“Not really,” Zack said affably. “But I’m excellent at putting a new spin on old arguments. At least, that’s what my editor tells me. Now do yourself a favor and tell your boss you’re going to be unavailable for the rest of the weekend.”
“Do you have any idea how patronizing you sound? You barely know me. And you literally know nothing about my job.”
He had the decency to look somewhat abashed. “Okay, fair point. You’re right—I don’t know you that well. But I do know you’re super smart and it seems like a waste for you to spend your life at the mercy of greedy corporate clients who won’t even let you take the weekend off for your sister’s wedding. But I get it—there’s comfort in feeling needed, in the status that comes from working at that kind of firm.”
“I’m not sure taking one psych class at Vassar qualifies you to analyze me. If you need people to fawn over your ‘intelligence,’ stick with your college students, okay? They’re too young to know that you’re full of shit.”
For the first time, it seemed like her words managed to pierce his armor of smug self-satisfaction.
Olivia looked away, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt. Then she turned the key, shifted into gear, and sped away from the dock. The sky had turned a threatening gray, and she was eager to get back before the rain started. The water was already choppy, and the boat pitched back and forth in the swell. As the mainland faded behind them, Olivia tried to stay calm and focus onher next steps. She needed to find a way to reach Marigold, to assure her that whatever she was feeling was normal, but that running away wasn’t the answer.
“Oh, hey—look at that!” Zack’s voice jolted Olivia from her thoughts. She followed his gaze and saw a number of dark shadows in the water, about thirty yards ahead. A moment later, the top of an enormous humpback whale broke through the surface. A second followed shortly after, then a third and a fourth.
“Oh, wow!” Zack said, leaning over for a better look. “That’s incredible.”
“For the love of god,” Olivia grumbled, and yanked the wheel to the side, throwing Zack off-balance.
“What are you doing?”
“We have to go around. It’s illegal to get too close.”
“Just wait a second. This is amazing. I’ve never seen whales in the wild before.”
“I’ll buy you a ticket to a whale-watching tour later. I don’t have time for this right now.”
“Oh, come on, nothing’s better than the healing power of nature!” As if on cue, one of the whales breached, spraying them with water as its magnificent body flew through the air with the grace of a dancer and the power of a missile.
Thanks for that, buddy.
Before she could stop him, Zack turned off the engine and removed the key. The engine sputtered and they jerked to a stop. “Give that back,” Olivia snapped, reaching for the key, but he held it over his head, out of reach.
“Just look at the whales for sixty seconds. Then you can have it back. It’ll be good for you. Take a few deep breaths and—”
“Give me the fucking key!” She jumped and managed toknock it out of Zack’s hand, watching in horror as it bounced off the side of the boat and into the water. “Shit!” she screamed.
Zack leaned over and frantically pawed at the water. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, then sat up and gave her a sheepish smile. “I guess even the backup keys should have the floaty thing, huh?”
“So this is all a joke to you?” Olivia tried to temper her fury. She wanted nothing more than to shove Zack over the side of the boat, but even half-mad with rage, she knew that a manslaughter charge would lead to more trouble than Zack was worth. Still, she was well and truly fucked.
“Oh, come on. This is going to be an epic story. It’s, like,biblical.”
“Okay, Jonah. While I’m delighted that you’ll be able to update the ‘two truths and a lie’ section of your Hinge profile, this is actually kind of a disaster for me.”
“It’ll be okay, I promise. You’ll reach your client. Just relax.”
That was it. There was no holding back now. Those were the two most loathsome words in the English language. Her whole body pulsed with anger as she thought about every patronizing douchebag who’d ever told her tojust relax—the boys she’d yelled at for mocking a janitor’s accent in high school, the college dean who’d refused to correct a huge error on her transcript two days before law school applications were due, the third-year associates at her firm laughing over leaked nude photos of their client. She’d spent her whole life being told that she was “too intense,” that she “couldn’t take a joke.” She wasn’t going to let this condescending pseudo-intellectual nobody tell her torelax.
Olivia opened her mouth to unleash the tirade of insults sharpening on her tongue, but to her surprise, she began to cryinstead.Stop it, she told herself. She was Olivia Harding. She didn’tcry. Let alone in front of other people. She took a breath to steady herself, but when she exhaled, it released a sob instead.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” Zack said, face falling. “You’re right. I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. I can tell you’re under a lot of stress with the wedding and work and I shouldn’t have been so dismissive.”
“I’m not crying about the work.”
“Okay—whatever. It’s none of my business. I’m sorry.”
“It’s Marigold,” Olivia said, unable to hold it in any longer. “I don’t think she went to New York for her birth certificate. You don’t evenneedyour birth certificate to get a marriage license in Maine.”
Zack’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.
