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“Well, hello there,” I cooed, bringing my face closer to him.
As I felt my son kick my hand, I looked up at Monica who smiled down at me with so much love in her eyes. I realized this was all I needed. Even if tomorrow didn’t go as I hoped, at least I had her and our baby.
Thankfully though, the launch went seamlessly. Monica joined me in my small office I had leased on the upper west side, my small team surrounding us as we watched the website go live. Once our first download came through, we all celebrated with champagne and sparkling cider, cheering as more and more came through. Our first hour of sales made recent history in AI startup launches.
The press the following day was generous, naming me “One to Watch” in one publication, and “40 Under 40 Innovators” in another. They were already predicting my first year sales, even comparing them to my father’s company, which I was predicted to outpace. Erica covered the launch in her paper too, as she had a first-hand look of the day as she was there to celebrate.
To my surprise, that night my father had sent over a bottle of champagne and a large bouquet of roses to my apartment. It made me happier than I would like to admit. Things between us were still tense after our tempers had gotten the best of us that night in my office. We both said and did things we regretted. While things might not be normal between us, if they ever were for a long, long time, at least we were on the right path.
“What’s it say?” asked Monica curiously, as I plucked the card from the bouquet.
I opened it with bated breath.
“It says ‘Congratulations on the launch. I’m proud of you. P.S. the roses are for Monica.’”
“Wow,” she whispered in awe.
“Yeah. Wow is right.” I shook my head, reading the words over again.
The next morning, I stopped by my old coffee shop on the upper east side to congratulate Connor on his graduation. Plus, I missed his coffee. I had yet to find one on the upper west side that I liked. To congratulate him, I gave him a generous check, which he almost refused to accept. I told him it was for all the coffee and for inspiring me to find my own passion in life. I left him speechless, and headed to the office.
In the small waiting room, I found an old college friend of mine, Alex Rodgers. I hadn’t seen him in years. He looked the same, just a few more creases around the eyes formed through the years. As I approached forty, I knew all about it. Monica liked to tease me, saying I was like a fine wine.
“Alex?” I asked curiously.
He looked up from the paper in his hands and gave me a grin, the same one he had when he was up to no good in the dorms.
“Troy, you ol’ bastard.” He stood up and pulled me in for a hug, patting me on the back.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as we pulled apart.
“I wanted to congratulate you. Face to face.”
“Thank you. Wow, it’s been…”
“Too long.”
“Well, come on.” I waved for him to follow me. “Come into my office. It’s not much…”
“Are you kidding? This is incredible. And it’s all yours,” he said, as he followed me into my office, much smaller than my last one.
We spent the next hour catching up, as I filled him in about leaving my father’s company to do my own thing, and he told me about his own company, which I felt bad for not keeping up with. I saw his name every so often in the press, but it covered more on who he was sleeping with than his business deals. Something I was familiar with.
“So, you’re going to be a dad?” he asked, leaning back and raising an amused brow.
“Looks that way.” I smiled.
He shook his head and grinned.
“I never thought I would see the day. Troy Gunner. A dad. Settling down and doing the whole white picket fence thing.”
“More like a penthouse in Manhattan thing, but yeah. And what about you? Anyone special in your life?”
“There’s always someone special.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Who that is depends on the night of the week.”
I chuckled. “Same old Alex.”
“I’ll never change.” He winked.