Page 15 of Mr. February

“Why don’t you pull up the route on your phone, and we can pick something instead of leaving it to fate?”

Jenny sent him another wobbly smile that confused him. She read out the names of several restaurants until they picked one and added it to the route.

“You’re sure you don’t mind? It won’t put us too far behind schedule?”

“We’re not in a hurry, and there’s no one waiting for us, so there’s no reason to rush. Let’s just enjoy the ride, okay?”

Jenny didn’t say anything, but he felt her gaze on him as he stared at the road ahead. What was that all about?

Jenny wrapped her arms around herself as she sat stiffly. Her body language screamed discomfort, and the ease they’d created through music was gone.

“Even if we stopped for a few hours, the only thing we’d miss is the opening plenary, which is no great loss unless you’re a true believer,” Wade joked. “We’d still get there in plenty of time for the networking reception.”

“Elizabeth isn’t going to expect me to come back with a handful of business cards for prospective customers, is she?”

“I doubt she has any expectations about what you’ll get out of it, honestly.”

“When I glanced through the program, I didn’t even know what half of the stuff on it meant. It made me feel as stupid as Jeff sometimes treats me.”

Wade gave her a brief rundown of the big events and explained their purpose. He offered to send her a list of the sessions he planned to attend. She relaxed as he spoke, and he berated himself for not expecting her to be nervous.

“The opening plenary is a pep talk. Afterwards is the opening reception. It should be hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. The goal is mingling and relaxing away from the office for a few days.”

He tried to recall the main events from when he reviewed the program.

“There are often off-site events for local tourism or volunteer activities. Sometimes, there’s a group that meets for an early morning run. Restaurant hops are popular. When we check in to the conference, which is separate from checking in to the hotel, we’ll find out what entertainments the local arrangements committee has planned.”

Wade glanced her way. “Your accounting conference doesn’t start until the day after tomorrow, right?” At her nod, he continued. “There will be plenty to keep you busy until then including tonight’s reception and tomorrow’s restaurant hop.”

“Oh, wow, I wouldn’t have expected it to be so complicated.”

“Yeah, it’s a whole thing to make it a memorable experience. Regarding the sessions, there’s a non-technical track, with talks on general stuff, like work-life balance, emotional intelligence, creating a diverse workforce, that sort of stuff.”

“That’s amazing!”

“It’s why nobody put up any roadblocks to you coming. There are professional development opportunities for you as a non-technical person. There are always decision-makers who aren’ttech people at these things, both to recruit new talent and to network.”

“Wow, there’s so much I never thought about. I’ve been so busy getting everything done for the week, I’ve barely reviewed the information.”

Jenny set her phone into one of the cup-holders and pulled her knees to her chest. She then stretched her sock-clad feet out in front of her on the car’s dash. Wade glanced at her and at her feet and frowned but didn’t say anything.

“What?” Jenny asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.” He looked carefully at the cars around them and changed lanes.

“Do you not want me to put my feet up on the dashboard? They’re clean.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” she asked with more spine than she’d shown all day.

“If we get into an accident, that’s the most dangerous way you could be sitting. Airbags are designed to keep your chest and head from slamming into the dash. If you’re sitting with your legs up like that, they can do some serious damage. Dislocation, broken bones, hip problems, all kinds of stuff.”

“Oh. Should I take them down?”

“You’re an adult. I’ll just try to be even more cautious.”

“I don’t know what to make of you,” Jenny said as she brought her legs down and got more comfortable. “You don’t talk much at work, but now you’re funny, considerate, and like my favorite music.”

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