Chapter 38

Crossing Town

Lisa rushed past midday shoppers and tourists toward Powell’s City of Books. Other than a few broken windows and an avalanche of hardcovers and paperbacks, the Portland institution had survived the quake intact. It was a detour she liked to take because it gave her an excuse to stop and browse through art books, magazines, and tchotchkes. In a hurry, it also provided a quick diagonal path out of the Pearl District. The store flew by in a blur of words and pictures.

She’d texted Jamie immediately following the meeting at VSC. Luckily, her friend was free to meet up. Jamie suggested the Daily Feast, an old-school diner that Jamie said had smoothies to die for and the best tuna melt in town. It was also one of the only Jamie-approved restaurants that had reopened near City Hall. Lisa really didn’t care where they met. Her mind was spinning, and she needed to unload the insanity of her morning. Mental exfoliation was definitely in order. A tuna melt and fries wouldn’t hurt either.

After the meeting at VSC, the Burnam & Green team had ridden the elevator down the thirty flights in silence. Once out the door, Steve, the Mikes, and Chris crowded into the first town car, leaving Lisa alone with George. He cried all the way back to Burnam & Green and had gone through the driver’s box of tissues and had even started on the compact toilet roll from Lisa’s emergency supplies.

Lisa hadn’t bothered to follow George back up to his office. She figured he would be busy drinking himself into a stupor for the rest of the day. As much as she disliked him, seeing his ego shredded by Victor Smith had been brutal. All that swagger bulldozed in minutes. Not all of Victor’s criticisms were fair, but most hit the mark. She’d watched George’s eyes as they desperately darted to the members of his team, hoping one of them would save him from drowning. Steve, the Mikes, and Chris had all kept their heads down and remained silent. Lisa sensed they were enjoying it. Schadenfreude for an abusive boss who was finally getting his just rewards.

Only Patrick, wearing a smug look, made direct eye contact with George. Lisa was at least grateful George didn’t recognize her ex. It was easy to see why. Somehow in the last six months, Patrick had been transformed from her hipster ex-boyfriend into a stranger wearing a suit and tie. She just couldn’t grasp that the one-time love of her life was the bad guy’s son. Throughout the meeting, she’d tried to catch his eye, but Patrick avoided her gaze.

It didn’t make sense. None of it. Well, the bit about Patrick enjoying George’s humiliation did, yet other than that she couldn’t reconcile the person who’d sat across from her today with the boy she’d fallen for at the Academy.

A horn blared as Lisa attempted to dart through traffic. Get it together, she thought. Her mind was in too many places. She thought again of their first kiss at the lake all those years ago. Patrick said they could choose their own family. All that had been turned on its head since the quake. She was living at home with her mom. He was working for his dad. They’d never been so far apart. Lisa just needed to get to Jamie to talk it all through.

Lisa waited obediently for the little man to indicate it was safe to cross the street. Even with her distracted state of mind, Lisa’s heart hurt at the sight of downtown Portland. For every “Open for Business” sign, there were a half dozen more that read “Property Condemned by Order of the Mayor,” “For Lease,” or “For Sale.” Broken windows were boarded up with plywood, layered with missing person signs, and covered in garish graffiti with mixed messages of remembrance for those lost, hope for a better tomorrow, and a heavy dose of criticism for the mayor, the police, and the city government.

After speed walking the remaining few blocks, she reached the Daily Feast. The entrance was jammed with groups waiting for booths. She slipped in past them and grabbed a swivel chair at the U-shaped counter, setting her backpack on an empty seat beside her so no one else would claim it. She scanned the restaurant but saw no sign of Jamie.

Lisa looked through the lunch options, though she didn’t dare order before Jamie arrived. Weighing the pros and cons of each item was part of their dining out ritual. Finally, she saw Jamie push her way through the waiting patrons. Relieved, Lisa waved her over. They exchanged hellos and a quick hug. Lisa moved her bag from the stool next to hers, and Jamie sat down.

Grabbing the menu from Lisa’s place, Jamie asked,
“Ordered already?”

“Nope, I waited for you.”

“Sweet. Let’s share some stuff. First this,” said Jamie. She held out her phone.

Lisa squinted at the screen, then yelped. It was a text message from Patrick. Why is Lisa with that asshole Green?!

“Since when are you texting with Patrick?” she demanded.

“Since . . . I don’t know.” Jamie looked uncomfortable, and placed her phone on the counter. “We just check in on things, our lives, people we both know.”

“Like me?” asked Lisa indignantly.

“You may have come up on occasion,” said Jamie.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Jamie shrugged. “I know, I know. I should have. Patrick told me not to. I didn’t want to scare him off. I felt at least some communication after his disappearing act was a good thing.”

Lisa nodded. “Okay, fine. Now show me every text you’ve ever gotten from him,” she said, grabbing for Jamie’s phone, but Jamie picked it up and held it at arm’s length.

“Don’t try to change the subject, missy. Why are you hanging out with George Green?”

