17. Lucy
LUCY
L ucy lay sprawled across Elliot’s couch, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and one leg slung over Elliot’s legs. They were watching an action movie that Elliot liked, though neither of them was paying much attention.
“I think we need to focus more on relationships with existing partners and clients,” Lucy said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. “We need to reassure them that, despite the new management, nothing has changed.”
“Existing relationships are important,” Elliot said. “But without new clients and the growth that goes with them, it will look like we’re standing still. And no business wants to stand still.”
“That’s a good point.” Lucy chewed her lip thoughtfully.
“What if we attract additional business from existing clients? We could reach out to, for instance, the glamping outfit in the Arizona desert to see if we can bring more of their services, like river rafting and canyoneering, on board. Originally, they only wanted to allow accommodations to be booked through the app because they wanted to suggest additional services themselves, but maybe we can convince them otherwise now.”
“That’s genius.” Elliot kissed Lucy’s cheek. “I’m lucky to have such a talented co-CEO.”
Lucy grinned. “The pleasure is all mine.”
“No, really. I know you haven’t had a management role like this before, but you’ve really taken to leadership like a duck to water. I’m impressed.”
“Someone thought I should just collect my share of the profits and stay out of things,” Lucy countered with a wink.
Elliot groaned. “I was wrong, okay? I admit that.”
“Yes, you were.” Lucy beamed at him.
Just then, Elliot’s phone rang from the table beside the couch. He picked it up, glanced at the screen and groaned again.
“Sorry, Luce. It’s Keype.”
“That’s all right.” Lucy paused the movie. “It must be important. I’ll be here.”
Elliot swiped to answer the call and stepped into the living room so he wouldn’t bother Lucy.
Lucy ate another bite of popcorn, took a sip of her ginger ale, then got up, stretched, and went out to the balcony.
The lights of New York glittered below and in front of her, as well as a stretch of Central Park in the far distance.
It was hard to believe how much had changed in the weeks since she and Elliot had returned from their California trip.
Since then, Elliot had rented this apartment, a beautiful midtown one-bedroom.
He and Lucy had reorganized their office and started working together better than ever, bringing their collaborative spirit to the rest of Borderless’s work.
Elliot was still working for Keype, but he worked remotely outside of office hours.
When neither of them were working — and even when they were — they spent every free moment together.
They watched movies, went for long walks, cooked and ate dinner together, and reminisced about their college days.
Lucy felt happier than she had in years, though she wished Dominic could have been there.
Surely, if he’d seen how happy she and Elliot were together, he would have been happy for them, too.
Lucy heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Elliot stepping onto the balcony. His phone was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, Luce. Sorry about that.”
“Is everything okay with Keype?”
“Yeah.” Elliot smiled, though it looked forced. “It’s hard to run a company from a distance, but it seems to be working.”
Lucy’s stomach flipped. “Do you need to visit Chicago or something? Just to make sure everything’s running as it should be?”
“Maybe I should.” Elliot wrapped an arm around Lucy’s waist. “But I don’t want to leave you. Not yet.”
Immediately, her worry turned to warmth, which spread through her heart. “I don’t want that either.”
“Then let’s think about something else.” Elliot gave her a quick kiss. “How about we go out for dinner?”
Lucy hesitated, so Elliot tugged on her hand. “We can talk about Borderless some more…” he said enticingly.
Lucy giggled. “All right. Let’s go.”
They ate at a dim sum restaurant, where they shared a selection of small plates between the two of them. They sat at a small corner table that was constantly being refilled with new delicacies, and both sipped on strong jasmine tea out of small enamel cups.
“This is just like college dinners,” Lucy said.
“How so?” Elliot grinned at her, and Lucy’s heart melted at the boyish expression that was so dear to her.
“Just think about it. Instead of Cheetos and pizza, we have steamed buns and rice paper dumplings,” Lucy explained. “And instead of ginger ale, we have tea. And instead of eating on the floor of your room, we’re eating at a table in a restaurant.”
Elliot chuckled. “So, basically, it’s just like college — except that it’s completely different.”
“Exactly.” Lucy grinned. “Or, maybe the better comparison would be that it’s like the Chinese restaurant where we ate in college. It didn’t have dim sum, but at least it was a restaurant.”
“Cheers, then, to a dinner that’s just like college.” They clinked their teacups together.
“You know,” Elliot said as he took a sip of the tea. “It really does feel like we’re back in college, in a way. Not this dinner. But being with you again does bring me back to our younger days.” He smiled.
“I feel the same way,” Lucy agreed. “I remember, back in college, the world always felt so open and full of possibility, like we could really change things for the better and make the future we wanted. I feel that way again.”
“Me, too,” Elliot admitted. “I love running Keype, but it isn’t as exciting as the work we do at Borderless.”
“And Keype probably doesn’t let you visit many vineyards,” Lucy added with a wink. Elliot grinned.
“You’d be surprised. I’ve attended a few cybersecurity conferences in beautiful places, like Barbados and Vale. Although you’re right. I don’t think I’ve been to one at a vineyard yet.”
“See? Borderless wins every time. Though I have to admit something embarrassing.” Lucy blushed. “I’m still not sure I understand what Keype does.”
Elliot chuckled. “We keep companies’ data safe.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “I know that, but how?”
