Page 85 of Ideal Life
“Just tell us what to do,” Jonathan said.
“Mention on our internal Slack channel what you heard in that conference room. Don’t get too involved in the conversation—just seed it. I think it’ll spread pretty fast among our people.”
“And then?” Jody asked.
“Cross your fingers that the rest of my plan will work.”
Upstairs in her office with the door closed, Talia dug around in her purse until she found the card from the Techie Singles Mixer:
Evangeline Gray
Journalist
“I hope I’m right that you’re the anonymous writer behind Your Gossipy Tech BFF,” Talia said as she composed a message to invite Evangeline out for coffee.
Within a minute of hitting Send, a reply came in.
Not in Palo Alto. Too many eyes and ears. Meet me at Coffee Kitten in San Carlos at 1 p.m.?
Heart in her throat, Talia fired back an answer.
See you then.
Libby
Libby and Jacob landed at San Francisco International Airport refreshed, despite the eleven-hour flight from Seoul. Flying business class on your sponsors’ dime meant sleeping most of the way across the Pacific, which, as a pregnant woman, Libby really appreciated. The little bean of a baby inside her was an energy vampire, and Libby needed all the nap time she could get.
Sam was going to meet them at the airport because his parents—who had been visiting—were leaving today to go on a world tour. Libby still didn’t know why he’d needed her to come home, but Sam would never call her like that if it weren’t important. Still, he’d assured her that whatever the situation was, it wasn’t life-threatening and the explanation could wait for them to be in person, and that had been enough for her. She’d known Sam for so long that he was a surrogate big brother; she trusted him and his judgment.
As soon as Libby spotted him in the arrivals hall, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. “Sam!”
“Aw, Libby, hi!” He gave her a hug, and Jacob, too. “Thanks for coming, both of you. Oh, and Libby, you remember my parents, Jenny and Roger, from my college graduation. They’re about to head off to Europe.”
“So nice to see you again,” Jenny said, “and to meet you, Jacob.” She immediately pulled them together into a maternal embrace. When she released them, she said, “We very proud of you, Libby. Roger and me, we big fans of your YouTube.”
“Oh my gosh.” Libby blushed. “You watch our channel?”
Roger nodded as he shook their hands warmly. “She follow all your advice.”
Jenny patted her purse, where a bright yellow folder with their itinerary was sticking out. “Europe vacation, all hotel, activities… We do just like you say.”
“That’s incredibly flattering, thank you,” Jacob said. “Please let us know how you like it.”
“We will love it,” Roger said. “Guarantee.”
“Sam,” Jenny said, “we treat Libby and Jacob to coffee and cake before we check in and before they go to hotel, okay?”
He turned to Libby. “Does that work for you? I’ll explain everything.”
“Sounds great,” Libby said. “I love cake.”
Jenny radiated joy. “I love cake, too.”
There was no need, though, for Jenny and Roger to treat them at Starbucks or Peet’s. Instead, Libby and Jacob led them to a supersecret VIP club that was tucked away in a corner of SFO no one knew about except the highest-status frequent fliers. It was an elegant salon of velvet and polished wood on the top floor of the airport, with one-way windows that gave them a view of the busy terminal below. Anyone outside would only see frosted glass panels.
By design of its exclusivity, all the seating was in secluded, closed rooms like small private dining rooms. The lounge’s host settled them into one decorated in pale-blue wallpaper with a gold floral pattern, a white marble table, and deep armchairs upholstered in a plush, soft gray. Hardly a beat after Jacob ordered coffee, it appeared, along with a selection of cookies.
Jenny, Roger, and Sam put on their earbuds.