“I’m not hanging out with him,” said Lisa, not appreciating Jamie’s tone. “My temp agency randomly assigned me to Burnam & Green today, even though I specifically told them not to. To top it off, I got stuck at the desk right outside George’s office. It was horrible. And that’s just the beginning.” She stopped to take a breath. “I have so much more to tell you.”

“You know, you could have just walked out. George is a bad dude. Anyway, where did Patrick see you two together?”

“I can’t just bail on my job. As much as I’d love to, my mom would give me a hard time. Enough about me and my terrible career choices. I guess Patrick hasn’t been keeping you entirely up to date on his,” said Lisa, crossing her arms. “Has he told you where he’s working?”

“No.”

“At VSC.”

“What? Is he doing construction now?”

“No, he’s working with his father, Victor Smith.”

Jamie stared at Lisa, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Victor Smith. The big bad. My mother’s greatest frenemy.”

Jamie just gawked at Lisa. Speaking slowly, she said, “Patrick, our Patrick, is Victor Smith’s son. How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. I dated him for years, and I had no idea,” said Lisa.

Jamie looked utterly mystified. “He told me a little about his mom, but he never talked about his dad. That topic was totally taboo. All he ever said was that his dad had dumped him off at the Academy. Patrick thought they were going on a ski trip. Asshole.” Jamie shook her head in disgust.

“Asshole is right,” agreed Lisa. “I knew they were rich and lived in Lake Oswego, but I never pushed him for any other details. I always figured Patrick would talk about his family when he was ready.”

“Lisa, this is all so crazy. Are you sure?” asked Jamie.

“Jamie, I’m not making it up. I got dragged into a meeting at VSC by George, and Victor Smith introduced Patrick as his son. He said he was showing Patrick the ropes. The weirdest thing is that Patrick just sat through the entire meeting and completely ignored me.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want Victor to know about the two of you.” Jamie sat quietly for a moment, her brow furrowed. “What do you think Patrick’s told him?”

“Nothing. Patrick wouldn’t say anything.”

“Can we be sure? He could have shared everything that happened the day of the earthquake to prove his loyalty.” Jamie tapped at her phone. “I need to get back to City Hall and talk to your mom.”

“No wait. I almost forgot the weirdest part. George introduced me at the meeting as the mayor’s daughter. It was so embarrassing. He totally lied and said I was an integral part of the team offering insights into VSC’s collaboration with the city on reconstruction. Total bullshit. After the meeting, we were all leaving the room, and Victor stopped to talk to me in the lobby.” Lisa shuddered, still unsettled by the memory of his hand on her arm. “He told me that he knew my dad. Apparently, they were really good friends once. And he said to give my mom his best.”

“Whoa. What did you do?” asked Jamie.

“I just said thanks and got the hell out of there.”

“What’s he like?”

Lisa paused for a moment to think. “He’s taller than Patrick, and in his sixties, I’d guess? I don’t know anything about suits, but his looked really expensive. His hair is gray and swooshed back. Wears these kind of old-school dark-framed glasses. And he sounded sincere.”

“Did you believe him?” asked Jamie.

Lisa gave her a look of dismay. “No. I didn’t like how he looked at me. Something is off about that guy.” She shuddered at the memory. “What should I do now?”

“About what?”

“Patrick.”

“Nothing,” said Jamie with a dismissive shrug. “You can’t do anything. Patrick is Victor’s son. That makes Patrick the enemy.”

“Though like you said, Patrick was probably pretending to not recognize me. He was just acting. Maybe he’s doing the same with Victor. Maybe he’s spying on him,” said Lisa, feeling excited by the prospect that Patrick was still on their side.

“We can’t take that chance. You dating Victor Smith’s son? The trolls would have a field day.”

Lisa was honestly bewildered. “Why?”

“Your mom, obviously. You are the first daughter after all.”

Lisa laughed. “The first daughter? Please. Who cares about that?”

“A lot of people. For one, I do.”

“You’re serious?” Lisa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Jamie continued, getting more passionate with each word. “I am serious. Your mom is doing a lot to bring Portland back from the dead. And it looks like a gubernatorial run is actually going to happen.”

“But it’s my life. Patrick means a lot to me. I have to do something.”

Jamie scowled. “You’ll do exactly what you want, just like you always do, with no thought as to how it might hurt the rest of us.”

“That’s not fair,” exclaimed Lisa. “You sound just like my mom.”

“Whatever. I need to go.”

As Jamie stood, the waitress materialized in front of them, ready to jot down their order.

“What about lunch? You love lunch,” said Lisa plaintively.

“I have a sandwich back at work.”

Lisa swiveled her chair and watched Jamie stomp out the door. Glumly, she turned back to the waitress.

“What can I get you? We have a kale salad lunch special.”

“I hate kale,” said Lisa.

The waitress shrugged. “Everybody hates kale. How about a tuna melt and fries?”

“Yes, please.” Lisa felt slightly better at the prospect of drowning her sorrows in carbs.