‘What did he say?!’ they screeched in unison.
‘He said if I wanted to meet up, he’ll be in New York for a few more weeks, or we could catch up when I’m home.’
‘As if!’ Katy spat.
Zola shook her head in disgust. ‘Well, I’ve had zero communication from Curtis, but his mum posted a picture of them out for a meal in London. I don’t know if he’s moved back home or if he’s just visiting family.’
A silence fell. So much had changed in the past few months that it was hard to comprehend.
‘Are you going to reach out?’ I asked, knowing she’d have to sort her house and belongings, but also very aware of how stubborn Zola could be. I watched her run her hands through her braids and sigh.
‘Are you going to reach out to Philip?’ she asked.
I almost gagged. ‘No way!’
‘Same.’ She managed a smirk.
‘Does Jimmy know Philip’s here, Ella?’ Katy asked. ‘Does he know who Philip even is?’
I shook my head guiltily. I was about to ask their opinions on my quandary when a knock sounded at the glass door behind us. Fee stood there, waving cheerily. I gestured her in, and she entered, all excitement.
‘Hey, I was planning on a quick catch-up debrief in the conference room if y’all can spare a few moments? Just to see where everyone is at with the app design?’
I grinned. ‘Sure!’
‘Yeah, right now?’ Zola stood up. ‘We were just having our own little debrief of last night.’
Fee’s face fell, then she burst out laughing. ‘Ew! You mean of my brother! God, I’m glad I missed that,’ she teased.
‘Oh, and Katy!’ Zola added. ‘She’s bringing back the bush!’
Fee gasped, a little uncomfortable at the overshare, then nodded. ‘Yeah? Good for you, girl!’
I laughed, blushing slightly. ‘We’ll be one minute, Fee. And please? Don’t listen to her!’ I shoved Zola’s shoulder as Fee turned and headed back to the conference room.
‘Did you see that reaction?’ Katy whispered. ‘When you said about my bush?’
I nodded. ‘I did. It was weird.’
‘That bitch definitely has one!’ Zola cackled and we joined in, heading out the door.
We moved to the conference room, taking a seat beside Ethan from the tech suite just as Jimmy, Travis, Fee and Britney walked in. Jimmy waved for Fee to chair. She rolled her eyes, drawing smiles from the room. Jimmy was too fixated on his phone, hardly noticing.
‘OK, everyone, I’ll keep it short. We’d love to know where everyone is with Stars and Swipes. We have a crucial meeting with the board today, and we need to assure them we’re on track for launch.’ She was smiling and confident, but her tone seemed panicked. I knew, of course, how important this meeting was. ‘Ethan, Zola .?.?.’ Fee turned to the pair. ‘I suppose we should start with you guys.’
Both Ethan and Zola opened their mouths to speak, then smiled at one another. ‘You go,’ Zola said.
‘We have the software and linked the relevant dating apps,’ Ethan said. ‘Zola is editing the layout, but we’ll have a useable app by the end of the day.’
I grinned, knowing how much work the pair had put into it.
‘Zola? Does that sound about right?’ Fee seemed surprised at how far advanced their work was.
She smiled. ‘Yeah, the features are all there. I’m basically tweaking the user interface based on feedback from your testing team. We should be able to send out a link tonight for everyone to see and have a play around with.’
Jimmy looked up from his phone. ‘Damn, that was fast work.’
‘We’ve been working fifteen to twenty hours a day on this,’ Ethan stated bluntly.
