Page 116 of The Secretary Volume II

67

Lena

I’m back at the temp agency.Same beige walls.Same headset.Same god-awful fluorescent lights that make my skin look like it’s been stored in someone’s basement for a year.

Same Marjorie.

Only now, I don’t flinch when I hear her heels.

“You’re still Diane, right?”she asks, halfway to my cubicle.“We’re targeting Midwest retirees this quarter.”

I flash her a smile.“Sure.Diane it is.”

She nods, satisfied, then vanishes back into her managerial swamp, leaving me to wonder if anyone here even notices how strange this is.

God, I used to hate this job.

Now?

It pays the bills.

And for the first time in a long time, the bills aren’t terrifying.

It’s not that I’ve forgotten.Shergar’s still circling like a ghost.The investigators keep calling.I keep answering.They never really get to the question they want to ask—what did you see, and what did you ignore until it was too late?

The journalists stopped pretending they were working on background and started asking me for pull quotes.

Like going on record withyes, I watched it happenwould make the world any less awful.

I haven’t said yes.

But I haven’t said no, either.

What’s new is him.

He’s not flashy.He doesn’t throw out lines like“I’ll help you make your dreams come true.” No over-the-top promises, no job offers tied to what I do or which favors I’m willing to perform.He doesn’t check my LinkedIn under a fake name or ask why I’ve moved three times in two years.

He doesn’t look at me like I’m broken, just between chapters.

He’s steady.Simple.Nice, in the way people forget to be.

And when he texts me, it’s not some mind game or breadcrumb.It’s just:

You left your sweater.I’m holding it hostage until dinner.

Also: you were amazing this morning.

Also also: I think I’m falling for you.No pressure.

I laughed out loud when I read it.At work.Like an idiot.

He says what he means.

He means what he says.

I’m not used to it—could it really be this easy?

But I’m learning.

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