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I clear my throat. “I’ll be fine.”

“Max. What are you still doing here?” Candace pushes through the door, entering the conference room. Her tight pencil skirt stretches across her thighs as she walks. She smooths it out as she sits in her chair at the opposite side from where Max and I were standing.

“I ran into Lena on my way out,” Max explains.

“Oh,” she says, opening her leather folder. She slides out a blank piece of paper, clicking her pen. She sets it down on top of the paper then pulls out her phone. “You should probably head out. We have a meeting starting here in a few minutes and we need to prepare.”

“Yes, Ms. Sawyer.” Max rolls his eyes. He turns to me, clearly forgetting about our conversation now that Candace is in the room. He leans forward and winks at me. “Like I said. Married to her work.”

“Max,” Candace groans. “Get out of here.”

He holds his hands up and backs away, leaving the room with a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. When I turn my attention back to Candace, she’s wearing a grin I’ve never seen on her before. She’s staring straight through the glass, watching as Max disappears down the hallway. Her cheeks are flushed pink, a similar shade to the shirt she’s wearing tucked into her pencil skirt.

When she notices me staring, her mouth snaps shut as she clears her throat. “What?” She pretends to organize the papers in her folder, her head down. “Don’t ask,” she mutters.

“I didn’t say anything.” I chuckle, feeling the tension of Max and I’s conversation evaporate. The idea of Abby lying to me didn’t disappear. I simply put it on the back burner for the fifty-nine minutes I would be preoccupied.

Candace doesn’t look up from her folder again until the other lawyers start filing into the conference room and if I didn’t know any better, her cheeks were still flushed with pink.

* * *

I leftmy phone sitting on my desk during my presentation. Once everyone has left the conference room, I quickly gather my papers and walk back to my office. My heels tap against the carpet, the fabric of my dress waving against my thighs with my fevered steps. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I needed to get back to my phone. I needed to talk to Abby.

My body was hot, my skin covered in a thin film of sweat. Max’s confession of what Abby had told him had nagged me my entire presentation. Lately, I felt like my life was a puzzle, the pieces laid out before me in one giant mess. I wasn’t quite sure how they fit, but I knew somehow, they did.

I pick up my phone, my thumb hovering over Abby’s name. Before I have the chance to press the green button, Candace strides into my office.

“Excellent presentation, Lena.”

“Hey, Candace.” I drop my phone back onto my desk. My screen fades to black.

Candace sits down in the chair in front of my desk, crossing her legs. She straightens her skirt, smoothing her palms down the top of her thighs, crossing her arms in over her lap. “The partners loved your vision and we’d like you to start producing it immediately.”

“Okay.” I give her a smile then begin packing my office up for the weekend. “I can get started on that on Monday.”

“Lena?” she asks, dipping her head to catch my attention.

I zip my laptop bag and lay it flat on my desk. “Yes?”

Her usual sharp eyes soften. Candace is the perfect combination of being tough yet relatable. There’s a softness to her, buried under the hard exterior she wears twenty-four seven. Despite her kindness toward me, I wouldn’t necessarily call her a friend. I consider James a closer friend than Candace. However, there are the small moments where Candace shows me she’s more than the woman Max claims her to be. Married to her work.

“I know I may come across cold at times,” Candace says, reading my mind. “But I wanted to let you know I do value you working here. You’ve become an invaluable asset to our law firm.”

I sling my laptop bag over my shoulder and grab my phone. Candace takes my cue and stands. “Thank you, Candace. That means the world to me.”

“Great.” She sighs, stepping out of my office. “Have a great weekend then.”

I switch off the light and start making my way toward the elevator. “You too.”

Once I get to the lobby, I say goodbye to James and promise to bring him a fresh bagel on Monday. He gives me a smile as I walk out the door.

I’m headed to the parking garage when my phone rings in my hand. Abby’s name pops up on the screen. When I had wanted to call her earlier, I was ready to question her about Max’s confession. But now, seeing her name pop up on my phone, I’m wondering what other lies she might have been telling me. Our relationship had become a complicated spider web, one strand leading to another.

Maybe Max had Abby confused with another woman he dated. It was a slight possibility but one I didn’t put much stock in. Chills prickle my spine once again, noting how Max knew details of what Abby had told him. My phone rings for the third time before I finally tap the green button and press my phone against my ear.

“Hello?”

“Finally.” Abby sighs into my ear. Her dramatic breath vibrates against my ear. It sounds like she’s running or in the middle of what of her soul cycle classes. High endurance work outs were never my strong suit. Where Abby ran marathons, I stood on the sidelines handing out cups of water to the runners. Where Abby decided to take rowing her sophomore year of college, I’d elected to enroll in hot yoga. It’s not that I wasn’t healthy or wasn’t interested in physical activity. I just despised the kind that made me feel like my chest was about to explode and my heart to leap out from my rib cage. Yoga was slower, simpler. Relaxing.

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