“That’s an excuse to call a strangernames?”
“I know it’s rare for you to ever spend a morning with a woman, but just ask Aaron. Anything that happens pre-coffee doesn’t count. And wasn’t it her first day on the job? Maybe she wasnervous.”
“Why are you making excuses for her? You don’t even knowher.”
“Because I can’t think of a time in recent history you’ve volunteered the name of the girl you’re dating, or even talked about one thismuch.”
“We’renotdating.”
“Just pointing out that you’ve brought her up severaltimes.”
“Because I vehemently disagree with everything she stands for. She’s silent when she should speak up—like when her friend, the barista, was getting shit on by a customer—and she’s a know-it-all when she should sit back and listen, like at ourmeetings.”
“Aha.” Libby’s eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead as she moved the remaining dishes into the soapy water. “I think I understand. You’ve always had a weird thing about how people treat thehelp.”
“But Wendy was as stuck-up as theycome.”
“And for that reason, you knew things could never be serious with her. You could run when things got messy. That’s why you date women like that. When you care about someone, you don’t tolerate rudeness, and you’re as loyal as adog.”
“Are you seeing that therapist again?” Iasked.
“Yes, and he agrees you’re subconsciously sabotaging your lovelife.”
“Was,” I said. “Iwassabotaging it until Mom made me promise—” I shook my head. What the fuck? My sister had witchy ways of getting me to admit things that’d never even crossed my mind. I doubted my subconscious was even evolved enough to recognize self-sabotage. Her psychoanalytic subterfuge was distressing enough that getting back to venting about Georgina somehow felt safer. “I only used that example to demonstrate Georgina’s character. Her position at the magazine is a waste of time and resources—and Vance won’t stop singing her praises. She rolled into the office as if she had all the answers. Did I mention she was hired on a Wednesday and started Monday? I’ve been working there foryears.”
“She had under five days to prepare and Vance is thatimpressed?”
I ran my hands over my face and looked at the ceiling. “Ay, dios mío. Give me strength to deal with the women in mylife.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. What’s thematter?”
“The same thing that’s always the matter.” Something I would never admit to Georgina after the way I’d peacocked over my experience with women. “One minute, I think I understand your gender perfectly, and then? I realize I don’t know women atall.”
Libby wore what looked like a secret smile. Surely she was amused by the fact that Georgina had stumped me. “I’m guessing this Georgina falls into the latterhalf.”
“I just don’t get her. I don’t know how to work withher.”
“Do you think Vance will ask her to stay onpermanently?”
“God, no.” It hadn’t even occurred to me. “I’dquit.”
“She’s thatbad?”
No, she wasn’t. I knew that. But there was no reason for Georgina to stay on as co-manager, except if I was doing a shitty job on my own. And then, why wouldn’t Vance just give hermyjob? He’d already unofficially warned me I was on thin ice. Was it possible that was Georgina’sendgame?
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s thatbad.”
“Well . . .” Libby sighed as she handed me a pan to dry. “If you really want her gone, I can tell you exactly how to make ithappen.”
I massaged the headache forming in my temples. How the hell did some people have all the answers? I’d been mulling this over since the day I’d heard Vance was bringing in a consultant. “Tellme.”
“I will, once you answer myquestion.”
“Which one?” Iasked.
“Is she pretty? Or better yet, do you find herattractive?”
Who wouldn’t find a girl like Georgina attractive? She was small but mighty, ambitious but not malicious, and feisty with a streak of sweet, both in her personality and manifested as freckles on her delicate nose. But so were lots of women in this city. I just had to find out whereelseto meetthem.
