I HAVE A HARD TIME FOCUSING WHEN I GET BACK TO MY DESK. My stomach is tied in knots when I think about talking to Gabe about Geoff. Is going back to Europe really in his best interest? I mean, it obviously is money-wise. But if the public shamers bother Gabe so badly, then wouldn’t it be better for him to stay here where he’s relatively anonymous?
Since it’s a half day, Katie and I skip our lunch break and decide to eat at Water Tower Place after work. The food hall has the world’s best macaroni and cheese, which I get with a huge slice of fresh corn bread. Katie gets a kale salad, and we take our meals out to sit in the shadow of the Hancock Building.
“Heeey.” Katie drops onto the bench next to me. She’s wearing a floral-printed dress that looks straight out of the ’90s. It even has lace around the collar. “You’ve been weirdly quiet today.”
“I’m always quieter than you.”
She scoffs. “True, but …” She digs her phone out of a striped bag that is big enough to double as a circus tent. “Is it this?”
It’s the WAGs Instagram feed, and the top post is me and Blanca, cheering Gabe’s second goal. We’re both ecstatic. Neither of us knew cameras were on us. My eyes immediately drop to the first comment.
Somebody teach that girl to contour.
I put the phone screen down on the bench. “Do you follow this account—”
“Ugh,” she interrupts. “No. Mara sent it to me.”
“Why?”
She sighs and tucks her legs underneath. I’ve finally realized that this quirk is because she’s so short her feet don’t always touch the floor.
“She’s totally got it out for you.”
“I noticed.” I’m hesitant to say anything about Mara out loud, but I really want Katie’s take. “Do you think Mara would have deleted my video footage?”
“I think …” She pauses, pulling her enormous cat-eye sunglasses down over her eyes. “Maybe? It is a pretty awful thing to do, but she is banking on getting hired permanently after she graduates college. She feels like everyone has gotten help from their family, and she’s got no one on her side.”
“And by everyone she means me, right?”
“Not just you. Did you know that Javi is Patty’s grandson?”
This stuns me on more than one level. Javi is so outgoing, and Patty is … pretty caustic. “Patty’s old enough to have a grandson? I thought she was like thirty-five at most.”
Katie uses her hands to pull her skin taut on her face. “Didn’t you notice her eyebrows? She paints them on super thick to cover the way her facelift pulled them halfway up her forehead.”
“How do you know she had a facelift?”
“Because I knew her before she had it.” Katie bites her bottom lip. “I met Patty years ago when William started interning at Velocity.”
I don’t say anything, but she reads my confused expression.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal because it’s not like we’re close, but William is my cousin.”
“But he’s—”
“Horrible? Yeah. That’s definitely true at the office.”
“He calls you Intern.”
“He did it to force separation between us, constantly reminding himself that I wasn’t the little girl who he used to take baths with.”
I gag.
She laughs. “I feel the same way. But then you came along, and he couldn’t call me Intern and you by your name, so you got stuck with Coffee.”
We fall silent for a few seconds, and thoughts tumble over each other in my head. “Poor Mara. She probably feels like she has no chance.”
“Don’t feel too bad for her. She was William’s girlfriend last summer.”
True.
“And he really is trying to be fair,” Katie continues, stretching out on the bench and shading her face with her hand. “He even created this spreadsheet, tallying up all of our accomplishments this summer so he knows which intern was the most valuable. So far, I’m at the bottom of the list—and yes, he told me.”
Yikes.
“It doesn’t matter as much to me as it does to you. My mom just wanted me out of the house doing ‘something productive’ for the summer and begged William to take me on.”
Having more than one avenue to college would be nice. I mean, there’s a chance I could have tried out for a university dance team somewhere and gotten a little scholarship money, but it’s not the direction I want to go. Knowing the way my brain works means that I’d go to school and dance and study. Sleeping and eating would happen only when I was done studying, and I learn even slower when I’m tired.
“This is depressing.” She tosses her fork into her salad and steals half of my cornbread. “Tell me about Gabe, besides the obvious fact that he’s so hot he might melt your face off.”
“He’s not what I expected.” He is gorgeous and cocky and ridiculously flirty, but he’s also sweet and funny and a little bit broken.
“And an amazing kisser?”
So much that. I take a bite of my macaroni to avoid eye contact. “Who said anything about kissing?”
“Girl. Please. I saw the pictures. The game? Going back to your apartment?”
My lips won’t cooperate. I can’t contain my smile as that moment on the roof resurfaces.
“Maddie!” She steals the other half of my cornbread. “Do not make me eat this!”
“That is the stupidest threat ever.”
She shoves the whole thing into her mouth. “This is what you get for not giving me details,” she says, crumbs flying in every direction.
“You’re using this as an excuse to cheat on your triathlon diet.”
Katie grimaces, her face pinched like she might start crying any second. “I totally am.”
My phone buzzes.
“Is it him?” she asks, still trying to choke down the cornbread.
It is. Seeing his name on the screen sends a jolt of nerves through me.
Gabe: Are you telling me no?
Me: Did you send me another text? I missed the question.
Gabe: The charity banquet.
Gabe: Do I need to find another date? It’s sort of short notice.
“You tell him yes, right now. Or I will do it for you.” She reaches for my phone, but I have the height advantage.
Me: Yes.
Gabe: Yes, I need to find another date? Or yes, you’ll come with me?
It might be my imagination, but I swear he sounds a little frantic. There’s a naughty part of my brain that wants to keep playing with him.
Me: Yes
Long pause. The three little dots start to cycle, but I send a follow-up message.
Me: I’ll go with you.
Katie cheers and then steals my macaroni and cheese. “So what are you going to wear?”
“Oh crap.” I put my hand to my forehead. “I need a dress.”
Katie grins, one cheek still full of noodles. “You need the dress.”