Page 36 of Exchange of Heart

‘You, ah—’ My hand circled my face.

He smiled, revealing pink lipstick on his teeth. I couldn’t find any words to describe the mess on his face, so I smiled in return and gave him a thumbs up.

‘Right, we’re going to be late if we piss around any longer.’ I grabbed his briefcase from the floor.

‘Nora Claremont. Did you speak like a dungeon troll?’

‘I’m channelling my inner Corey; how’d I do?’

‘Not too bad, but let me fix your tie.’

My hand flew to my neck and cupped the royal blue material. ‘My tie is great; I watched a tutorial.’

He launched for the tie, but I turned at the last moment. Instead of meeting my chest, he landed on the floor, dress over his back.

‘Oof, nice choice of underwear. They’re my favourite, too.’

‘Well, now you’re being distasteful.’ He scowled.

‘Distasteful? Me?’

‘Fine, have a mediocre tie. Girls might get judged on their makeup, but watch every man you shake hands with raise an eyebrow at that jumbled piece of crap.’

I waited by the door with a triumphant smile. This tie had been masterfully crafted with the skill of the origami champion of 2015 – something I don’t mention nearly often enough. Corey stomped past, trying to outwalk me which used to come naturally to him. But for every three quick steps he took, I met them with one long stride and a merciless smile. My raised eyebrows were giving facelift vibes, but I couldn’t soften my victorious enthusiasm.

An apartment door opened, and a grey head of hair poked out. He caught my deranged gaze, and his neck wrinkles shook with his head as he muttered something under his breath, then slammed the door shut.

‘You’re infuriating,’ Corey grumbled.

‘You’re cute when you’re angry. Or really, I’m cute when you’re angry.’

‘You’re enjoying this too much.’ He raced into the elevator and jabbed the ‘close’ button until he broke my nail and growled.

‘You should know these doors aren’t fast enough for a trick like that. Or do you usually have an elevator butler take care of this for you?’ I shoved my arm against the closing door and took my place next to Corey.

‘Let’s remain silent.’ He sulked.

‘Wait. I need to know who a guy at work is. Brown hair, glasses, doesn’t show an ounce of respect to you despite you probably being his boss.’

‘Paddy. I went to school with him.’

‘Another rich boy,’ I mumbled.

‘I convinced Dad to give him a shot, and he’s been with us for two years now. Never once let us down. Never let me down. So be nice to him while you’re being his boss because he’s important to me. And he’s not disrespectful, he’s my best friend. He keeps me in check.’

‘So, what do I talk about with him? Boobs and beers?’

‘Obviously. Just not at work.’

My top lip lifted in disgust. ‘I was kidding.’

‘Maybe I was, too.’

The lift doors opened to the ground floor before I could say anything else, so I quietly followed him through the lobby onto the street.

‘Table for two?’ Corey asked the waitress at the café door.

She chewed her gum so vigorously I thought her teeth would be pulled. ‘This way.’ She picked up two menus from her station by the door and twisted through tightly packed tables until we reached a small table in the centre. ‘First coffee is free.’ She poured the black liquid from the jug into our white, chipped mugs then left without another word.