She leans in, smiling. “Do you want to bet?”
“No, don’t quiz me,” I say, laughing. “Because then I’ll get stuff wrong, and it’ll all seem like I’m just all ego.”
I shake my head. “The point is, I remember. When I talk to you, I listen. I remember, because what you say matters to me.”
That makes us both go silent.
Because it wasn’t important to me that day.
And that day determined everything.
I clear my throat. “You have to be back at 1?”
She nods.
I wave to the waiter. He comes over with the check, and I pay with cash. “I’m ready when you are.”
She stands, and I follow her out the restaurant. The banter and softness we shared over lunch fades. I open the car door for her, and she steps in, staring forward as I move to the driver’s side and get in. She doesn’t look at me while I drive.
I grip the steering wheel and steal glances at her as I drive, slower than necessary, back to her building.
I turn to her at a light and open my mouth, but to say what? I let out a breath and look forward, accelerating when the light turns green.
I park in front of her building and look at her. “I see it now.”
She looks at me, sadness in her eyes, opens the car door, and gets out of the car, leaving me there to watch her walk away from me again.
Chapter 12 Lily
“Lily, you haven’t checked your phone. I’ve been texting you,” Jacquetta says the moment I step off the elevator.
“I went to lunch,” I tell her, still reeling from it.
Still hearing it.
I see it now.
“Jefferson is in trouble. We’ve got ourselves a big problem here. We’ve got to write a statement. We’ve got to deal with the press. I need you moving. Go check your email.”
I look around, and it feels chaotic. Usually, it’s quiet and calm. Everybody’s sitting at their desk. We handle a mediation or two a day, but right now it’s like a colony of ants, moving fast in and out of offices and down the halls. Like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.
I make my way to my desk, log into my computer, and check my email.
Holy hell. This is not good.
There’s a list of tasks I need to complete to help smooth over what we’ve got going on. We have a PR department, but HR handles a lot of this. I don’t know why.
Before I jump into work, I pull out my phone.
Hover.
Then type.
Anybody want to grab dinner tonight?
I stare at the message for a second before hitting send. I don’t want to have this conversation over text, but I need to talk to somebody about what just happened.
I slide my phone back into my pocket and start typing. I’m in charge of the messaging.
