Page 241 of Mario
The apartment goes dark without the glow of it, and I realize for the first time just how long I was sitting there on my laptop.
I stare out the little window over my sink into the dark night, my heart pounding, my cold tea untouched beside me, and try to make myself believe the simplest explanation.
Gossip. Trash. Speculation.
A cheap article feeding on a private tragedy.
That is all.
Thathasto be all.
But the question has already rooted itself.
And now I cannot unthink it.
Chapter Twenty Four
Mario
By 8:15 Monday morning, I have read the same paragraph three times.
It is not that complicated.
Nothing currently on my desk is complicated.
A contract revision from legal. A revised operations summary from Lorenzo. A message from Ricardo that says only Hanley is becoming inconvenient, which means Ricardo has already found something worth terminating over and is deciding when exactly to slip the knife in.
Normal things.
Things that need my attention.
Instead, I am looking at my phone. Again.
No message.
I set it facedown on my desk.
Then turn it over thirty seconds later.
Still nothing.
I do not like this.
Victoria left my house Saturday smiling. Tired, yes. Overwhelmed, certainly. Carrying a bag of lingerie she argued against taking until she finally accepted it with an expression of guilty pleasure.
When I dropped her at her apartment, she kissed me before she got out of the car. Lingered over it long enough to have me mussing her hair and leaving her breathless, but she left smiling.
I messaged her yesterday.
Nothing demanding or unreasonable.
Just checking in with a simple message that should have earned me something.
A sarcastic reply. An objection. A complaint about my tone. Anything.
Instead, silence.
And today, nothing.
