Page 15 of Hidden & Held

The chat goes quiet for about four seconds, which is a Zentrology record, before the typing bubbles appear.

Nessa

!!!!!!

Mack

EXCUSE ME

Becca

PHOENIX LANE

Nessa

Mercury retrograde, my ENTIRE ASS. This is actually a good transit.

Mack

Who? Details. Now!

Becca

Is this why you’ve been weird for months?

I haven’t been weird.

Becca

You brought me a labeled container of homemade soup when I had a cold and then said, “Don’t read into it.”

Mack

That’s weird, Phi

Goodnight, ladies.

Nessa

SHE HUNG UP ON US

Mack

She absolutely did not tell us anything

Becca

She’ll tell us Saturday

I set my phone down and almost smile at the thought of introducing Jackson to my eclectic and eccentric group.

I close the Kincaid file, then the Lena notes, then the motion draft. I stack them in order of priority for tomorrow morning, cap my highlighter, and put on my coat.

I pause at the doorway and look back at my office the way I sometimes do when I leave late, checking that everything is in its place. The freesia on my desk has bloomed today, the scent reaching me from the doorway.

When you look up and see it, you’ll know I see you.

I exhale, turn off the light, and leave to prepare for another day.