“You know I would too, right? I can be your right-hand bitch, ready to do anything necessary. Cut off his balls, bury a body...”
A small laugh bursts out of me. “Finn said something similar, except not quite as gruesome.”
Lena shrugs. “Maybe we double-team it, then. Finn does the wimpy stuff, I do the hard-core stuff?” She covers my hand with hers. “First, though, you block this asshole. You shouldn’t have to read shit like that or expend any mental energy on him.”
***
Oaks Folks
Mom:Found a pair of blue, little-girl socks under the couch. Want me to send them to you, Millie?
Tess:Have you really not cleaned under the couch since we were little?
Mom:??I assume they belong to Avery or Eloise.
Dad:Don’t mail them. Make Millie and Finn bring those sweethearts back. We didn’t get enough time with them.
Fabes:True. I want to see them again!
Tess:Yes! Please!
Mom:Bring them back!
I stare at the phone, searching for the right response, but it never arrives. Things with Finn are still in an awkward holding pattern, and reading the sweet messages from my family makes the pain in my chest burn hotter.
I miss him. I miss the girls.
***
The meeting starts at ten in the morning, but I land in my chosen seat at nine thirty, determined to be there before anyone else.
Well, okay, I want to be there before Finn. That wayhehas to choose where to sit based on where I am. If he picks a seat right next to me, I’ll take that to mean things might be okay eventually. If he sits as far away from me as possible, that probably means things I don’t want to think about.
As the minutes creep closer to ten, other department heads filter into the room. Jamila from the local flora and fauna exhibit takes a spot next to me, but my other side remains open. I manage to make small talk while keeping one eye on the door, waiting rather impatiently for the moment of truth.
With one minute until ten, the door swings open, and Finn’s broad shoulders invade the room. Heat creeps up my neck, and I drop my gaze before he can see me watching the door. I fiddle with my sparkly orange pen on the table and studiously avoid his eyes while I wait with bated breath for him to choose a seat.
But he never comes to my side. A chair squeaks across the table as Finn drops into it. Peeking up through my lashes, I let my vision lift just enough to see his tie.
It’s plain black today. No astronomy flair.
Dr. Black Hole is back, arms crossed over his chest as he leans back in a seat on the other side of the table, three spots down.
That pretty much counts as “far away” in my book.
My shoulders slump. I had secret hopes, way down in my heart, that seeing each other in person would fix something. We could either go back to friends, or he could see me and want to talk.
But instead, he’s gone back to ignoring my existence.
Sharon joins us, and I try my best to pretend everything is fine. I act as if I’m the director of the entomology department, and judging by the way Sharon includes me and asks my opinions, I think I’m doing well. It’s my best impression of “fake it ’til you make it” while deliberately avoiding ever looking at Dr. Finn Ashford.
The responses he’s forced to give are short and grumbly. And when my eyes accidentally land on him, his dark blues are full of annoyance as he grimaces and glares at every person in the room.
Except for me. He never looks my way.
His arms remain crossed over his chest until the moment the meeting ends, then he escapes the room as quickly as he can.
***
