The Promotion Is Mine

Chapter 13 - Crushed

LENA - Six months later

It has been six months since our lives turned upside down. Thanks to Rachel, we went from an unknown name to eight thousand new downloads overnight. And it just kept going up from there.

You'd think that would mean we would party our wins and sit back and relax and watch our product grow. But newsflash - it doesn't grow in its own. We were busier than ever. Late nights and weekends became the norm. We hired more people to take care of things for us. I still stuck to the technology part and hired an architect engineer - Sarah to help make the app more scalable. We also hired a designer, Jake. He is a designer, and has the most interesting fashion sense. He's also a bit of a perfectionist and can sometimes get bogged down in the details. Alex focused more on the managing and advertising aspects. He hired Tom who is a wizard when it comes to negotiations. Tom also keeps subtly flirting with me. I keep rolling my eyes at him but deep inside, obviously I'm flattered. We are still looking for someone who could lead our accounting. We even moved our set to from a coffee shop to actually renting a quiant little office. Alex and I both have our individual offices, but I'm usually with the employees while Alex is behind his desk with his phone calls and emails.

We were all sitting around the table, chatting about our personal lives, as we often did during our lunch breaks. Alex had a PR meeting, and the team is slightly more relaxed when he isn't around.

One of my team members, Sarah, started talking about her crush on a guy she met at a coffee shop.

As everyone else started sharing their own stories, Sarah turned to me and asked, "What about you, Lena? Do you have a crush?"

I paused for a moment, not quite sure how to answer. I didn't want to seem too open or vulnerable in front of my team, but I also didn't want to come across as completely closed off.

Finally, I decided to go with the minimal answer. "Yes, I do," I said, with a small smile.

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone looked at me expectantly, waiting for more. But I didn't want to reveal too much, so I quickly changed the subject.

"So, who else has a crush?" I asked, hoping to move on from the topic. Mission cryptic. Hide what you are thinking. The Sphinx. Mona Lisa. Lena.

"Nu-uh you aren't deflecting.", said Jake. Well, that didn't work out.

I chuckle at my team's curiosity about my love life, but I can't deny that their teasing is making me a little uncomfortable.

"Let's make it a bet then," says Tom.

I raise an eyebrow. "A bet, Tom? What's the wager?" I ask, intrigued despite myself.

He grins mischievously. "If the grant goes through, you have to confess to your crush. And if it doesn't, I'll buy you a fancy dinner."

I consider the offer. It's not like I have anything to lose. "Deal," I agree, as a laugh escapes me.

The team erupts in cheers and high fives. It's nice to see them so happy, and I hope that our business deal really does go through.