Page 163 - In Five Years

“Are we late?” she says. She’s skittish. I can tell. No matter. We’ll win them
over.
“Not at all,” Aldridge says. “You know us New Yorkers. We don’t know
anything about your traffic patterns.”

Jordi sits next to me. Her perfume is heady and dense.
“Ladies, I’d like you to meet Danielle Kohan. She’s our best and brightest

senior associate. And she’s been a huge boon to your IPO evaluation already.”
“You can call me Dannie,” I say, shaking each of their hands.
“We love Aldridge,” Jordi tell me. “But does he have a first name?”
“It’s never to be used,” I tell her, before mouthing: Miles.

Aldridge smiles. “What are we drinking tonight?” he asks the group.
A waiter materializes, and Aldridge orders a bottle of champagne and a bottle

of red, for dinner. “Cocktails, anyone?” he inquires.
Anya gets an iced tea. “How long do you think this will take?” she asks.
“Dinner, or taking your company public?” Aldridge does not look up from his

menu.
“I’ve been a big fan of yours for a while now,” I say. “I think what you’ve
done with the space is brilliant.”

“Thank—” Jordi starts, but Anya cuts her off.
“We didn’t do anything with existing space. We created a new one,” she says.
She eyes Jordi as if to say—lock it up.

“I’m curious, though,” I say. I aim my question at the both of them, equally.
“Why now?”
At this, Aldridge looks up from his menu and grabs a passing waiter. “We’d

like the calamari immediately please.” Aldridge winks at me.
Jordi looks to Anya, as if unsure how to answer, and I feel a question
answered before it has been raised. I swallow it back down. Not now.

“We’re at the point where we don’t want to work as hard as we have been on
the same thing,” Jordi says. “We’d like the revenue to be able to turn our
attentions to new ventures.”

I feel the familiarity in her speak. The measured, calculated words. Maybe it’s
all true, but none of it feels authentic. So I push.
“Why give away control of something you own when you don’t have to?”