say without shame. "And because there's more of us than there is of you."
"That's where you're wrong," she says. "Over a billion and a half people speak English in the world."
"Is that a fact?"
"I'm interested in linguistics," she says, eyeing the food that I'm placing on the counter. "I want to learn another language to make my job easier. There are so many companies out there where English isn't a well-spoken language. I've been trying to decide between Spanish and Mandarin."
"I think either of those would be good, but maybe Spanish would be more useful for life in general."
"Yeah, for the cool holiday destinations."
We plate our lunch, and I take a seat next to her. "So, Nicole. Is this your first time in the U.S.?"
She shakes her head, chewing on her first forkful of food. Her eyes roll just a little with enjoyment. Maybe it's better than M&S food. Dabbing her mouth, she lowers her fork. "No. I've been to a couple of other cities on business. And Vegas on holiday."
"Vegas? You don't strike me as the Vegas type."
"I'm not really. It was my friend's idea…we were all turning twenty-five, and she thought it would be fun to do a big quarter-century party in Sin City."
"And did you sin while you were there?" I ask, feeling a twinge of jealousy at the possibility that she might have had a fling or two.
"You know, you shouldn't ask questions that you might not like the answers to," she says with another raised eyebrow.
"You should try to answer a question with a straight answer!"
"Well, there was plenty of gambling and some general gluttony and drunkenness…but that isn't what you are asking, is it?"
I pop a piece of sushi in my mouth and chew, wondering why the hell I'm proceeding down this line of inquiry. It isn't like me to be territorial about someone, but that's obviously where my subconscious is at. I shake my head and change the subject, not wanting to indulge my jealousy.
"Where do you live in the UK?"
"Just outside London. You wouldn't know it. It's a suburb. The same area I grew up in. My parents live about ten minutes away, and I rent my own place."
"You don't want to buy something?" I ask, shuddering at the idea that she's wasting money renting.
She looks at me with amusement. "Have you seen property prices in London? I have student loans to pay off. I'll be probably be renting when I'm claiming my pension."
"I do know London," I say. "I have a place in Kensington. I think it must be made of solid gold for how much it cost me!" Way to go, Aaron. Super sensitive. I shake my head at my own stupidity, wondering what it is about this woman that makes me lose my composure.
To her credit, Nicole doesn't call me out, just smirks as though she's amused at my comment that sounded way more boastful out loud than it had in my head. I grimace at my insensitivity. Just because I grew up with money doesn't mean I should forget that others aren't in such a privileged position. I guess I'm out of practice in a way. All my friends and family are well off, which is probably why I'm stumbling so much.
"Kensington's nice," Nicole says genuinely.
"It is. I wish I could spend more time there, but work keeps me busy."
"So, you own AHP?"
I take a sip of cool water, using the seconds to try and do better with my next response.
"I do. It wasn't what my family wanted for me. They're involved in the oil industry, and they wanted it to be a family business."
"Was it the family aspect, or the industry you didn't like?"
"Both," I say. "I love my family, but there is already so much politics there without the additional layer of work friction, and I wanted to do something for myself."
Nicole nods. "I get that. You must get a real sense of satisfaction from building something from scratch."
I remember how branching out on my own felt like a real challenge, but I did it, initially with my family's financial backing. Could I have achieved the same success without their financial involvement at the start? I would probably say no. Money grows more money. It's the way of the world. But how to tell Nicole?
"It's an overwhelming feeling to have so many people reliant on you for job security and to know that your company is doing good in the world. But I did get a