“Guess I won’t ask for help with the hay delivery, then,” I reply, and he exhales a laugh, his eyes twinkling.
We follow him to the back alley, where, indeed, there is a freight elevator. He sets the box down inside but backs out, pressing the button for the fourth floor as he goes.
He’s noticed that I’m on the fourth floor?
My heart does a girlish kick.
He stands in the alley, smiling at us. “Think you’re good from here?”
“Absolutely,” I say. “Thank you so much for your help.”
Clara holds the door. “You’re not taking the elevator to your place?”
“He’s only on the second floor,” I say. “He takes the stairs in the lobby.” At this, his eyes lock with mine in a silent, flirty beat.
That’s right, I’ve noticed you’re on the second floor. I’ve noticed you taking the stairs.
“All right, then. Thank you, Lava Lamp,” Clara sings and I whip my head to her in a fierceDo notglare in my eyes. Ignoring me, she waves at him until the doors seal us up inside the lift.
Email correspondence between Veronica Cochran and Jude Tilde
Subject: Delivery of first draft
Date: February 5, 2026
Hi Jude,
(How often do people start emails to you “Hey Jude,” and—follow up question—on a scale of Norwegian Wood to Helter Skelter, how riled up does this make you?)
I’m attaching the receipt for the laptop and chair, but to take the sting off, I’m also attaching my first draft of a slide deck for the PixelPerfect platform. Feel free to give me any direction here; I’m not delicate about feedback and want this to be exactly what you want. There are several potential elevator pitches in here, but I’ll say my favorite right now is option 1: “PixelPerfect takes your app idea from napkin doodle to app store glory—no coding degree required. If you can drag and drop, you can launch your dream app.”
I also have some taglines here, let me know if there is one that jumps out to you more, and we can start to build that into our graphics.
Apps that work as good as they look.
Apps so good, your mom will brag about them.
Flawless design. Effortless launch.
Because your idea deserves a glow-up.
Hope you’re having a good week so far! It took me forever to get my new chair put together, but it was worth it. I may never leave my desk.
