“Hey,” I say with a wave. “What’s up?”
“Sam’s gone,” Lindsay speaks up.
I do my best to act surprised. “Gone?”
Silvia McAllister snickers. “He fell or something.”
“He fell?”
I’m not sure who, but I distinctly hear someone say, “He was talking to that consultant.”
“You’re his buddy. I’m surprised you’re not already at the hospital.” Brendan says.
I shake my head. “No. We’re not really buddies.” Not anymore. Not after all the stuff he said.
“You have drinks with him,” Silvia snaps. “Allthe time.”
I’m not sure where all this animosity is coming from. I thought we were all on good terms, but from the tone of their voices here this morning, I’m guessing I was wrong. “So did you. We all did. All the managers have been out with him a time or two.” Yes, I end up going out with him more than the others, but I’m the only one still single in this room. I’ve got nothing but time on my hands.
“Not me,” snaps Lindsay Barker. “He never once invited me.”
“That’s true.” Silvia’s voice has softened.
I can’t do this right now. Besides, I don’t have a thing to do with any of that. That’s between Sam and them.
As I turn to leave the room, Brendan asks, “Was that you on the news the other night? About the bus?”
For a second, my back goes rigid. I kept my mouth shut about that after it became apparent that people think it’s a joke. That I’m a joke.
Looking back, I reply, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You live in Long Island City, yeah?”
I nod.
“You have a little dog.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and he’s got Clark Kent glasses,” Lindsay says like she’s just solved a crime.
I do have glasses that some could describe as Clark Kent-like, but I only wear them when I take out my contacts—or when they get punched out of my eye. “Coincidence.”
“What’s a coincidence?” I quickly turn at the pretty voice behind me. Alison.
“We were just trying to figure out if our resident superhero saved lives by stopping a moving bus the other night.” Brendan again.
I glance down at Alison. She’s looking back up at me with her mouth agape. “Was that you?” Her voice is almost a whisper.
I stare into her eyes. I want to say no so the others in the room will drop it, but I won’t lie to her. My head moves down ever so slightly. But then I turn to the other three. “Nah, it wasn’t me.”
Looking back down at her, I ask, “Can I speak with you a moment? In your office?”
She doesn’t reply, only nods. I follow her out of the break room and down the hallway. Once we get to the conference room, she steps inside, holding the door for me. As soon as it’s shut, she squeaks, “Oh my God. It’s all true.”
“What’s all true?”
“You stopped that bus.” Her face has flushed to a hot pink color. “You’ve saved people before, haven’t you?”
