We’ve been busy all week tweaking the dashboard ahead of the big unveiling, trying to incorporate as much of the feedback from the product managers as we can, and while the guys are busy geeking out over a bunch of things I don’t understand at all, I keep busy convincing my friends one by one to attend the Lunch and Learn.
Slowly but surely, I extract attendance promises from most of Product, then Marketing, then Sales. Come to Data Strategy’s Lunch and Learn, or face my wrath.
On Wednesday, I’m deeply absorbed watching back a dashboard training video when Connor arrives. I sense him beside me but don’t look up straightaway, and when I do—fuckme.
He’s wearing a blazer.
It’s so incredibly Connor: it’s corduroy, and a deep, dark olive, just the right mix of casual and dressy, and looks perfect with whatever dark knit he’s wearing underneath. He’s turned away, saying something to Ben at the head of the table, giving me precious seconds to regain control of my jaw, which iscurrently hanging open. I’m still staring when he turns back toward me, a lurking twinkle in hiseye.
I give him an exaggerated once-over.
“Did you have to go out and buy that specially?”
“Dickhead,” he laughs.
Connor and Ben spend most of the morning making final tweaks to their presentation, though I don’t know how much you could truly call it preparation. Most of their energy is directed at putting together a deck where a little animated turtle appears on every single slide in a slightly different way. It reminds me of the turtle I’ve been hunting onDinoCode.I should alert Stegosaurus Julie.
While the guys discuss the pros and cons of Connor opening with one of their signature would-you-rather questions—for the record, they’re leaning toward no, in case the debate gets too heated and cuts into the presentation—our building manager Priya appears on the edge of the floor.
Priya and I bonded through shared experience. We were the only two people working late one day when one of the taps flooded the women’s washroom. After a lengthy mission that soaked us both to the bone, she promised that if I ever needed anything all I had to do was ask. This week, I called in the favor.
“We’re good to go,” she says, stopping beside my desk. “Everything gets delivered at twelve.”
I dance in my seat. “Amazing. You’re amazing. Thank you so much, Priya.”
“I’m excited,” she says. “I can’t believe you pulled it off.”
“Neither can I,” I say frankly. “Will you send a reminder out?”
“You bet,” she says. “Slack is about to go off. I’ll see you over there in a little bit.” She waves as she goes.
I smile, pleased with my own cunning. This is going to bethe best-attended Lunch and Learn this company has ever seen.
“What was that about?” Connor asks from beside me. I realize belatedly he watched the entire interaction.
“The catering for the Lunch and Learn. We’re getting Subu.”
Across from me, Martin Short bolts out of his chair. “Did you just say the wordSubu?”
I don’t even bother trying to hide my grin. “Yes, Martin, I did.”
“Subu. As in,theSubu,” he confirms.
“The one and only.”
Subu is an extremely New York–famous food truck, achieving viral status online for seamlessly combining three things millennials absolutely love: sushi, burritos, and hipster branding. They regularly have lines around the block. And that’s if you can find them.
“I had no idea they catered,” John says.
“They don’t,” I tell them. “But I asked very nicely.”
What I really did was stalk their socials relentlessly, then show up at the food truck and beg: aka the mysterious date the guys were ribbing me for last week. Carrie suggested we might have better success on this mission if we both looked, and I quote, “as hot as fucking possible.” She wasn’t wrong.
Martin and John’s excitement goes from zero to one hundred in the blink of an eye. They’re acting as if I’ve just told them Sabrina Carpenter will be coming to perform a song about the dashboard rather than a local food truck providing a bunch of giant hand rolls.
Still, if this is the reaction from these two, it bodes well for when Priya sends out her reminder. If this is my one contribution to the success of the dashboard, I am happy.
Connor hasn’t said anything, and when I turn to gauge his approval, the look he gives me holds so much affection it sets my heart racing. I’ve kept my promise, and he knows it. We are going to launch this dashboard to the moon.
