“Oh … yeah,” she blurts. “I’m technically off for the day. But I forgot my purse in my office.” Her words come out fast now. “So, I came back to get it on my way to meet friends at The Soused Cow.” She gestures awkwardly at herself. “That’s why I’m in my casual clothes.”
The Soused Cow.The mere mention of the bar conjures images.
I tilt my head slightly. “Your office is on the first floor. Why were you using the elevator?”
Her mouth opens.
Closes.
Then opens again.
“I, uh …” She bites down on the corner of her mouth.
I watch the small nervous gesture with far more interest than I should.
“Um … it wasn’t in my office.” She points vaguely down the hall. “My purse, I mean.”
Another pause.
“And then I remembered I must have left it in the conference room after the hospitality team meeting.” Her voice speeds up as the story builds itself in real time. “So, I was running up to see if it was there.”
I fold my arms slowly.
Calliope nods enthusiastically beside her. “Yes. That’s right. That’s when I intercepted her.”
As if that seals the deal.
I glance down at my shoes, trying not to laugh at them. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Harleigh and Calliope say quickly.
Mabree just nods like a bobblehead.
Silence settles over the hallway.
“So?”
Harleigh blinks. “So?”
I nod toward the door. “The lights.”
Her shoulders visibly relax. “Oh.”
She waves casually toward the door. “They worked fine for me.”
Another quick smile.
“Anyway”—she claps her hands together once—“problem solved.”
Her eyes dart toward the elevator at the end of the hallway. “I’m just gonna head on down and go meet my friends.”
She turns quickly and starts walking.
The other two scurry after her.
I watch them go for two seconds.
Then I call after them, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