“Do you really want to know?” Elliot looked surprised. “Cybersecurity isn’t the most exciting field if you aren’t a computer nerd.”
“I want to know everything about you,” Lucy said simply.
As soon as she said it, she realized that it was a little too gooey-romantic, much more something she would have said back in college than something she would usually have said now, but it was too late.
And Elliot didn’t seem to mind. A smile spread across his handsome features.
“I think you already know almost everything about me,” he said. “You know where I grew up. You know that I’m an only child. You know about my parents, my college days, my childhood obsession with basketball, and my love of facts and figures.”
“It’s true.” Lucy hesitated. “And I know a lot about what you’ve been doing for the last ten years, too.
But there is something that I don’t know.
” Lucy wasn’t sure she did want to know, even now, but her curiosity pushed her to ask.
“Did you have… someone special in your life?” Dominic had always been vague on that subject when he mentioned Elliot.
Elliot took a sip of his tea, seeming to consider his answer carefully.
“No,” he said. “You know that, in college, before I met you, I played the field a bit. After you, I picked that up again, but it didn’t feel the same as it used to.
And I never found anyone else I wanted to have a serious relationship with. There’s no one else like you.”
Lucy’s heart stirred at his words. She reached across the table and took his hand. “I didn’t find anyone like you, either. I tried to date, but I was never very invested. It always felt more important to spend time with Dominic, and I never found someone I connected with the way we connected.”
“Well.” Elliot smiled. “It’s good we have this second chance then, isn’t it?”
“It really is.” They looked at each other across the table for a long moment, Lucy’s heart fluttering again at the look in Elliot’s brown eyes, before turning back to their food.
“The dumplings are getting cold,” Elliot said.
“Horror.” Lucy grinned. “We’d better eat. Have you tried the red bean steamed bun?”
“I haven’t.” Elliot took his chopsticks and grabbed one of the small white buns. “Have you tried the soup dumplings? They’re great.”
The conversation meandered through their food and other, easier topics, but Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about what Elliot had said — that he’d never met anyone like her again.
She felt the same way about him, but to hear Elliot say the words she’d been thinking felt good.
Very good. It really felt like things were going to be different this time — different and better.
After dinner, they strolled back to Elliot’s apartment, hand in hand. Lucy had practically been living in his rented apartment for the last few weeks since her two roommates probably wouldn’t have been thrilled to have a guy sharing their one small bathroom.
“What do you think Dominic would say if he saw us today?” Lucy asked.
“I think he’d say, ‘What are you doing to my sister?’” Elliot told her. “Then he’d say, ‘How dare you!’ And then, after about five minutes, he’d say, ‘Good for you guys.’”
Lucy smiled and squeezed Elliot’s hand. “I’d like to think so.”
“I wish he’d told me.” Elliot sighed. “I wish he’d just told everyone that he was sick. Then I could have understood what happened with you, and I would have made those last years the best they could be. Instead, I didn’t find out until two years ago.”
“Would you really have done anything differently?” Lucy asked.
“I wish we’d been together, but other than that, I have no regrets.
And Dominic didn’t either. He loved the time you two spent together.
And he loved the time he spent with me and our parents.
I don’t think he would have changed a thing. ”
“I suppose you’re right.” Elliot brought their clasped hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of Lucy’s hand. “That’s why I—” He hesitated before continuing, “That’s why I like being with you so much. You always think about things in the best possible way.”
“Meanwhile, you bring your keen business sense to the arrangement,” Lucy joked, though her heart had skipped a beat when Elliot cut himself off. Had he been about to say something else?
“And my dashing good looks,” Elliot added, running his free hand through his hair.
“I think we both bring dashing good looks,” Lucy said, tossing her own hair. They smiled at each other. “You know, I was thinking… remember how we were talking about expanding our current clients’ business? Maybe we should visit a few clients in person to make the pitch.”
“I like that idea.” Elliot nodded. They skirted around a little girl who was bending down to examine a small flower growing between the cracks of the sidewalk and passed a man in a suit with a briefcase. “Where should we go?”
“Well, there is that glamping place in Arizona.”
“Sure, but I’m not sure outdoor adventures are exactly what I had in mind.”
“Well, there’s also a great little bed and breakfast in the French Riviera,” Lucy suggested.
“That’s more like it. I also heard that we work with a Finnish ice hotel.”
“That’s true.” Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Maybe we could do a circuit around Europe? That would give us a chance to connect with a few of the clients we don’t see as often.”
“I like the sound of that. Let’s just give it a week or two so we can make sure Borderless will be stable while we’re jet-setting around the world.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Obviously. Maybe we could go next month? That would give us plenty of time to arrange meetings and develop a strategy.”
“Let’s do it.” Elliot lifted his arm and twirled Lucy under it, drawing a few curious glances from the usually stony-faced passersby. “Next month, you and me, Europe. I’m in.”
Lucy beamed. She’d always wanted to go on a romantic trip to Europe. It was the stuff of rom-coms and romance novels, after all. And now it was happening with a guy she cared about deeply who was finally back in her life.
Everything felt perfect.
If there was a part of Lucy that worried that everything was too perfect and too easy, it was only a small part, easily silenced. Lucy had spent so much of her life worried about how much time she’d have left with her brother. She refused to let herself worry now.