Jana’s knees were shaking as she wobbled to her car several streets away from the mansion. This was all unreal. What were the chances that someone who knew Anil and Nadia back incollegewould show up at Think while she was there? Probably the same as the likelihood that Rohan’s uncle was the executive director in the first place.
Wait. Rohan had first told Jana about this job because he heard about it on a college friend’s Facebook post. That friend must have been Maria.Fuck. Sometimes the world really was much too small for Jana’s likings.
Now the gossip…Jana’s past…was known by everyone she would be working with. She had no doubt that the staff that had heard Maria would talk to everyone else at Think. Her colleagues. Her staff. Jana reached her car, got inside, and sat, putting her head in her arms on the steering wheel to think. She was literally shaking. Her breathing was heavy. She was in no condition to drive right now.
And what about Anil? Were he and Nadia back together? It couldn’t possibly be true. Clearly, Maria only knew Nadia on social media and hadn’t actually spoken to her—she could have been mistaken about the picture she saw.
Jana had just learned to trust the man again, and she knew that everything that had happened in Tanzania would not have happened if he was in a relationship with his ex-wife the whole time. But Mariahadseen pictures of Nadia and Anil together, so even if she didn’t know the nature of their relationship, it was clear Nadiawasin Anil’s life in some capacity. And Anil hadn’t told Jana that.
Jana had never, not once, asked Anil if he still spoke to his ex-wife. She should have asked questions before getting involved with him again. The events of five years ago should have taught her better. Five years ago, she’d believed him when he said he and Nadia were divorced. She never pressed, never insisted on more details about his wife or why his marriage had ended. She’d been so caught up in the passion and stepping out of her comfort zone that she missed all the warning signs.
History was repeating itself now.Hatari. The Swahili word for danger. Only helpful if Jana would actually listen. She felt a tightness in her throat.
She should ask him. Figure out if what Maria had said was even true—that he and Nadia were speaking again. Or if they were back together. It was only fair to Anil to ask him before jumping to conclusions.
She picked up her phone to text Anil, but Jana noticed then that she still had her notifications on silent from when she was at the Think office. And she had a missed message from Anil from about an hour ago.
Anil:Taking Imani to see a movie and then dinner, but can you call me later tonight? Just need to talk to you about something. Don’t worry, it’s not about Imani.
Jana reread the text three times. She didn’t respond to it—he was at the movies, anyway, and she couldn’t exactly accuse him of lying to her while he was out with Imani.
But what could he possibly need to speak to her about?
Was he going to tell her about Nadia? Maria said she saw a picture of them together on Facebookyesterday. Maybe Anil wanted to tell Jana that he had reconnected with his ex-wife and wanted to put the brakes on whatever was starting between Anil and Jana. Or maybe he was going to confess that when he’d slept with Jana in Tanzania, he was cheating on Nadia.
Bile rose in Jana’s stomach.
She couldn’t put herself through all this again. She tossed her phone to the passenger seat. It was easier to walk away now before things got even messier.
Jana put her head back in her arms and let herself cry. It was over. After everything had been going so perfectly for the first time in her adult life, she’d lost it all.
Chapter 27
Jana finally pulled herself together and drove to Kamila’s place instead of going home. She told herself it was because she had all those boxes from Tanzania in her trunk, but really, she couldn’t bear the thought of being alone. Of not being able tell a friend what had just happened.
Kamila and Rohan lived in a tall condo building in Midtown Toronto surrounded by amazing restaurants and several dog parks. When Jana got there, Rohan came down to help bring up the boxes to their unit on the fifteenth floor, telling Jana that Kamila was at the animal shelter.
Their unit was bright and sunny with a huge window overlooking the city, and all the colorful touches you would expect from Kamila Hussain’s home (now Kamila Hussain-Nasser). But it wasn’t without Rohan’s touches, either, like the heavy wooden bookshelves and sleek gourmet kitchen. Once Jana and Rohan had brought all the boxes in, Jana fell heavily on a sofa, exhausted. The moment she sat, Kamila and Rohan’s energetic dogs attacked her with love. Darcy, a small bichon frise, was getting on in years, but she would probably have puppylike enthusiasm until her last day. And Potato, an enormous, affectionate beige Lab mix, was exuberant and loved people more than anything in the world. Jana wasn’t a dog person, but these two were hard not to love. Jana rubbed the dogs’ heads as they settled at her feet.
Rohan’s eyes were knit with concern as he handed her a glass of water. “You okay? You look…”
Jana sighed. “Like I’ve been crying?”
He frowned. “Kamila told me you went to your new job today…What happened?”
There was no point keeping this in. Jana had no idea if Sam would tell Rohan, or, hell, if that Maria woman would. Jana took a deep breath, mortified when she choked back a sob.
In seconds, Potato was on his feet. He rested his face on her knees and looked up at Jana with his big brown eyes. Seriously the sweetest dog in existence. Jana scratched his ear.
“Potato knows when someone needs him,” Rohan said.
Jana let the dog nuzzle into her hand. “Smart boy.” She rubbed the dog’s head for a few seconds before speaking again. “Yeah, something happened at the Think office. Some friend of Sam Lopez showed up who knew Anil. From college. She knew you, too. And Nadia,” Jana said.
Rohan frowned. “Who?”
“Maria something. I don’t know her maiden name. She’s married to a professor—Zachary Peterson.”
Rohan frowned. “Maria Lima. Yeah, I know her.” He put his hand to his mouth. “Shit. It was fromherFacebook post that I heard about the job in the first place. I wasn’t thinking. What did she say?”
