"And we have your husband with us in the audience!" The camera turns to face the front row. "How proud is he?"
Dev nods enthusiastically from his seat, confirming that he is, in fact, so proud. He flashes the camera a Crest-commercial- worthy grin.
Maya smiles. "He's been so supportive every step of the way. My hope is that young girls and women everywhere can see that with the right people around you, you can fulfill your biggest dreams—personally and professionally!"
Cheers erupt from the audience, and Maya knows that what she just said was perfect PR material. You're welcome, Beth.
Taylor stands up, making a sweeping gesture toward Maya. "Maya Patel, everyone!"
The cheers grow louder, the entire audience rising to their feet. Maya reminds herself to keep smiling as she waves goodbye. The cameraman announces a break for commercial and she's directed back to her dressing room. As soon as she takes her phone off airplane mode, it immediately vibrates with a flood of texts and Instagram notifications.
And then she sees it. The name appears in her direct messages like any other.
Maya! I just caught your Today show interview and you were fantastic!
Her heart races, but before reading the rest, she puts her phone away to find Dev.
When she emerges from backstage, Dev runs toward her and kisses her. "You were amazing!"
"I can't believe that just happened," Maya says, still in a daze.
They're interrupted by a group of women who ask to take a selfie with her. As she prepares to flash her brightest smile, Maya exhales her first sigh of relief that morning. At least it all went smoothly.
At least no one knows the full story.
DAILY TECH PODCAST
KYLE: Welcome to Daily Tech with Karina & Kyle, your number-one podcast for anything and everything tech-related. We're going to jump right in. So by now, many of us have heard that Maya Patel is MIA. I've gotta say, we've covered a lot on our show here, but this is something else.
KARINA: Totally. We hope she's okay. I've heard that many new moms daydream about running away. Do you think it's possible she just needed some "me" time?
KYLE: Let's hope so.
KARINA: Now, our listeners know I love an origin story, especially when it involves two of the most renowned #girlbosses in tech. Let's go back to how Maya Patel and Liz Anderson allegedly first met.
KYLE: It was after that Today show interview, right? After Maya referenced Anita Johnson as one of her biggest inspirations, no less? You all know we're tired of the female founder takedown pieces, and nobody loves a good comeback story more than me. But c'mon! You can't just casually mention Liz Anderson and Anita Johnson in the same breath anymore.
KARINA: I'm talking about Liz here, not Anita. And what you're referring to are rumors, anyway. So many of us have been guilty of being caught up in the story instead of the actual work, you know what I mean? You can say what you want about either of them, but both women are tech luminaries, like it or not.
KYLE: Yeah, well, my gut says there's much more to the story here.
CHAPTER TWO
They take the scenic route out of the studio, passing the gold Prometheus statue that overlooks the skating rink where Maya once witnessed three simultaneous marriage proposals.
Dev successfully locates their Uber, and once they're on their way back to their apartment, Maya turns her phone to face him. "You'll never believe who I just heard from."
He peers at the message.
Liz Anderson: Maya! I just caught your Today show interview and you were fantastic! It took me back to when I was on the show with a little one at home. My brain was total mush when I tried to speak but you were so eloquent. And thank you for the shout-out.
* * *
"Seriously? The Liz Anderson?"
