When Dimple Met Rishi(90)

But she knew the answer. Yes, she would. Yes, because this was not the plan. Yes, because the last thing she wanted was to break it off five years down the road, when the two of them would be in so much deeper, it’d be like cutting off a limb. It would be painful now, but nothing compared to what it could be like. So the answer was yes.

Ashish pulled Celia close and kissed her, and Rishi stood in front of Dimple. Somehow, he instinctively knew not to pull her into his arms. Had he guessed? She took a deep breath, and said, “I have to talk to you” at the same time that he said, “Come with me.”

They both paused, and then Dimple said, “Where?”

Rishi’s eyes were shining as he reached out and took her hand. “You’ll see, my friend,” he said as he began to tug her toward the hallway that contained their lecture hall.




Rishi could barely keep himself from sprinting through the crowd of Insomnia Con students to the hallway and the lecture hall. He knew now why people said love gave you wings. All he could think was how Dimple was going to feel in a few minutes.

She was so beautiful and so brave. Just coming here, to the Last Hoorah party, was an act of courage. He knew how much this had meant to her, how crushed she was, though she was trying not to show it. It was there, in the lines around her mouth, in the furrow in her brow. Even her usually buoyant curls looked a little wilted.

He put his hand on the handle of the door to the lecture hall and turned around to glance at her. She looked thoroughly confused. His heart lifted and he grinned. Ha! Ha ha ha. This was going to be epic. “Ready?”

Dimple nodded, and Rishi pushed the door open.




Dimple walked in, wondering what the heck Rishi Patel was up to now. If this was some kind of pity party he’d arranged for her, she really wasn’t in the mood. And anyway, she really wanted to just get it over with, tell him what she’d decided, and go home. But the way he’d basically just run here . . . she’d let her curiosity get the best of her.

She walked into the quiet, empty lecture hall and looked around. “What? Why are we—”

And then Dimple saw her, up at the head of the room. Sitting there in the front row, like a student, turned around and smiling slightly.

Jenny Lindt.

Dimple’s mouth legit hung open. Her knees felt weak, like they might buckle at any moment.

Jenny Lindt raised a hand. “Hi, Dimple.”

Dimple nearly fell over. She would’ve, if Rishi hadn’t grabbed her elbow and very firmly steered her forward.

“Go,” he said softly in her ear. “You deserve it.” And then he slipped out, leaving her with her idol.

Dimple walked forward on wooden legs. It was her. It was really her, with her teal mermaid hair in an angled bob, her quirky retro clothes (right then she was wearing a blue polka-dotted circle skirt, a shirt with a Peter Pan collar, and jeweled cat’s-eye glasses), and her incisive gaze. Her brown eyes looked like they could cut right through you. “Hi,” she said again when Dimple was within talking distance. “Have a seat.” She gestured to the chair next to hers, and Dimple sat, aware that her every muscle seemed to be vibrating.

“This is . . .” Her voice came out a husky whisper, and she cleared her throat and tried again. “Um, I don’t even know why . . . or how . . .” Dimple made a vague circling gesture with her hands, like that would make what she was trying to say clearer. Gods, why had she saved her inarticulate seal act for now, when she was face-to-face with Jenny freaking Lindt? Idiot.

But Jenny’s smile just got wider, like she was used to this reaction. She probably was, come to think of it. “Your friend.” She gestured at the door to the back of the hall. “Boyfriend? Anyway, he came to see me when I was here earlier, meeting with the winners of Insomnia Con.”

The words were like an ice water bath. The winners of Insomnia Con. That should’ve been her. Then what Jenny Lindt had just said came seeping in. “Wait. Rishi came to see you?”

“Yeah, waited in line about an hour so he could catch me after everyone else had melted away.” Jenny raised her eyebrows. “That’s some serious dedication.”

“But . . . why? What did he say?”

Jenny reached into her pocket and held up a little USB stick. “He showed me all the work you put into the talent show. There was even a part where you were talking about how important your app was to you, and why you wanted me to see it. He attached your wireframe prototype, too.” She shook her head. “It’s a solid idea. You’re very good.”

Dimple’s breath caught in her throat. She’d waited years, years, to hear that. All those times she’d considered giving up but hadn’t because maybe one day Jenny Lindt might tell her she had what it took—that day was here. Dimple blinked, hard, and tried to ignore the goose bumps that ravaged her arms and legs. “I, um, wow. I can’t believe this is happening.”

Jenny laughed, a throaty, sophisticated sound. “Well, you should. You’re the real thing. Not like those idiots I met with before. Drunk Zombies.” She snorted. “What a joke.”

Dimple felt a gleeful grin spread across her face. “But they won Insomnia Con.”

Jenny’s chair let out a plaintive squeak as she leaned back, steepling her fingers in front of her, serious now. “Yeah,” she said, looking right at Dimple. “And I’m going to have a talk with the organizers about conflicts of interest. If your parents donated the new computer science wing?” She shook her head. “You shouldn’t even be allowed to participate.” She fixed Dimple with a serious look. “I wish I could say stuff like that’s a one-off, but it’s not. You’re going to see a lot of it. People getting ahead unfairly because of the category into which they were born: male or white or straight or rich. I’m in a few of those categories myself, which is why I make it a point to reach out and help those who aren’t, those who might not necessarily be seen if I didn’t make the effort. We need to shake this field up, you know? We need more people with different points of view and experiences and thought processes so we can keep innovating and moving ahead.” Jenny Lindt smiled a little. “Which is why I want to talk to you about partnering together to get your app market ready. What do you say?”