Page 4 of Cava with My Colleague

I shake my head at him. “Carlos is hot, sure. He’s older than the men I usually go for, and I like older men. But now that I know him, he’s a stick-in-the-mud. It would never work.”

I have to explain what a stick-in-the-mud is to Manny—sometimes language lessons go the other way!—but he agrees with me. “I don’t know, Jade. Sometimes the stick just needs a—” He makes a gesture that could be pulling a stick out of the mud or it could be wanking.

“Well,” I say, taking a sip of my drink. “I won’t be the one to un-stick him.”

2

Jade

A few days later, when I arrive at my boss’s office, Carlos is already there, treating her to one of his rare smiles. It fades the second he sees me.

His gaze sweeps over my body—my bright blue suit that hugs my hips just right—and he turns away with a scowl.

His coldness could land as a slight. I decide not to let it. There’s a particular pleasure in being relentlessly warm to someone who’s trying to freeze you out—it takes away their only move. I smile my best smile, the one that’s cost me nothing and clearly costs him something, and take the seat next to him.

“Buenos días,” I practically sing.

“Jade, looking forward to this weekend?” Rebecca asks. She’s the most aspirational person in my life. Tall and statuesque with boatloads of confidence, Rebecca is always impeccably dressed—seriously, I upgraded my wardrobe because of her—and she’s also living the single, child-free life, albeit at least a decade older than me.

I know she’s divorced, but I don’t know if the child-free part is by choice or takes an emotional toll or if, like me, she’s been dealt a hand and thus embraced it.

She’s also British, but fluent in Spanish and French. ¡Súper sofisticada! Je suis tellement jalouse! Yet another reason to admire her.

“I really am. I’m going to London for the weekend with my friends,” I explain to Carlos. Having lived in Hampstead for several years, Rebecca has tons of advice. We chat about my plans, and Carlos sits quietly next to me, one ankle resting on his knee. We’re talking in Spanish, and of course, Carlos is multilingual anyway, but he doesn’t join in.

Finally, Rebecca weaves her fingers together and leans against her desk, switching to English, which clues me in that we’re getting technical. “Jade, I have a proposal for you.” Rebecca’s smile is bright, but there’s something calculated in it that makes my stomach tighten. “One that will require you to work closely with Carlos.”

Next to me, Carlos shifts in his seat.

“We’d like you to participate in our summer presentation tour,” Rebecca continues. “It’s a series of events across Europe—Vienna, Zurich, Barcelona, and several other cities.”

My wanderlust perks up at the city names, but then Rebecca adds, “You’d be giving the presentations. About our products and the clinical trials.”

My stomach drops. “Presentations?”

“To industry professionals, pharmaceutical reps, and patients.”

“How many people?” My voice comes out smaller than I intended.

“Several hundred per venue.” Rebecca says it casually, like it’s nothing.

The room tilts slightly. My hands grip the armrests. Several hundred? I’ve given presentations to small groups before, usually covering extremely technical topics, but never have I stood in front of hundreds of people.

Well, except for that one time that landed me in the hospital. My hand unconsciously moves to my wrist.

“Carlos will translate,” Rebecca continues, “and handle the marketing logistics, including coordinating with our partner organizations at each stop. You two would be traveling together for about eight weeks, off and on.”

Next to me, Carlos clears his throat. When I glance over, he’s looking at Rebecca with an expression I can’t read. Not quite displeased. Not quite . . . anything.

Two months. Traveling. Together. Standing in front of hundreds of people while he watches.

“Why me?” I manage. “Half my team knows the product better than I do.”

Rebecca leans forward. “Because this isn’t just about the science, Jade. Yes, there will be pharmaceutical reps and industry professionals. We’re cohosting several stops with a European patient advocacy network. They’re bringing their patient community to us. Cancer survivors. People who’ve been part of our clinical trials or would have benefitted from them.”

My breath catches.

“People who would benefit from meeting someone who understands what they’ve been through. Not just as a scientist.”