie. She got a job offer here in New York."
"That's good, right?" Ryker asked.
"Josie said that she was on a rotational program," Hunter added.
"Yeah, but she's doing a great job here, so they offered her a job," I explained.
Ryker cocked a brow. “Is that good or bad news?”
“Good.”
"Then why do you look like someone pissed in your lunch?"
"Because I don't know if she wants to stay. She has this dream to open a restaurant and plans to work with as many chefs as possible in the meantime. She says it's the best way to learn. If she goes on with the rotation, she’d move to New Orleans in a couple of months."
"So you think she might still want to go to?" Ryker asked.
"It's possible." I swallowed hard.
“What do you mean, possible? What did you tell her when you discussed this?" Hunter asked, gulping down water.
"I told her that I want her to make the best decision for herself."
Dylan grimaced. Hunter shook his head.
Ryker just narrowed his eyes, pointing his finger at me. "I don't think that was a very good response, but I cannot explain why. It's just a gut feeling."
"Yeah, I agree," Dylan said. "Maybe Isabelle can put it in words that make sense."
"I haven't talked to Isabelle yet. Why would this be a bad way to react?" I looked at all three of them, trying to make sense of this.
"As I said," Ryker admitted, "gut feeling."
"I want her to stay here," I said. "Before she got the job offer, I even thought about talking to Rob and, I don't know, figure a way that Ellie could stay in New York and work at one of his restaurants or something."
Hunter clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Buddy, I'm sure this is a vital piece of information, and it will come in handy at some point. Make sure you work that in a conversation with her. I’d do it ASAP ."
"You guys are insane," I said.
"No, we just have more experience with women," Dylan said.
I cocked a brow. "I seriously doubt that."
Hunter shook his head. "Experience that matters."
I was tired of the guys giving me shit. "You have so much experience that you cannot even put into words why anything is a good or bad idea? Yeah, that's very helpful."
"Hey, we're just giving you our opinions," Dylan said.
“Okay, I’m not too proud to admit that I’m no good at this. I think we just confused him,” Ryker said.
“Right now, you’re annoying me,” I informed them.
“Should we call the girls? Josie could have some insights,” Hunter said.
“Or we could have an actual family council and call everyone.” Ryker spoke seriously, as if he thought that was an option. I looked around the table incredulously. The last thing I wanted was everyone pitching in with opinions.
“Or we could do none of the above,” I said.
Ryker opened his mouth, but I shook my head. “Drop it, seriously.”
Shaking his head, he grinned at me. “This one’s a bit pigheaded.”
“Nah, he’ll just call Isabelle when push comes to shove,” Dylan said. He was right, as usual.
I knew Henry could give me more insights, but we still weren't on the best of terms after his visit to New York. He didn't seem mad exactly, just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that pissed me off. I wanted to be part of Ellie's future. I wasn't sure what I'd do if she didn't want the same.