Page 23 of Sharing Shadow Secrets
“Anthropology,” she says, and I refocus, but she looks incredible.
“Yeah?” I ask, surprised that people still major in that.
“Homo sapiens sapiens fascinate me.”
Taking her in, Taylor has me hooked, and every new detail only draws me in more.
“I thought it was just homo sapiens?” I ask, since I don’t recall hearing the word repeated before.
“Homo sapiens sapiens are modern day, while sapiens are both now and archaic people.”
“Learn something new every day.”
She’s smart, interesting, and too beautiful.
She smiles and takes a sip of her water. “Psychology seemed … I don’t know. Bad vibes, so Anthro it was.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s the easiest way to explain it. Not to say I’m less interested in the individual, but I’m fascinated by culture and how it collectively permeates everything.”
A server approaches, and I catch him checking Taylor out. Either she doesn’t notice or she’s unphased by it. “I hear water is good. What can I get you for dinner?”
I gesture to Taylor, and she grimaces. “I haven’t looked at the menu.”
“Do you like olives and feta?” I ask, and she nods.
“We’ll start with your marinated olives, and then we’ll need a few more minutes.”
The server writes that down and then steps away.
“So, how did you end up doing social media?” I ask, reaching for her hand and rubbing my thumb back and forth on her knuckles.
“By accident,” she says, her eyes flicking down to our hands before finding mine again. “I started this meme account. It was similar toTrust Fund Terry, just making fun of rich kids, and it got a million followers, which seven years ago was a lot more impressive than it is today.”
“That’s still impressive,” I say, while wondering if she falls into the camp of “eat the rich.”
“Well, seven years ago, I was able to sell the account to a brand, and now they use it to hawk shirts.”
“So, you’ve always been a businesswoman?” I ask, impressed and curious.
“I’ve always been chronically online. When I sold that account, the social media agency I just quit started courting me. So after college, they hired me as a manager and I got promoted to director, which sounds way cooler than it was. The salaries did not match the title. One of the many reasons I needed to go.”
“Was there anything you liked about the agency?”
“The clients, when I got to work on accounts I wanted to work on … Like they didn’t want to take on High Five because they thought it was lame. But I kind of put my foot down. Like, Nicholas is so nice, and he was paying the rate so why not take him on?”
“So bossy,” I flirt but then think about her earlier comment:making fun of rich kids. I’m hoping this isn’t going to make things weird between us. “Tell me what you have against rich kids?”
She flashes an awkward smile. “Collectively, there is a lot of meat on the bone to make fun of your kind.”
“Like?”
“The disconnect with the plebeians.”
“None of us choose the life we’re born into.”
I mean, I would trade my trust fund for a family, parents. But that’s not how life works.
