The problem is the one spot is where the man, the newcomer, is standing. And that man is the one who was watching me from floor two.
Chapter Seventeen
It’s hours later, and I haven’t been able to reach Kara, while Jack has done his best to comfort me. I can’t be comforted. I can’t talk about the presentation at all. I just can’t, and yet he persists. We’re packing up our bags for the day when he says, “I don’t know what happened in the presentation, but I know you. It wasn’t as bad as you think.”
“It was,” I assure him. “At one point, I kept telling myself not to say certain things, and yet they came out of my mouth. And I think I used an English accent.”
“You’ve been joking around and mimicking the dialogue in that book you’ve been reading. I’m sure you didn’t actually—”
“I think I did,” I say, the replay in my head about as brutal as one of my dating-app meet and greets. “Have you noticed the man sitting on floor two lately, mostly in the afternoons?”
“No,” he says. “I tend to hyperfocus on our floor. Why?”
“He was in the meeting. Apparently the board has been watching us perform.”
“You think they’ve had undercover patrons evaluating us?”
“I’m not sure,” I say. “But if so, to what end? Maybe there are going to be budget cuts. That is how I got my job here. My branch was shut down.”
“We’re the central library. I think you’re dragging yourself through a river of conspiracy theories that is going no place good.”
“Right. Right. I’m sure you’re right.”
“Right three times in one sentence,” he jokes. “Damn, I’m good.”
I smile. “Right.”
He laughs. “Why don’t we go have a drink?”
“I have dinner with my dad. My mother is out of town with her new, hot boss.”
He blanches. “Say what? She’s having an affair?”
“They’re at a convention, but something about it feels off. I don’t know. I think she might be cheating on my dad, but I’m hoping to be proven wrong.”
He rubs the back of his neck as if he’s as tense about this as I am. “You want me to come by later tonight?”
“I do, but not tonight. I might stay with my dad.”
His hands settle on his hips. “How are you getting to his place?”
“Uber.”
He straightens, decided as he says, “I’ll drive you.”
“As much as I appreciate that, I need to clear my head before I see my dad.”
Disapproval flattens his lips. “I’ll walk you to the Uber.”
“I’m good,” I say. “Ireallyneed to think and clear my head before I see my dad.”
“Don’t wallow in that presentation going badly, Mia. It’s done. It’s over. It’s behind you.”
It’s not, I think, but I don’t push my point. He’ll comfort me. I know he will.
Suddenly my fears over not really knowing Jack fly right out the window in my head. He’s a good friend. He’s always been a good friend. So what if he’s on a dating site that he didn’t tell me about? He was probably embarrassed in some way. Men tend to be more private about these things than women, I’ve noticed, especially with Jess around. In fact, as for deleting his profile, I doubt it was me he was hiding from. Most likely it was Jess, who isn’t always kind to Jack.
I close the space between me and him and say, “Thanks for being a good friend, Jack. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”
