I wasn’t her confidante yet, but we were definitely becoming friends. We chatted before and after class. She talked about coming back to happy hour. And now the invitation to coffee. I was doing my homework in the meantime, and I’d found out more about the Congressman. He had a bad heart, as evidenced by a bypass years ago. He’d voted against wage increases for the middle class. And he didn’t own a pet. That seemed like a good enough list to convince Angela she could do better.
The day was perfect, warm and sunny and a reminder that spring had come to stay. As Angela stayed behind to talk to one of the other women, I stood on the sidewalk and sent Rafe a furtive text.
Coming over for coffee. Can u disappear?
I peeked over my phone long enough to see him read the text, get up and walk around the corner. He didn’t look my way. Didn’t answer my text. I knew it was part of his job, but it still made me feel lousy. Invisible.
“So tell me,” Angela said, linking one arm through mine as we crossed the street, “do you work anywhere else? I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with tending bar. I just wondered. You seem really smart. Like you want to do more.”
We settled ourselves at the table Rafe had just vacated, and I decided to confide in her. Despite what I’d told him the other night, I did value honesty, and I hated lying, one thing that made this whole job particularly challenging.
I took a deep breath. “Actually, I was in law school at George Washington until a few weeks ago. I wanted to become one of those big-time courtroom prosecutors. But I dropped out. Turns out I hated the actual courses.”
The barista came out and we ordered two nonfat iced lattes. If I’d been alone, it would’ve been full fat all the way, with a chocolate croissant on the side, but I was trying to be mindful ofmirroring the target’s behavior, as Grace had instructed me.
“I’m sorry,” Angela said. “That must’ve been tough.”
“It was. I haven’t even told my parents yet.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she nodded. “I tend to tell my parents less and less the older I get.”
“Like the fact you’re dating a married Congressman?”
She turned scarlet, and I thought I’d gone too far, but then she said, “They’d never understand. Not in a million years.”
“Don’t you think it’s complicated, though? Being with a married guy?”
She twisted a ruby ring on her little finger. “Yes and no. I mean, I don’t like sharing him, but he barely has a relationship with his wife. They’re roommates. They don’t even sleep in –”
“The same bedroom, I know. You told me.”
“And he’s better to me than any other guy I’ve ever dated. He buys me really sweet, meaningful gifts, and tells me I’m beautiful, like, all the time. He’s great in bed, too. You might not guess that about a guy who’s over forty, but he is.” Her eyes shined. “He’s practically perfect.”
“Except he’s sneaking around to be with you.”
Her smile vanished. “For now. But he’s going to divorce her.”
“How do you know?”
“He told me. And I believe him.” She held up one hand, as if to stop my next comment. “It’s not just an affair, Tori. We’re in love.”
I traced the pattern of sunlight on the table.Oh, Angela.She was in for a world of hurt. Even I knew that, and I’d never actually stood in her shoes. I sipped my latte. The longer we sat there, the more I realized strategy number one wasn’t going to work. Dani had been telling Angela to break it off far longer than I had, and she was still enamored with the guy. That meant it was time to move on to strategy number two.
“Introduce her to another man, a single man.”
The problem was, I didn’t know a lot of single men. For a minute I thought of Charlie, but I wasn’t sure he wanted to be wrangled into my new line of work. Plus Iwassure he wasn’t her type. Angela liked money, high profile boyfriends, and being taken care of. Night manager of a bar wasn’t going to fit the bill. She pulled out her phone and started texting, and the tint on her cheeks told me she was talking to the Congressman.
Maybe I needed to skip ahead to strategy number three.
“Take pictures of her with another man – even a friend – and send them to the cheating spouse.”
That seemed the most reasonable option at this point. Angela was friendly to everyone she met. It couldn’t be that hard to catch her smiling up at some random guy and snap a few pics. I’d send them to the Congressman, and then maybehe’dend things out of jealousy. Or he’d actually leave his wife and marry Angela, and either way their extramarital affair would be over.
“You said there was an art show at your gallery this week?”
“Oh, yes.” She flicked through her phone. “A group of new artists coming in from New York. It’s tomorrow at eight. You’ll come? I can put you on the guest list.” She looked up with a smile. “If you’re bringing someone I’ll add a plus one.”
I started to shake my head and then caught a glimpse of my shadow leaning against his car.How did Rafe get across the street?“Oh, um...yeah. That’d be great.”
