They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 16
At that same moment, my project team in Austin was having dinner on a rooftop terrace.
Lauren had ordered dessert.
When the box was opened, there were six portions inside, each with a little name card.
I spotted mine immediately.
A coworker handed it to me with a smile.
“Alessia, this one’s yours. Gardenia flavor, and low-sugar. Lauren remembered you don’t like things too sweet.”
I froze for a second.
So, remembering that I didn’t like sweets and using that as an excuse to not get me anything were two very different things.
Someone set up a camera and called everyone over for a picture.
By reflex, I started to step aside, but Lauren grabbed my arm and pulled me into the middle.
“You’re the project lead. Where do you think you’re going?”
Everyone laughed and gathered around me.
No one was pushed out of the frame. No one needed a chair added at the last minute.
Just before the shutter clicked, my phone lit up.
Matteo had sent a photo.
On a table in New York sat a dessert with my name on it.
[Happy Thanksgiving.]
I looked at it for two seconds, then put my phone away without replying.
I lifted my head and smiled at the camera.
“Three, two, one.”
The shutter clicked.
In the photo, I stood in the center of the group, holding the dessert that belonged to me.
The people around me were all looking at the camera.
And some of them were looking at me.
Lauren handed me the freshly developed photo.
“Keep it. Our first full-team picture.”
I took it and looked down.
This time, I was in the photo.