Chapter Fifty-Five
Sierra
On Friday, Griffin and I head to the faculty social at Charles Phillips’s home. It’s a sprawling three-story Victorian house with a huge yard. White bay windows line up perfectly along pearl-gray walls. The steep roof slopes down sharply, and there’s a brick chimney on top.
I stare at it as Griffin looks for place to park. “I didn’t know there were still homes with so much yard.”
It’s a good thing we came together, because the street is strewn with cars. I’ve been to several faculty socials with Todd. I hope the economics department is more interesting—and sober—than the English department. Most of the English professors at Wollstonecraft loosen up after about five to six drinks. But by then, they’ve imbibed enough to behave obnoxiously.
After circling around a bit, we find a spot one street over. As we climb out, Griffin’s phone pings.
“Is that Charles, wondering where we are?” We’re a little late.
“No. It’s from Grant. Apparently, Emmett made up with his girlfriend. Huxley’s sure they’re going to get married, and Seb says he better buy the rings from him or else.” Griffin’s mouth curves into a faint smile as we start to walk toward Charles’s home.
“Was Emmett at the dinner?” I think I heard somebody mention the name at Manny’s Tacos, but I’m not sure if he was there or not.
“No. He’s the only one you haven’t met yet. He wasn’t in a good place mentally after he broke up with his girlfriend.”
“It must’ve been terrible for him to not want to hang out with any of you.”
“She didn’t just break up with him, but she quit working for him and was moving to Virginia to work for a direct competitor who’s been poaching his staff.”
“That’s a betrayal,” I say, feeling sympathy for Emmett. I’m sure his girlfriend has her side of the story, too, but that doesn’t mean things were easy for him.
“You can’t backstab someone and expect forgiveness. She probably groveled. Emmett’s too proud to grovel for anybody.”
“Am I going to meet him?” I ask, excited about another uncle for our babies.
“Eventually, yes. He’s a workaholic. But you’ll love him. He’s loyal. Always has your back.”
We walk up the stone-lined path and into the brightly lit home. The soft strains of a piano float in the air, elegant and classy. The interior is mostly natural wood and high-end wallpaper with abstract patterns that make the home appear more contemporary. A huge glass vase stuffed with long-stemmed red roses sits on a stand in the center of the foyer.
The place is fairly packed with professors and their significant others. Given my experience with Todd’s socials, I figured I’d be able to tell which was the faculty member and which was the spouse/partner, based on the level of arrogance and how well they could deploy famous quotes as they talked with each other. But that’s not the case at all. I’m pleasantly shocked to realize that the economics faculty seem a lot more human than the professors of English at Wollstonecraft.
In the dining room is a huge spread of garlic bread, potato salad, pasta, pizza, cheese and crackers. Several bottles of wine and hard liquor sit next to the food. I bypass the alcohol and grab a cup of orange juice.
Griffin takes a small glass of white wine and starts introducing me to his colleagues. I shake their hands, memorizing names and specialties. It’s the easiest way to make people feel heard and appreciated.
When I meet Lori, I’m fascinated. She researches social media and how it influences people’s economic behavior.
“It’s a form of behavioral economics,” she says. “Are you familiar with it?”
“I’ve read a bit about it in some business articles. So how do you measure the impact social media has?” I ask.
“Honestly, it isn’t easy. But right now, my partner and I are looking at what’s trended in the last five years and how that impacted people’s behavioral patterns by looking at those who most likely saw the trending topics. Thank God for hashtags!” She sighs exaggeratedly.
I laugh.
“And to see if we can catch more recent examples, I have several social media apps on my phone and have notifications set up so that I get an alert if anything’s getting lots of views and shares.”
It’s a good explanation. Simple without getting too technical like some of the other professors.
When somebody else snags Lori’s attention, Griffin whispers into my ear, “She lives for gossip, so this is exactly her kind of research.”
I laugh. “Somebody’s got to do it. Social media is becoming an important part of everyone’s life. You can sell anything there, including yourself.”
“Do you use it to promote your products?”