Page 88 of Don't Quit the Day Job

"You mean now?"

"It's not that late," she says "Maybe we can grab a bite and a drink and I can tell you all about my Kingston story so that you don't have to think about that jackass?"

"Sounds perfect," I agree. "I'll talk to you later."

"Sounds good."

I click over to the other line.

"Yes?" I snap.

"Hey, it's me, Max."

"I know," I bite.

"Is everything okay, Lila?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Is everything okay with you?"

"Yeah. I just realized that you were still speaking when I hung up earlier and I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think that?—"

"It's fine. I'm about to head out, so if there was nothing else…"

"Oh, where are you going?"

"I'm going to grab a drink with a friend."

"A male friend?" he asks, sounding suspiciously jealous.

"None of your business."

"What? Hey, is everything okay, Lila?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You just sound weird."

"I don't sound weird. You sound weird."

"You want to FaceTime later tonight?"

"Why?"

"I don't know. So we can see each other. It's been a little while."

"I don't know what time I'm going to be back, so I’ll talk to you later."

"Are you mad at me for some reason?"

"Why would I be mad at you, Max?"

"Because I didn't want people in the office to know."

"No, I totally understand why you didn't want people in the office to know. You didn't want to look like a dog when everyone found out the truth?—"

"What are you talking about, Lila?"

"—in eight or nine months. Yeah, you wouldn't look so good then once the real story came out."

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