I wince. “Yeah. Maybe. Though Jeremy isn’t known for his tolerance levels.”
She nods. “Thanks again, bro.” She pumps her shoulder to mine. “It means a lot that you’re here.”
“Are you kidding, Amy?” I wrap her in a hug. “I’m so wicked proud of you.”
She pinches my side to release the hug, walking backward to the restaurant. “I’ve gotta get back inside. Are you coming?”
“In a minute.” I wave and pull out my phone. The little red notification lights up my message app. With a sigh, I open them.
I can’t come. Call me. It’s an emergency.
Please come. I need you.
My stomach clenches in a moment of panic. But an emergency to Corrine could be work related. These are work-related texts. They have to be. There can’t be an actual emergency.
“Her mom,” I breathe, the words sinking in my gut.
Pressing her number, I put the phone to my ear. I step to the curb and lift my hand as another cab approaches. With each ring the knot in my chest tightens. The cab stops and I throw myself in, hurling the address at the driver.
Boston has never seemed bigger than it does right now, when I’m trying to get back to her.
The cab pulls up in front of our building and I jump out.
“Hey,” the cab driver calls from his open window. “You forgot to pay.”
“Ahhh.” I run back to pay, not waiting for change. Wendy the security guard frowns at me from behind a crossword puzzle book as I run through the doors. The elevators require another long wait. I calculate how long it would take me to run ten flights up the stairs but decide I’ll be too sweaty and might throw up even if I somehow get up there faster.
I burst through the door to her office too many minutes later, my tie flipped over my shoulder and my pulse pumping against the collar of my shirt. She looks up from her desk. Her eyes red and her cheeks blotchy.
“What happened?”
“Where were you?”
“I...my sister’s...? What happened?”
Corrine slumps in her chair, her face in her hands. “Everything happened,” she mumbles through her fingers. “My mom,” she warbles and my heart plummets somewhere to my knees region. “I have a flight booked for Minnesota tomorrow.” She gestures at her desk. “I was trying to tie up loose ends but...”
Relief hits my bloodstream like amphetamines. This is something I cando. “Okay. We can go get you packed right now.”
Still she sits in the chair, staring at her desk. “Corrine?”
Something uncomfortable and a little terrifying claws up my throat. “Did something else happen?”
She nods, slowly. “Yes.”
She takes a deep breath and comes together in front of me. The red glasses on her nose, the severe bun, the tight lips. A corporate general.
“Richard happened.” Her jaw pulses a fast rhythm. “He barged in here half an hour ago demanding that I...god, I don’t even know. He’s been...” She looks away, like for a moment she’s ashamed. “Pursuing me for weeks, longer. I think he offered that promotion as a ruse. He showed up at my apartment the night before my last migraine.”
“W-What?!” I try to do the math in my head, of how long ago that was, if I was with her that night.
“He’s an obsessive, entitledasshole.”
My mouth hangs open but I can’t make it form any words. “I had no idea it was that... I thought your mom...do you want to...” I still feel like I can’t catch my breath, can’t catch up to what’s happening.
“Report him?” she asks. “I already am. I have a letter drafted to Sue in HR.”
“Okay.” I nod. Her energy is charged, almost angry. It’s a little terrifying but also wildly impressive. And maybe a little sexy. “I’ll help,” I say, even though I have no idea how. “I’ll help.”
