We spent a few minutes perusing the food-stained menus that were taped onto the table. A minute later, the waitress came over with some hot tea.
“What do you want?” she asked in Mandarin.
I responded in the same language and ordered an authentic spicy braised pork dish.
“I’ll have the General Tso’s Tofu,” said Anna, in English. I had the courtesy to wait until after the waitress left to chuckle.
“What?” she asked, annoyed.
“You can clearly read the Chinese menu. If you can read, you can probably speak it. And then you ordered the whitest thing on the menu, in English.”
“So? I like General Tso’s. And my Mandarin is rusty.” She poured herself a cup of tea, hands shaking. Had she pushed herself that hard today?
“Here, let me help you.” I put my hands over hers and helped her steady the teapot as we poured each of us a cup. She looked away and quickly slipped her hands out of mine when we were finished.
“Do you like authentic Chinese food?” I asked.
“I...used to. I grew up eating it, though, so I’m pretty sick of it.” She stared into her teacup.
“All of Chinese cuisine?” I teased.
Without looking up, she answered, “My dad was a chef in a Chinese restaurant, so we ate it all the time.” She didn’t elaborate further, and I didn’t want to start on the daddy issues. I simply nodded and sipped my tea.
Minutes passed, and still she didn’t say anything...just yawned and absently looked around the room. At the old cash register. The lucky bamboo on the counter. The giant fake tree in the corner. Only occasionally did her eyes slip my way, then past me. Was she nervous?
I cleared my throat. “So...what questions do you have for me about Stumpstash?”
“Oh.” She sat up straighter and met my eyes. “Um...how do you like it there?”
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s what you wanted to ask me?”
She scowled. “I want to make sure it’s a good culture fit for me.”
Fair. I knew from personal experience the importance of finding a non-toxic work environment. “I really like it there. The company takes its mission seriously, and the CEO sets a clear, ambitious vision. And my coworkers are mostly great. I mean, I get to work with people like Cassie, and both of us have been with the company for over three years.”
“Mostly? Are there people there you don’t like?”
I snickered. “There’s always gotta be someone.” I threw back my tea and reached for the pot to pour myself another cup. “Let’s just say that I’ve stepped on a lot of toes as a tech lead.”
She was silent for a moment. “Cassie mentioned that you helped her get her job.”
“Yeah. I’m in a professional society that promotes women and minorities in tech. Cassie was part of the network and she reached out to me through another member. She was a shoe-in for the role, so I’m really glad she did. Plus, it’s been really fun working with her.”
Anna nodded…then slouched again and stared wanly at the table. Silence descended, thick and palpable, broken only by the clinking of her fingernails tapping on her ceramic tea cup. Did she actually have more questions for me about Stumpstash? Was she just that tired? The easy chemistry between us this morning was gone, replaced by a stifling awkwardness.
“So what did you think about climbing?” I asked, genuinely curious. She’d stayed for hours, but it was unclear if she’d actually had any fun towards the end.
Her eyes flared to life and she snapped out of her stupor. “I really enjoyed it. It was nice to have tangible, bite-sized goals to focus on. And my body is totally wrecked. I’m looking forward to being sore tomorrow. I love being sore.” She stretched her arms over her head, arching her back, her cropped sweater rising to bare her smooth, pale stomach.
I smiled at her admission. “Me too. So you’ll be back?”
Her bright smile said it all. There was definitely a climber in there. “I hope so! I really want to get that blue V3.” One of the ones that Lina had encouraged her to try.
I chortled. “Not bad for your first time, going from ‘I can’t do this!’ to projecting V3. At this rate, you’ll be crushing V8s next week.”
“Is that what level you...crush...on?” she asked, hesitating on the usage of crush. “V8?”
“What grade. I project V8s. I crush V7s. I have a crush on you.” I winked.
She laughed softly and looked down. “Is that how you use those words? There’s so much jargon to learn.”
“Yeah. You crush problems, you crush on people. Though I guess you could crush people, too.”
“Ha, I see,” she said, yawning infectiously.
I leaned back in the booth and stretched my legs under the table, accidentally brushing against hers.
We locked eyes. She licked her lips and sucked in a breath, skimming her leg along mine as she sat up straighter. Awareness sizzled between us, and the amusement in her eyes was gone, replaced by something...hungrier.
Good thing that, right at that moment, our food arrived.
The dishes smelled wonderful, sweet and savory and perfect after a long morning workout. The braised pork was delicious, with a thick, spicy brown sauce that made my eyes burn and my nose run. I made Anna try a bite, and she seemed to like it, but had to wash it down with two cups of tea. She also scarfed down all of her General Tso’s Tofu without offering me any. Stingy.
Afterward, I was stuffed and ready for a post-climb nap. Lethargy set in, and the energy between us fizzled, the moment past. Anna got up to use the restaurant’s ATM, then paid the bill.
“Was that all you wanted to ask me about Stumpstash? Nothing else?”
“I don’t remember the rest, unfortunately.” She yawned. “I’m too tired. I know there were at least one or two more things. I’ll text you
