Page 29 of Bulletproof

“She didn’t have to say it was shit.”

A smile lit his eyes, and I actually saw the man for the first time. He had dark, thick, wavy brown hair; olive skin; and expressive eyebrows that made him look like he was plotting something.

Handsome? No. But warm and easy to like? Yes.

So, why hadn’t I really seen him before this?

“So, Pete Riggs over at Benchmark, he told me I should bring you in, have you sit down and talk to him so he could see what you’re like. I mean, it’s event planning, and I know it’s not what you want to do with your life, but you get that you’re very good at it and people just either love you or hate you from the second they meet you.”

No argument there.

“So, maybe you want to go home, change, and meet me for lunch at one at Carnivale downtown with Pete and his business partner, Anna Pearlman.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes,” he said, chuckling, “very. I think you and I could work really well together, and even though I know it might not be for long—since, like I said, I know it’s not your lifelong dream or anything—I’m willing to try it.”

“When were you⁠—”

“I was going to ask to see you today. I sent you a text message.”

And after he left, after I agreed to the meeting, when I checked, the message was there on my phone. It started with J. Not Jory, but J. I liked that a lot.

I cleaned up well. Always had. I wore my Pinwale corduroy suit under my tweed topcoat to meet my possible new employer. I thought Fallon was going to pass out from shock.

“What?”

“No, nothing,” he muttered, his eyes all over me. “You just … you look—you look good.”

I smiled at him. “Where’s the table?”

“You want a drink?”

“No, I’m good.”

He led, I followed, and the second I reached the table, I turned on the charm. Something about how badly Fallon wanted it to work transferred to interest on my end. He was excited to partner with me, so I felt the same back. It had been a long time since anyone had been happy to have me along.

Gina loved me, but I exhausted her. For Michelle, I was a chore. She had to be on her guard and watchful, concerned with her career, so therefore, she was worried about what I would say or do and how that would reflect on her. And I understood it all. I tired everyone out who came in contact with me on a regular basis. Maybe that was the reason for Sam’s extended absence. Maybe he just needed a break.

And it wasn’t as though I wasn’t loved. Both Gina and Michelle adored me, but it was like when your drunken uncle went home and you could breathe and enjoy the rest of the family gathering in peace. I made Gina and Michelle wary, and I was tired of doing that and being treated like that even if I was on my best behavior.

But Fallon? Fallon wanted me in the cockpit with him. He wasn’t treating me like I was stupid or a burden or draining. He wasn’t rolling his eyes, telling me it was lucky I was pretty since I wasn’t that bright, or placating me. He was treating me like an equal, he was counting on me, and it was really sort of different and kind of nice. I didn’t want to let him down. It was suddenly very important, and everything else fell away.

“Pleasure,” I said to Mr. Riggs and then said it to Mrs. Pearlman as well.

I was quiet, I nodded in all the right places, and I smiled when anyone looked at me.

“What do you think?” Fallon asked me in that lull between when you ordered lunch and when it came. Right after everyone passed the waiter the menus and you had to start a new topic.

“About what?” I asked him.

“J …”

“Like, you really wanna know, or you want me to sit here and be polite?”

“I, for one, would like to really know,” Mrs. Pearlman said.

I liked her already. Mr. Riggs seemed uncertain. I wasn’t sure if it was me who was making him twitchy, or the restaurant, or his gin and tonic, or his tie he kept fiddling with … I didn’t know. But Mrs. Pearlman—Anna—her, I liked, and I could tell she liked me back. But it was kind of a given. Me and women, it was sort of destined.