“Hi.”
“Ember ...” She takes a cautious step out of her office and two more down the hall.
“I just wanted to come a little early...to talk to you.” This is only a half-lie. I break from her gaze and stare at the floor for a second. I look back up when I hear her running toward me. She has a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes the nerves from my body. Without consult, tears flee from my eyes as I hug her back.
“I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls. I just...needed some time. It was incredibly selfish of me.” I pull back and run the tip of my index finger under my eyes to avoid a mascara disaster.
“Don’t be silly. Come into my office, we can sit.” She leads me by the hand to her office, not releasing her grip until I’m seated.
She seems as bubbly as ever, but there’s a stress around her eyes that wasn’t there a couple of weeks ago. She looks thinner, too, if that’s even possible.
“How are you doing with everything that’s gone on?” I cross my legs.
She brushes my question away with her hand. “Fuckers. They’re such assholes to mess with me, especially through my brother, for God’s sake! Bowan should have known better, too, than to keep it from me ...” I reflexively flinch a little at his name. She always calls him Bowan, and it reminds me that he’s human, a real thing—not something that happened in my dreams. “I’m sorry. Listen, how are you? I can’t believe Bill went after you like that. Ember ...”
“Yeah. No. It’s fine. I mean, it wasn’t, but now it is.” My ramble is annoying me, so I shake my head and swallow to regroup. “Dude’s clearly got some issues.” I shrug and force out a chuckle.
“No shit. He likely won’t spend any time in jail. And, really, that’s fine with me—he’d never make it anyway. I’m just glad I never have to see him in these halls again.” While her voice is firm, I don’t miss the brief mist passing through her eyes.
She hasn’t mentioned my knowing about the blackmail before she did. Maybe she doesn’t know. I decide not to say anything.
“How is he?” I blurt out before I allow myself to think it over.
Rae takes a deep breath, as she seems to carefully choose her words. “Well. He’s been better. He’s certainly been worse, but he’s been better. He knows he fucked up, and I remind him of that daily. I thought it was him walking in when you did. He should be here ...”
I can feel my face flush as she finishes her sentence. He’ll be here. It’s what I wanted, but now that it’s happening, I feel like I’m drowning again.
“Ember?”
“Oh. Sorry, yeah. You remind him that he fucked up? I’ve been trying not to think about it. I guess it wasn’t that bad ...” I try in vain to protect his image for his little sister.
“Did you get drunk this morning? Of course it was that bad. He should have told you as soon as he knew it was you. I can’t believe it was you that tried to help him when he got in that fight behind the garage, and then you two end up meeting a few days later? Damn.” I’ve never seen Rae’s face this shade of serious.
“We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t really want to get into it right now.” The main door opens and closes. “That’ll be Monica. Do you guys have a spare office we can use to prep for the meeting?”
“Of course, I’ll show you.”
I head for the door as she slides back from her desk. We step over the threshold and turn to greet Monica. Only, it’s not Monica.
It’s Bo.
I don’t know if that gasp was audible as I take one step back. Rae turns left, looks between Bo and me, retreats to her office and shuts the door.
Traitor.
“November. Hi. You’re early ...” A bright-eyed smile escapes him as his hand reaches up and grips my shoulder.
I’m frozen. My tongue is twice its size, and cement seeps down my throat. Seeming to sense his breach in boundaries, Bo lifts his suddenly sweaty palm from my shoulder and glides it into his pocket.
Say something.
“Hi. I was just checking in with Rachel.” My eyes want to study the floor, but I don’t let them. I swallow hard and continue, “I was hoping you’d be here a little earlier so we could talk before the meeting.” I check my cell. “It looks like we’re running out of time.” My heart is racing so fast I feel like I have to run to keep up with it.
“No, we have time. Come with me.” I think he’s going to take me to his office; instead, he grabs my hand and heads to the back of the building. I tug my hand away before I can assess its sensation as he opens the far exit door. “Sorry,” he mumbles.