Page 49 of Irresistibly Us
His smile is soft and quiet. The kind of smile it feels like he reserves for me and me alone. “Anything for you, Soph. I would do anything for you.”
The words echo the ones he said to my dad earlier, but after our moment this morning before the phone rang and the one just now that was interrupted by the fire alarm I now hate, they feel different.
They feel likemore.
Needing a minute to get my roiling emotions under control, I run back upstairs and exchange my work clothes for pajamas,fuzzy pink knee socks, and one of Tyler’s Renegades sweatshirts before I wash my face and head back downstairs. And as I watch Tyler finish cooking, plating my favorite dinner with Michelin-star perfection and presenting it to me with a flourish and a wink, my system goes haywire again. And for the millionth time in the last three years, I think Tyler and I would be perfection, too.
And despite my better judgment, I hope beyond hope that it’s only a matter of time.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SOPHIE
“Holy fucking shitballs,” I mumble, staring at the email that just popped up on my computer screen. I read it again. And again. Then I turn away from the computer, focusing on the wall of pictures on my bookshelf and taking three deep breaths before turning back to the screen to check and see if I made it all up.
Nope. It’s all still there.
Holy fuck again.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Potential Meeting
Dear Ms. Sullivan,
My name is Luke Davis, and I am the founder and CEO of MasterLab, an educational technology startup in San Francisco focused on enhancing the value of K-12 STEM education through a multi-disciplinary approach that brings STEM tools, resources, and solutions into classrooms in a meaningful, highly personalized way that is carefully curatedfor the needs of each individual educational facility we serve.
It is not common knowledge yet, but I will be stepping down as CEO at the end of the year, and I am currently assisting the board in the search for my replacement. You are at the top of my very, very short list, and if you are open to it, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the possibility of you interviewing for the position. I am incredibly impressed with the work you have done with InspireSTEM, and I think you would be an excellent candidate for the role.
If you are willing, I can be available for a video call at your convenience.
All the best,
Luke
Holy fucknoli. Luke Davis. Emailing me. Reading it over a second time, I almost laugh at the way he introduces himself, like I don’t know exactly who he is and what MasterLab does. Like I don’t devour all the white papers his company puts out detailing their sprawling and brilliant research into the most responsible and comprehensive ways to introduce kids to STEM education without overwhelming their brains with screens and other devices. Like I don’t use their approaches in my own work every single day of my life.
Apparently, my only vocabulary today is fuck because holy fucking shit CEO of MasterLabs? Me? If I wasn’t already sitting down, I would probably collapse. Even being asked to interview is the offer of a lifetime.
I feel my grin explode.
“That’s a happy face.”
Whipping around in my chair at my dad’s voice, I see him for the second time in ten days leaning on my doorframe, grinning at me. Not ready to tell him about the email I just got before I process it myself, I stand from my chair and walk over to hug him. “It’s nothing. Just some good news about a donation.”
“Better you than me,” he says, kissing the top of my head before letting me go. “I hated all that shit. I just wanted to make kids love computers.”
Giving him a wry smile, I flop into one of the big chairs arranged in a circle in the corner of my office. “Gotta have the donations to do that. So, what are you doing here?”
He takes the chair across from mine, leaning back and stretching out his legs. “Just wanted to come see my baby girl. I’ve barely seen you since the big flood a couple weeks ago, and that’s a couple weeks too long. Since the rest of my children abandoned me, I’m feeling useless and like maybe my greatest parenting days are behind me.”
I smother a laugh at the most Gabe Sullivan response of all time because if there’s one thing about my dad, it’s that he’s an overprotective parent who likes it best when all four of his kids are where he is. But with my sister in med school in New York and my brothers in college on the west coast, he’s having some separation issues. “You know all four of us are adults, right?”
He scowls. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
I laugh and reach back to grab the bowl of jelly beans on my desk and my can of Dr Pepper. “So, what are you really doing here?”
