Page 59 of Derivation

“What about Sarai’s dry-erase board?” Gabi asked, surprising Sarai.

“She’d have an office with a dry-erase wall, but she can also use any board in the conference rooms. Besides, I saw a picture of the open space. There’s a dry-erase wall over there, too. I think they’re all also magnetic.”

“Thank you,” Sarai said softly.

“No problem,” Gabi replied before she walked off.

CHAPTER 16

“The kick-ass espresso machine can go here,” Arlowe said, pointing to a spot on the counter.

“We’re getting a regular espresso machine, not a kick-ass one,” Violet replied. “And now, suddenly, you’re all sorts of happy that we’re getting an office?”

“Not happy but trying to embrace some of the benefits. My office could be cool. For one, it’ll have walls, and you all will be on the other side of them.”

“Ass.” Violet laughed. “I need to ask Nancy about the lease on the furniture. I don’t love it, but if we can get a short-term lease on it while we find other stuff, I think we should keep it, especially if it’s cheap enough. Not all of it, of course. We don’t need all sixteen cubicles,” she added and turned to leave the kitchen.

“So, what do you think?” Arlowe asked Gabi.

“It’s nice.”

“Can you see yourself working here?”

“I don’t work here.”

“But you kind of do.”

“It’s not the same, but I think it’ll be cool for you and everyone else. I’m going to go wait for you all out there in that lobby thing on this floor while you keep looking around.”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

Gabi walked out of the kitchen, thinking about how she had a kitchen very similar to this one at her job, but she found herself wishing that she was more than a contractor who had signed paperwork only because it meant that Violet and team didn’t have to worry about her doing work for them and later trying to take it with her because it would be owned by them. She liked her new job, but she found herself wishing that she worked with her three roommates and their CEO and former roommate. She had already started mocking up some ideas. One was for a set of glasses. Another was for a watch. She’d even thought up something for that necklace that Sarai had mentioned, which would need to be able to hear the words in one language and speak them in another, chosen by the person language. Gabi could make it look halfway decent, too, but she wasn’t sold on it being their best option. It had been fun to think about, though.

Their best option was glasses, and they needed to work but also be stylish. She’d thought about having a few different frame styles, which was something she hadn’t seen enough of in other wearables, and they needed to be small enough and not heavy because the big goggles that were available on the market were cost-prohibitive for most people and didn’t look great, which kept some people who could afford them from buying them because of it. Gabi had always wanted to design something that could revolutionize an industry, but now, she also wanted to make something for this little company because she cared about the people who worked there and their mission.

“Hey,” Sarai said.

Gabi looked up and realized that she was now sitting on a couch in what couldn’t exactly be referred to as a lobby between two office suites, but she didn’t have another word for it, so it would have to do. She didn’t remember sitting down or even leaving the office that the rest of the women were still touring, but she had her phone in her hand and had been making notes for the design, so it was likely that she’d just zoned out.

“Hey,” she said back. “Why aren’t you in there?”

“I saw all I need to see.”

Sarai sat down next to her but left some space between them. Gabi understood why. Ever since the housewarming party at Violet’s, where Sarai had introduced her as someone who had just kind of shown up one day and taken Arlowe’s old room, she’d been a little upset, but since she’d heard Sarai bring a woman home that same night, she’d been even more upset. Gabi had been extra petty, too. The next morning after the party, she’d gotten up very early and had waited for Sarai’s bedroom door to open, hoping to see the woman she’d spent the night with. Unfortunately, though, her mother had never been any good with time zones, and she’d gone to Italy the previous weekend, so she’d decided to call Gabi at that very moment to tell her how her trip had been going.

Gabi had answered, and she’d even managed to get her mom off the phone quickly, but by the time she’d made it out of her room, Sarai had already been back in her own. She’d checked the front window to see if she could still catch the car leaving the driveway, but there had been nothing. She’d missed checking this other woman out, and Sarai hadn’t said anything about dating someone or even hooking up – or, at least, Gabi hadn’t overheard her say anything to anyone else since she hadn’t spoken much to Sarai.

“You don’t like it?” she asked Sarai about the office.

“It’s fine. It’s just an adjustment, so it’s weird. They all drive me crazy most of the time, and I’ve wished for my own office forever, but I stood in one of the offices that could be mine, and all I could think was that I was alone in there, and if I wanted to talk to Arlowe or Enya, I’d have to either yell or go to their office, and that’s going to be strange for a while.”

“The business is growing. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing. It’s just a lot. I think changes hit Arlowe faster and harder, but for me, it’s a little more prolonged and, well, quieter. Why did you come out here?”

“It’s not my office, so I thought you should all have time alone in there. I’m really only here for the free lunch Violet offered.”

“Liar.”