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Two weeks to launch. Focus. Breathe.
He had to stop thinking about Colby. At least for now. Nate did a few breathing exercises that he hoped Zane and Todd wouldn’t notice. Within a few minutes he was focused on the tedious and brainless work of testing profiles.
For a few more hours the three of them pounded away, until Nate’s belly growled so loudly that Zane and Todd laughed.
“I think that’s the dinner bell,” Todd said.
“I forgot to get pizza,” Nate said. “And now it’s almost nine. Ugh.”
“And you promised,” said Zane. “Pizza. Now.”
“We passed dinner a few hours ago,” Todd said. “I’m headed home. I’d rather do this on the couch watching Netflix. Zane?”
“I guess I’ll go with you.”
“I’m your ride. You have to go with me.”
“Find anything that didn’t match?” Nate asked.
Both Zane and Todd shook their heads. “Everything’s clean so far,” Todd said.
“Good. Maybe…I don’t know. I know what I saw, but this seems crazy. I’m sorry we’re having to do this.”
“It’s okay,” Todd said. “We want it perfect, too.”
“It was perfect already,” Zane said. “I designed it.”
“Suuuure,” Todd said.
Nate interrupted before they began bickering again. “I’m going to stay and finish up, then get my inbox down to zero.”
“You should really hire someone for that,” Todd said. “You’re needed on other tasks.”
“I need to be involved in this stuff. Plus, we’re almost at the finish line. I can manage.”
“The finish line is why you need to hire someone. If you want to be totally control freak-y about it, you could make a doc with common answers or better—hire someone who does copywriting. Teach them to write like you.”
“Maybe Alisa could do it,” Nate said.
“No can do,” Zane said. “She’s up to her eyeballs in the graphics and handling the whole promotional and branding aspects. I’m with Todd. Hire someone.”
Nate rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted, but then, he always was. Today the emotional toll of seeing Colby added on top of the physical and mental exhaustion. He was starting to get a headache that radiated out from his temples. “You and Todd agreeing? That’s a big deal. Fine. I’ll try to find someone tomorrow.”
“You could hire a virtual assistant or someone to work remotely,” Todd said. “Just for emails and communication, that would be easy.”
“Okay! I got it. You want me to hire someone. I said yes, so let’s drop it.” Nate immediately felt bad about snapping. More than once today he had let the stress affect how he treated Todd and Zane. “Sorry.”
“We’re just trying to make sure you’re okay,” Todd said.
The words hung in the air for a moment, creating an awkward tension. He could feel both of them staring at him. Had they planned this? Maybe they talked while he was on his route about having some kind of intervention.
“I’m fine,” Nate said.
“We just have to ask,” Todd said softly.
“I appreciate it. I do. Truly. But I need you to believe me when I tell you that I’m fine. Okay?”
Zane and Todd shared a look, but they both nodded and stood, packing up their things.
