Chapter 17
ALEX
Several weeks passed in a blur of baby furniture and takeout dinners. Grace cooked a few times, too, and was quite a good chef. Alex joked about how his cooking might poison them both, and Grace said she’d always enjoyed cooking and was doing more of it now that she had time.
It was all so… normal.
Alex had told himself, quite sternly, to keep their conversations about the baby and to leave if things ever got personal, but as the days rolled by, he let his guard slip more and more.
He stayed late a few nights to watch a movie with Grace or bake cookies or just talk over cups of hot chocolate.
It was nice to spend time with her again.
And there was no further word about the lawsuit.
That was good, too. Alex began to hope that Grace might have dropped the whole thing now that they’d worked something out between themselves.
He certainly felt much warmer toward her now, as long as they steered clear of sensitive topics like MatchupNow.
One night, Grace invited him over without even the pretense of a baby task, and Alex said yes. That was how he ended up at her small dining room table, eating a pasta dish with salad and garlic bread and chatting about nothing in particular.
“And that,” Grace said, “is when I decided I could never pursue a career in tightrope walking.”
Alex chuckled. “Fair enough. It does take a particularly well-balanced person to be successful at that, and falling off a sidewalk doesn’t exactly line up with that.”
“Are you calling me unbalanced?” Grace joked.
“Just clumsy.”
“Fair enough.” She raised her glass of sparkling apple juice to him. “I am clumsy. I just hope our kids won’t inherit that from me.”
“Better they inherit your clumsiness than my eyes,” Alex replied. “I have such bad eyesight that I can barely see your face if I take off my glasses—or contacts.”
“Well, I had braces for nearly five years as a kid,” Grace said, flashing a perfect smile. “That’s not a great trait either.”
“Maybe not, but I do hope our kids get your eyes,” Alex said. “And not just because you can see better. You have beautiful eyes.”
For a moment, Alex worried that the compliment might make things weird between them again, but Grace just smiled.
“Thanks. And I hope our kids get your smile. And not just because your teeth are naturally straighter.”
“Thanks,” Alex repeated. “And they should get your dedication. I’ve never seen someone as dedicated as you are. Or as hardworking.”
“Flag on the play,” Grace said, grinning. “You work harder than I do.”
“No way.”
“Oh, yes. I worked hard at MatchupNow, but you were still there longer than I was almost every day. And what other CEO still reviews every line of code himself?”
It was the first time they’d talked about work since the laptop disaster, but Alex didn’t change the subject.
“Hard work keeps my company afloat,” he replied.
“Oh, yes. And I get it. I know how it is to never feel secure enough to take your foot off the gas.”
“Yeah.” Alex sat back in his chair. “That’s definitely how I feel. And I probably always will. But you never back down from work, either.”
“I don’t, but I’m trying to change that,” Grace said.
“I want to work again, if I can get someone to hire me, but I don’t want to be as single-minded about work as I used to be.
No matter how busy my parents were, they always took time to listen to me tell stories about my day or take me to play at the park or tuck me in at night.
That’s the kind of parent I want to be—not the kind who won’t leave work. ”
“You’re right,” Alex said. He let out a breath. “My parents worked all the time to provide for us. I was proud of them, but it was hard. I always wanted them to show up at my school events or have family dinners, but they almost never had time. I want to be more present than they were able to be.”
Grace smiled, which warmed Alex’s heart. “That’s good to hear. You’ve taken time away from work to help me with baby stuff, but I wasn’t sure what your plans were after the babies come.”
“I guess I’m not sure either,” Alex admitted.
“Well, if I can say something…” Alex nodded, so she continued.
“I’m so incredibly impressed by everything you’ve done with MatchupNow.
You’ve worked so hard and achieved more than most people will ever dream of.
Those achievements include building an amazing team that you can trust. A team you could stand to delegate to a little more.
You could let Louisa, your assistant, actually assist you.
And you could let the dev-ops team take over more of the code review. Just for example.”
For a moment, Alex was annoyed that Grace was offering feedback on how he should run his company when she was the reason he’d been working day and night for the past few weeks. But then he let out a breath and let himself see the truth in her words.
“You have a point,” he said.
“I do?” Grace looked surprised.
“You do. You’re right that I’ve taken some time away from work to help you get ready for the babies.
And my team has managed really well despite the…
challenges.” He didn’t mention the laptop specifically, but Grace still bit her lip.
“You’re also right that I could stand to delegate a little more. ”
“I’m sure your team would pick up the slack,” Grace said.
“They would.” Alex glanced at her. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What are you planning to do?” Alex asked. “I know you said you were thinking of working again soon, but I’m happy to provide enough that you don’t have to. At least not until the kids are older.”
“I love work,” Grace said. “I’ve always wanted to be a coder, and I still do. Although I’d like something part-time for now. Eventually, though, I hope to get back to full-time work at a company I can really contribute to.”
“I’m sure people are clamoring to hire you,” Alex said.
Grace took a long drink of her sparkling apple juice as if it were wine. “Not really.”
“I…” Alex wasn’t sure what to say, but Grace shook her head.
“Let’s change topics.” She leaned forward. “Once the babies are here, how often do you want to come see them?”
“Every day,” Alex said without hesitation. “Or as often as you’ll have me. If I had my way, I’d move you all into my condo.”
Grace laughed, but Alex was only half joking. He would have liked to spend more time with Grace. He would have liked to know she was right down the hall, along with their babies.
In the month they’d spent together, preparing for the babies, his feelings for her had started to return.
Or maybe they’d never left. He still thought of her often, whether he was working or home alone or out with friends.
He still wanted to spend time with her. And as long as he didn’t think about the lawsuit or the laptop, he often wondered why they couldn’t just move in together and be coparents.
Maybe even more.
But then, he’d remember what had happened with work, and worries would come back. Grace had stolen from him. And then she’d sued him! He couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t act that way again.
Even worse, he’d found out a few days ago that Boink was using sections of the MatchupNow code. Grace must have sold the laptop and its data to Patrick Hale, the man she was collaborating with on the lawsuit. Who knew how long they’d been working together?
No matter how much Alex wanted to, he couldn’t let himself forgive Grace. Not after this.
“You look serious,” Grace said. “Everything okay?” She tilted her head, her hair swaying.
“Everything’s great.” Alex smiled at her. “And dinner was delicious, by the way. Thanks for cooking.”
“Anytime.” Grace smiled back.
The conversation moved on to other, easier topics. They chatted a little more about the babies, exchanged stories from childhood, and talked about the TV shows they were watching—it turned out they were both fans of cop procedurals when they had time to watch TV.
Eventually, it was time for Alex to go. He walked slowly toward the door, Grace beside him, and said goodbye.
On the drive back to his own big, empty, rather lonely apartment, he wished that Grace were in the seat beside him, joking about her clumsiness or making insightful comments about their lives.
When he climbed into his big, empty, rather lonely bed, he wished Grace were beside him to rest her head on his shoulder and snuggle in.
The one night she’d spent here, he’d slept better than he ever had before, surrounded by her ocean scent.
Grace had hurt him and his company. He still couldn’t completely trust her. But now, more than ever, he wanted to.