Page 126 of Wild Card 13

Alois stared.

I held his stare for about three seconds before my survival instincts woke up. “Okay,” I said. “I am doing some things.”

“Fewer things,” he said.

“That advice feels vague.”

“It is the amount you will understand.”

Then he walked out.

Which left me alone with Lucy.

For the first time all morning, the room got quiet in a way I could not joke my way through.

Lucy stood at the front of the room, gathering folders into one neat stack. Her movements were efficient.

I stood slowly.

“You don’t have to stay,” she said, not looking at me. “I’ll send the updated walkthrough invite.”

“I know.”

She slid one folder beneath another. “Then why are you still here?”

Fair question with terrible answer options. Because I knew when she was pretending. Because I remembered too much. Because every version of me that had ever loved her was standing in that room, making it impossible to leave.

I kept my voice easy. “Wanted to make sure we were good for later.”

“We are.”

“Okay.”

She picked up the packet I had slid her earlier and held it out. “Your copy.”

I took it. Our fingers did not touch. Somehow that felt intentional.

“You handled all of that,” I said, “like it wasn’t held together with duct tape and three threatening emails.”

Her eyes lifted to mine. “I handled it because it needed to be handled.”

“I know.”

“I don’t need anyone making it look like I can’t do my job.”

“That’s not what I was doing.”

“No?”

“No.”

She crossed her arms. Professional Lucy would have kept organizing folders. This Lucy crossed her arms. Progress, maybe. Or danger. Usually, with her, those two things looked the same.

“I wasn’t trying to save you,” I said.

Her expression tightened.

I shook my head once, frustrated with myself because even that sounded wrong. “I mean, I know you don’t need that. Obviously. You could run half this building with a dead phone and no coffee.”