Page 30 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

"Nana, I think Cordelia's heard enough."

Jared's mom and grandma laughed loudly, and the hostess cleared her throat behind them. "Would you all like to eat together?" she asked. "I can push another table up so you can join each other."

"No, no, no. Thank you," I said, straightening myself up to stand. "I really need to get going anyway. I have a—" My eyes went to my half-eaten pasta salad.

"You have that appointment," Astrid said.

"Right. That appointment. That very urgent appointment."

"On a Sunday afternoon?" Jared's grandma asked.

Well, crap. I hated lying to this lady. "Yep. But it was lovely meeting both of you. Really."

I was surprised to realize that part was no lie.

"You too, dear. Don't be a stranger."

Grabbing my bag, I maneuvered out of my seat and awkwardly wiggled past Jared. Did he have to be so tall and take up so much damn space?

"Uh, see you tomorrow, Jared."

"Sure thing, Dee."

I couldn't get away fast enough. Practically breaking into a jog, I exited the little bistro, glancing back once to see that Jared and his family had moved on to their own table, my sisters spotting me instantly, waving at me with big smiles on their faces. I was never going to live this down.

Putting all my energy forward, I hurried down the street, determined to put a lot of distance between me and the godforsaken restaurant.

While I walked, my head whirled with what had just happened, and I didn't know what to focus on first. Actually, that was a lie. All I could think about was what Jared's grandmother had said... that Jared talked about me all the time.

She had to be exaggerating. Why would Jared talk about me so much?

And another thing, the way she'd made it sound, Jared ate dinner every night with his mom and grandma, even watching TV with them afterwards. He couldn't possibly still live with his mother, could he?

Was he having a rough time leaving the nest? Or was he hard up financially and just trying to get by in one of the world's most expensive cities?

My mind conjured up an image of Jared sitting on a couch with his grandma, the light from the television flickering as a deep voice narrated some unsolved crime. His grandma would have an afghan arranged around her legs even though it was summer, and his mom would be in a nearby chair, maybe reading a book or something until they all called it a night and went off to bed.

Honestly, it was kind of sweet to think about. And I didn't know what to make of that.

Nine

Annalise

Jared was late to work the next day, and it was an odd feeling. The office was so strangely quiet, the nearest person to me barely making a peep. It was weird. Beyond weird.

I didn't like it. And I hated that I didn't like it. Because there was no way on this earth that I could possibly be missing Jared.

And when he walked in two hours and twenty-seven minutes late, there was no way on earth I was happy to see him.

"You're late," I grumbled as he sat down.

"I had a doctor's appointment."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"I told Veronica, and I assumed she'd tell you."

"You know what they say about people who assume."

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