“Bad news?” Jill asked.
“I’m not sure,” Maria offered, thinking it was finally time to tell her friend about her history with Lester Manning… not to mention the drama of the past couple of weeks, including the ups and downs and ups with Colin. The thought of telling everything to Jill wouldn’t have bothered her in the past, but volunteering such personal information to her future boss felt… risky, even if Jill was likely to find out anyway.
“Who was it?”
“A cop – Detective Margolis. He asked to meet me.”
“The police? What’s going on?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
Jill stared at her before getting up from her desk and crossing the room. She closed the door and turned around.
“What’s going on?” she said.
In the end, confiding in Jill was easier than she’d imagined it would be. Future boss or not, Jill was her friend first and foremost, and more than once, she gripped Maria’s hand, clearly concerned. When Maria assured her that it wouldn’t affect her ability to help with the start-up, Jill merely shook her head.
“Right now, you have more important things to worry about,” she said. “Leslie and I can handle whatever we still have left. You need to do whatever and take whatever time you need, so that you can find a way to put this behind you for good. It’s not as though we’re going to have clients lining up in the first couple of months anyway.”
“It better not take that long. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I had a panic attack this morning.”
Jill was quiet for a moment. “I’ll help you any way I can. Just tell me what you need.”
Leaving Jill’s office, Maria realized again that lower salary or not, leaving to work with Jill not only had been the best option available, but already seemed to be the best career choice she’d made to that point in her life.
What it didn’t do, however, was help the rest of the morning pass more quickly. Nor did her workload; wondering what Margolis was going to say made it difficult to concentrate, which only prevented her from gaining traction on her research for the hospital suit. With her frustration beginning to rise, she set her work aside and texted Colin.
Yes, he texted back, he’d meet her at the station at a quarter past noon.
She peeked at the clock.
Then back at the claim, knowing she needed to review it closely.
Two hours until she met with Margolis.
Time inched by.
When she pulled into the lot, Colin was waiting outside the station, wearing sunglasses, shorts, and a T-shirt. She waved as she got out of her car, hoping it would hide how nervous she was but suspecting that Colin would know anyway.
He gave her a quick kiss before pulling open the door for her. Maria felt a sense of déjà vu as she glanced around. Unlike their first visit, however, Margolis didn’t keep them waiting long. They’d barely taken their seats before she saw him striding toward them from the rear of the building. Again, he was holding a file, and he used it to motion them forward.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll talk where we did before.”
Maria smoothed her skirt as she stood and walked beside Colin, past the others working at their desks, past the group of people collected around the coffeemaker.
Margolis opened the door and pointed to the same chairs they’d used before. She and Colin took their seats as Margolis moved to the far side of the table.
“Should I be worried?” Maria blurted out.
“No. Long story short, I don’t think Lester’s going to be a problem.”
“What does that mean?” she pressed.
Margolis tapped his pen against the folder before flicking a thumb at Colin. “It seems you’re still spending time with this particular problem child. And I don’t know why you keep insisting he come with you when we discuss your case. There’s no reason for him to be here.”
“I want him here,” she said. “And yes, we’re still spending time together. Happily, I might add.”