Page 46 of The Snowball Effect

“Ican’t,” Brynn stressed, throwing her hands into the air. “But every single time you’ve gotten a text in the last few days, you lift your hand over the drawer your phone is in.” Brynn mimicked Emma’s hand, freezing it before she could open it the drawer. “And then you hesitate like this.” She stared, with exaggerated intent, at the drawer. “Like, is this some sort of situation where someone offered you ten million dollars, but only if you press the button to kill someone, and that button is on your phone?”

Emma was not going to dignify that with a response. Instead, she dropped her hand into her lap, away from where it had been hovering next to the drawer handle. Caught.

Closing her eyes tightly, she debated whether to say anything, but the need to talk about the situation won out.

Quickly, she looked at Allegra through the glass wall and noted that she didn’t seem perturbed by their quiet conversation.

She might as well go for it, she supposed. “I’m having some trouble with my–”

“Girlfriend,” Brynn cut in, nodding sagely and looking remarkably more interested. “Go on.”

Emma reeled back, shaking her head. “Uh, no. No, no.”

Brynn leaned back, clearly surprised. “Really? I thought I got that sapphic vibe from you.”

“I mean, yes, I date women.” Not so much recently, but Emma had never discussed her dating life at work, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. “But – no. This is about my roommate.” She couldn’t help but frown as she questioned, “God, why doeseveryoneassume that when Regan comes up?”

“Because,” Brynn gestured to Emma’s face with the pen she held in her hand. “That whole demeanor you have going on, all bothered under the collar and whatnot, doesn’t read asjust a roommateproblems. Regardless, you have my attention.”

“Yes, do go on,” Allegra’s clear, cutting tone startled them as she stood in her doorway, arms crossed.

Despite the glass walls, Emma had no idea when Allegra had stood and walked over toward them. Judging by Brynn’s wide-eyed expression, she hadn’t noticed, either.

Even more mortified than before, Emma wanted to shrink back into her seat and cover her face with her hands. Shedidn’t, but only because a sense of self-preservation kept her sitting with perfect posture.

“I’m sorry, Allegra,” she apologized, grateful her voice came out louder than a whisper. “I’ll get back to work.”

“Why stop on my account? You didn’t seem to have reservations a moment ago when I could still hear you, only from several feet farther away.”

Unsure of what her boss was getting at – was she being uncharacteristically sarcastic? Typically, Allegra was very direct – Emma couldn’t help but squirm in her seat.

Allegra arched an eyebrow, dark gaze boring into her. “Well? Brynn and I are waiting for the conclusion to the conundrum that has had you distracted all week.”

Emma wanted tomurderRegan for being the root cause of this.

As her stomach tied in uncertain knots, she realized thatwasthe root of her issue.

“Ah… right,” Emma slowly began, darting her gaze to Brynn to check that she was reading the situation correctly and that Allegra genuinely wanted her to continue. Brynn, unhelpfully, looked just as unsure as Emma. “Well, my roommate and I have never really gotten along. Strictly speaking.”

Allegra nodded, waving her on.

“Then why did you move in together in the first place?” Brynn cut in before she widened her eyes at Allegra. “Sorry to prolong the story. Emma told me she’d just moved in with this new roommate a few weeks ago.”

“No, context is important. Do tell,” Allegra… ordered?

Order or not, Emma felt compelled to answer, “We have a friend in common.” It was the easiest, simplest explanation. “She’s on a prolonged internship, and I didn’t love my living situation, before.”

“So, you asked to move in with your current roommate,” Allegra asserted.

“No, actually.Sheaskedmeto move in,” Emma corrected. “Because… well, because she knew how much I didn’t enjoy my previous living arrangement.”

As she finished the statement, she spoke slowly, as if hearing the words for the first time.

But – it was the truth.

Regan didn’thaveto ask Emma to move in while Sutton was away. Their apartment, in their neighborhood? She could have gotten a ton of applicants who would have paid far more than Emma was.

“And the problem is?” Allegra’s exacting voice cut into her thoughts.

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