Page 162 of The Revenge Game
I’d thought the house was fine as it was, but six months ago, when we arrived home from a week’s vacation in Greece, I discovered my incredible boyfriend had arranged for one of London’s top kitchen designers to take all the ideas I’d marked on Pinterest and build my dream kitchen as a surprise.
The best thing about our new house is its large guest room. Andrew’s parents have visited twice, and my mother flew out last summer to spend three weeks with us.
Mom bloomed during those three weeks, like she was finally allowing herself to take up space in the world.
She was already incredibly grateful to Drew because he’d insisted on buying her a house in Texas even though he framed it as an investment property. It just happened to be perfectly suited to her needs with a sunny kitchen, big garage space for her new hobby of upholstery, and within walking distance of her craft store job.
But while she was over here, she and Drew bonded over their shared love of terrible British reality TV shows, both of them giving advice to contestants like they could actually hear them through the screen. By the end of her stay, she’d taught him her secret chili recipe so he could cook it for the nights when I was working late, and he’d helped her set up an Etsy shop for her crafts.
Watching the two people I love most in the world find their own connection felt like everything in my life clicking perfectly into place.
And I think Drew was even happier than I was a few months ago when she tentatively mentioned in a phone call that she’d been on a few dates. Jim is a retired high school librarian who runs the local book club and showed up to their first date carrying a copy of her favorite Jane Austen novel.
I leave my office now, dodging Pete and Dave engaged in an impromptu sales pitch-off using office supplies. Dave dramatically extols the virtues of a half-empty stapler while Pete delivers an impassioned monologue about the revolutionary potential of Post-it notes that have lost their stickiness.
Pete eyes my laptop bag as I walk past.
“Where are you off to?”
“Personal appointment,” I say, trying to sound casual.
“Ooh, personal.” Dave wiggles his eyebrows. “Is this the kind of personal that requires that fancy shirt you’ve been hiding under your jacket all day?”
“At least he’s wearing a shirt,” Pete says. “Unlike someone’s virtual presentation last week.”
“I told you, my camera accidentally turned on while I was changing!”
Leaving Pete and Dave arguing about wardrobe malfunctions, I push the button for the elevator.
It’s only a short walk from DTL Enterprises to the headquarters of ClarityConnect, the not-for-profit Andrew founded to develop apps to help people with different visual and cognitive disorders.
The messages they’ve received from around the world show that the apps they have developed over the last two years are making a major difference in people’s lives. From the teenage girl who can finally recognize her friends in school photos to the older man who no longer feels lost in his own neighborhood.
And ClarityConnect is not the only charity Andrew’s established in the last two years.
He’s also started the Man Enough Collective, where he has assembled a remarkable coalition of men at the top of their fields who aren’t afraid to show their whole selves.
NFL stars talk about going to therapy, CEOs talk about their struggles with anxiety, and scientists discuss how asking for help made their breakthroughs possible. They visit schools, businesses, sports teams—anywhere toxic masculinity might be taking root—and show through their own experiences that being a man isn’t about dominance or control. It’s about having the courage to be vulnerable, support others, and admit when you’re wrong.
“Bobby Ray learned that behavior from someone,” he pointed out when he explained his idea. “The most important thing is to break the cycle, teach men that there are so many different ways to be a man and that real strength isn’t about making others feel small.”
Every time I watch Andrew work on the charity, seeing him help other men unlearn the same toxic lessons that nearly broke us both in high school, I’m reminded of exactly why he’s the most amazing person I know.
And it definitely wasn’t a coincidence that the Man Enough Collective’s pilot program was first rolled out at a steel mill in Texas, where the new owner insisted on mandatory attendance at the weekly talks from high-achieving men who challenged the toxic masculinity narrative.
And yes, my wonderful boyfriend does own controlling stakes in a steel mill where an employee called Bobby Ray Porter is on the payroll. Because my boyfriend is smart, and he learned a lot about revenge and karma and how to actually bring about the change he wants to see in the world.
Although the word boyfriend is starting to feel wrong to describe everything that Andrew Yates is in my life.
Which is why I think it needs a system upgrade.
Drew
It starts with an urgent voice message from Xander.
“Hey, boss, I need help with the Singapore team’s code merge. They’re throwing around words I’m pretty sure they made up, and I need your genius brain to translate what they are talking about into actual requirements.”
When I was building my team for ClarityConnect, I decided on a whim to offer a job to Xander. After all, I’d seen lots of evidence of how well he could work when he was highlymotivated, and I had a suspicion that most of his initial laziness was because he wasn’t being challenged.
