“They better let you out for a couple hours on Thursday. You’re a huge part of this.”
“I’m cleared to go. Eddie sent the partner an email.”
“Good. Did you get a dress?”
“Not yet. Maybe I can hide in a corner, order a few options to be overnighted.”
“You’ll pull it off. So who are you bringing?”
I tucked a water bottle under my arm. “Is it too late to give away my plus-one?”
“You do you. I’ll let the PR person know, because there’s definitely a waiting list. Oh, and I cannotwaitfor you to see the book cover. You’re going to die.”
“Me neither. I’m gonna lose you in the elevator.”
I froze. I had one new email from Susan Klein in HR. The subject line was just “Meeting.”
I stared at the phone as my chest started to pound. Elinor must have said something.
Was I about to be fired?
She wanted to know if I was free that afternoon. I got back to the conference room, sweating with dread. How the fuck had I allowed myself to get here?
At 4 p.m., I chucked the untouched soup and made my way down to the forty-fifth floor, trying to tell myself my life wasn’t over, even if my career was.
I knocked lightly on Susan Klein’s door, and she waved me in.
“Samantha, come in. I don’t think we’ve seen each other since your first day last fall.”
“That has to be a good thing, right?” I said with a nervous laugh.
“Please, sit. How have your first few months been?”
I cleared my throat. The small talk was physically painful. I just wanted a swift execution.
“They’ve been great. A few missteps here and there, but—”
I lost my train of thought as her assistant appeared in the doorway and handed her a folder. I felt lightheaded as she opened it.
“This is just a bit of housekeeping. We wanted to let you know that we’ll be assigning you another officemate, now that Charlie Bronstein has taken a leave of absence.”
I stared blankly, trying to force my brain to keep up. “A leave of absence?”
She looked surprised. “I assumed you knew, I’m sorry.”
“I’ve been away ... I mean, I’ve been working from a conference room with the team handling the senatorial investigation. We haven’t seen much of each other.”
“Right, of course. He’s taken a formal leave of absence to deal with a family matter in Boston. We’re hopeful he’ll be back in short order, but in the meantime, we’re sorting through the logistics.”
My stomach hurt. “Do you know why?”
“His mother’s cancer unfortunately relapsed. I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had no idea his mother was sick.
I stood up and smoothed my skirt, willing myself not to cry. “I should probably head back to the conference room now,” I said numbly.
I took solace in our empty office, staring at Charlie’s empty desk. This must have been what he wanted to tell me in Montana. I wished I had taken his room key and crept into his bed that night instead of letting my insecurity ruin everything. We’d disintegrated so completely that I didn’t even have the right to be there for him as he was going through something as awful as his mom being sick. Part of me hadn’t really believed Montana was the last word until now.
