Damn, I was staring. I grabbed the remote. “What should we watch next? Do you like computer movies?”
“What exactly are computer movies?” The humor in his tone wasn’t teasing.
“Um, Office Space?”
“Computer adjacent, and I love that one. What else?”
Emboldened that he wouldn’t give me a hard time about the term I used, I thought of more. “Ready Player One.”
“You’re batting a hundred.”
I bit back a smile and chewed the inside of my cheek. “iRobot?”
“Office Space is more my speed.”
“Satires about the uselessness of die-hard processes in the corporate environment and how it demeans the employees?”
“There’s a reason I’m working for myself. For better or worse. I like explaining myself if it’s valid. I didn’t like explaining myself to do a job I was hired to do.”
That suited him. Meanwhile, I liked clocking in and out and leaving my job behind. “Figured it was time to strike out on your own?”
“I tried before. I’m starting again because I had to dissolve the one I built with Hillary when she cheated on me.”
“Oh, damn.” I detested this Hillary. “Elijah never mentioned that.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” he said flatly, then clenched his jaw until a muscle popped. “Anyway, I’d much rather be on my own. She wanted to recruit all the investors with dollar signs in her eyes, and I wanted to be more prudent. That wasn’t our money.”
“But she thought so?”
“She kept it like it was. I used everything I had to settle up so I wouldn’t get sued or arrested.”
“I’m glad you’re a free man. Mind if I ask what it is that you do?” I leaned forward to dig into the chips. It was well into the evening, and my appetite had roared back.
“I’m a software development engineer, but the business I’m launching is consulting.”
“Is it easy?”
When he pinched his brows together, I panicked. “I mean, not easy. Not at all. Just that launching your own company might be fairly easy, as far as starting your own business goes. You must have a large network, know people, and then there’s the low overhead. Right?” I crinkled my nose. “I didn’t mean to diminish what you’re doing.”
He exhaled, and understanding lit his eyes. “It’s all right, Clover. It’s not your fault I can be defensive. I can tell from your tone you weren’t being insulting.” He gave me a small smile that eased my concern. “It’s easier than going into an office. As for getting clients, enough to earn a living, that can be a little tougher. Especially when bridges got burned in the breakup.” His jaw hardened again for a second. “It’s been a slow climb back into the game, and only time and reasonable rates will change anything.”
“That sucks.”
“It sucks less now that I can actually work all day.”
“I’m glad I’m easier to live with than your mom and dad.”
“Sometimes, I wondered if living on the streets would be more productive.” He shoved a brownie into his mouth. Elijah would say his brother was a lazy couch surfer, but nothing about Van held up that accusation.
“You didn’t pay rent, so you were their unpaid labor?”
He nodded, confirming my suspicions.
Time ticked by, and we finished our meal. The silence was comfortable, pleasant. I could go for more nights like this.
Van set his plate on the coffee table. “Somewhere between a lentil and a baked bean, huh?”
Sudden shyness took over. With the wedding, the move, and the new job, life had been hectic. I hadn’t had a chance to do more than exchange quick texts with my sisters. There’d been no long dinners to talk about my situation. No meetups. Other than today, I hadn’t even gone to their houses. It was like the pregnancy was my own to deal with, and I guess it was. “A small bean that resembles a tadpole.”
