Usually, Katrina didn’t concern herself with the day-to-day operations of the start-ups her fund invested in. Because of Rhiannon, she was more actively engaged with Crush, and had happily taken the lead on a lot of their tentative expansion into foreign markets. India had its own dating apps, but Crush’s arrival into the huge smartphone-armed population was an opportunity to expand their footprint significantly.
Rhiannon made a face. “I’ve been working on this Matchmaker merger so much, I feel like you know more about the expansion than I do.”
Katrina shook her head. “That’s because you’re used to being a hundred and forty percent prepared, so when you’re actually a hundred percent prepared, you feel underprepared.”
“How dare you utter the truth first thing in the morning.”
Katrina smiled and slid the last waffle out of the waffle iron. “There’s nothing about this company you don’t know. And honestly, I’m a phone call away.”
Rhiannon set three places at the table. “And thank God for that.”
Katrina smiled. She was grateful, too, that she’d reached out to Rhiannon with an investment offer four years ago, when she heard her friend had left her previous employment.
Do you have any idea how much a start-up costs?Rhiannon had asked her.
Do you have any idea how much my husband left me?she’d countered.
Rhiannon had never asked for that number, but it had been a lot. Hardeep had been a jeweler for the stars, yes, and that had brought in a tidy sum, but he’d also invested in a certain then-obscure search engine in the nineties.
Katrina had taken the multiple zeros she’d inherited and turned them into even more zeros.
“You’ll be gone for less than two weeks. Meet with the team we assembled, lay the groundwork, and we’ll be rolling in the rupees shortly.” Katrina slid her friend a sideways glance. “I’m surprised Samson’s not coming with you.” Rhiannon had only ever been a part-time roommate at best, but she’d been gone a lot over the last few months. Rhiannon had her own apartment in L.A., but Katrina suspected that her friend had been spending most of her nights with Samson.
“I asked him, but he’s got a fund-raiser he’s committed to, so it was a no-go.”
“Gotcha.” Inside, her inner romantic pumped her fist at Rhiannon’s admission. Awwwww. As far as she knew, this was the first trip Rhiannon had invited her boyfriend along on.
A loud yawn preceded Jia’s entrance into the room. The internet would be stunned to see Jia Ahmed in baggy cotton pajama pants and a sweater, her hair uncovered and in a simple braid, but the toned-down fashion and beauty influencer was still glamorous, the pep in her walk not diminished by the early hour.
She had put on makeup, though it was only a brush of eyeliner and a slight tint of lip gloss. In fact, Katrina didn’t think she’d ever seen Jia without some makeup in the five months since she’d come to live with them.
Katrina wasn’t quite sure how this living arrangement had come to be. Rhiannon had gone home back east for about twenty-four hours, and returned with the news that she’d invited a childhood friend’s baby sister to live with them.
Katrina had been mildly anxious about whether the semi-famous Pakistani American influencer would like her. That fear was put to rest about five minutes after meeting Jia. The younger woman was goofy and lacked a filter, but she made up for her chattiness in the pure earnest warmth and sweetness she exuded.
“I’m dying of hunger,” Jia announced.
Katrina’s lips quivered. Jia very much liked to announce things. “How do you feel about waffles?”
“Ooh yes, love them.”
“Can you grab the juice, Jia?” Rhiannon asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” The younger woman stuck her head in the fridge. “Orange, apple?”
“Both.”
Katrina took her seat at the small breakfast table in thesunny nook and neatly placed a napkin on her lap while the other women joined her. The much larger dining room was rarely used, except for holidays. The last few Christmases had been fun, with Rhiannon, select Crush employees, and her own staff.
What’s going to happen when Rhiannon leaves you?
She swatted away the anxious thought. Nothing. She would be fine. People came into her life, and they left, and Katrina had learned to enjoy the parts in the middle. That was really all a person could do. “How was your party last night, Jia?”
Jia was at the point in her career where she was getting invites to various product launches. As far as Katrina could tell, being an influencer meant a whole lot of visibility. Like modeling, but with more access.
Inwardly, Katrina shuddered. Jia could have that.
“I couldn’t enjoy it.” Jia tapped on her ever-present phone and showed Katrina the screen. “Would you look at this jerk?”
