“Oh, okay.” Harlow put the device to her ear and said, “Hey, Aggie.” Then, she paused, listened to Agatha for a few seconds,and replied, “Yeah, we’re about to leave for the office I rented for her, so maybe you and I can gang up on her to do school stuff later.”
Larissa rolled her eyes, slung her bag over her shoulder, and took in Harlow, who was still dressed for work in a pair of dark-gray slacks with light-gray pinstripes, a white shirt that buttoned down and tucked into the pants, and a pair of black boots. Harlow’s company didn’t allow casual wear, but business casual was okay, so it always surprised her how Harlow chose to dress up a little more than that when she chose comfortable clothes to exist in otherwise. Larissa tilted her head while Harlow was still on the phone because Harlow looked good. Her short, dark hair was slicked back a little, as if she’d actually tried with it today instead of letting it fall around her face, considering it was just below her ears now, and she’d probably be getting it cut soon.
“Here you go. I got her to hang up, but she’s not done telling you that you need to work on your damn paper and not some book. For what it’s worth, I agree with her.”
Larissa took her phone back and said, “Let’s go. You’re both annoying.”
“How much money do you pay to this school to not work on your paper?”
“None. My parents do. Yes, they’re telling me to finish soon, too. I pay for some stuff myself, but my tuition is being paid by them, just like my sister’s was. They have this belief that if they brought us into this world, they should pay for our education. I don’t take advantage of it, Harlow. I’ve been working on my research all day, I swear. This is the first time I’ll be focusing on the book today.”
“I believe you,” Harlow replied. “And I know you don’t take advantage of them. I think they’re just hoping you’ll pay them back in a husband and grandkids, and we both know that’s not happening.”
“They’re fine with me being gay, and Aggie has already given them two. How many more do they need?”
“Can you drive today?” Harlow asked and held out the keys. “I have some work emails I’d like to return while we’re driving there so that I can be done with work for the night.”
“Sure. No problem. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, they were parked and inside the building. Larissa would’ve said hello to Samantha this time, too, but she wasn’t at the desk, so they walked through the members-only door and into the room they had been able to reserve for their second interview, which was with another young couple. It hadn’t been planned, but it had worked out that they’d been available the soonest, so she’d tailored her questions a little for a couple who hadn’t been together all that long and waited for Jessie and Gloria to arrive. Neither of the two was still in high school, and one of them was thirty years old while the other was twenty, and according to their application, they’d only been together for a year.
“Hey, this is interesting,” Harlow said once she sat down.
“What is?”
“According to the answers they gave, they kind of met how we did,” Harlow replied and looked up from her phone, where, it appeared, she was reading their application. “Gloria is a Ph.D. student, like you.”
“Yeah, she is. Not psychology, though.”
“But she was a TA to Jessie her freshman year, and now, they’re together.”
“That’s a pretty big age difference for those two ages, don’t you think? Thirty and twenty? Jessie can’t even get into bars yet.”
Harlow laughed and said, “Yeah, but it’s nice.”
“What is?”
“They met the same way as us.” Harlow smiled over at Larissa, who wondered where she was going with that. “I just think it’s nice. We’re not the only ones.”
Before Larissa could point out that they weren’t a couple like Jessie and Gloria, the conference room door opened.
“Are you Harlow Madden?” a young-looking guy asked.
“That’s me.”
“You have two guests out front. They said they have an appointment.”
“Oh, yeah. Can they come back on their own, or do I have to get them?”
“They can come on back. I’ll let them through.”
“Thanks,” Harlow said and put her phone away. “Don’t forget to record this time,” she added to Larissa.
Larissa just stared at her a moment longer, smiled, and pulled out her own phone. A woman that, she guessed, was Gloria, because she looked older, opened the door and held it open for Jessie, who walked in first and introduced herself. Gloria shook Larissa’s hand and then Harlow’s before they both sat down.
“Do you mind if I record our conversation just for my records?” she asked.
Jessie looked over at Gloria.
