Applause rolled forward from the audience followed by the rippling murmur of the crowd—taxi arrangements, dinner plans, and sighs of relief from the staff, especially Taryn and me. I stood stage side, shaking the hands of the executives and accepting their compliments on how well the event had gone.
Over the shoulder of the company's chief technology officer, I could see Taryn high-fiving the production crew on the stand at the back of the room. I delivered a few more back slaps and efforts to extend credit for the event to all of the people involved before winding my way to the back.
On my way, I spotted Tony Harcourt, the co-worker from the Chicago office through whom I’d met Eric. I saw him a few times in our workroom, but we hadn't spoken about anything other than work. The evening's
