Page 94 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
You already have a ton to do. And Kai offered in exchange for my help with his math hw.
You probably would have nailed all our questions though
Gabe
I would have passed up that break with Max if you asked.
He was killing me with that. I wanted to send him a bunch of heart emojis in response, but that would have had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I settled with replying,I’ll keep that in mind for next time. But as I gathered my things, I realized that any study session I’d have with Gabe couldn’t be like this—out on the quad in the light of day. Not when he couldn’t even approach me in campus.
Throughout dinner with Kai, that thought stuck with me, leaving a gnawing ache in my stomach.
chapter twenty-nine
gabe
Nora
Can you come by my office at 3 p.m.? I have concerns about your dissertation.
Gabe
Alright.
Staring at mylaptop, I tapped the delete key just enough to make a sound without actually pressing it. Not that it mattered whether I did. The words I’d typed so far—few as they were—didn’t amount to much more than a regurgitation of information I’d gathered from my sources. I’d brought nothing new to the discussion, which meant this was useless.
Going by Nora’s text this morning, she agreed. If I had to guess, it was a toss-up between her asking me to redo what I’d worked on so far or telling me to rethink my participation in the program. I almost hoped she’d kick me out of it to take the decision off my hands.
I grabbed my phone to check whether I’d received a new message from Luna, only to put it back down at the realization that I was acting like a teenage boy. The last time I’d been this eager to get a text from a girl, I’d been just that—a kid. It was humbling, yet it didn’t stop me from feeling disappointed that she hadn’t replied yet.
What the hell was wrong with me?
It was this dissertation. Too much reading and digesting, not enough doing. Consultancy involved plenty of analysis, but it came hand in hand with application. It had greater stakes than a failing grade, which energized me. Knowing my judgment could spell the difference between a profit and a loss sharpened my brain and drove it to function at full capacity. I couldn’t say the same for writing a literature review.
My phone rang, and I grabbed it as though it were a life raft.
Max. Not Luna.
“Max,” I answered.
“Are you still on campus?”
The absence of a greeting and his rushed, almost frantic speech had me sitting up straighter. “Yes. What’s wrong?”
“My mother-in-law got into an accident, so Paul and I need to fly to Chicago.” A door slammed in the background.
My brain latched on the wordsmother-in-law. Since when was Max married? And who was Paul? “What?”
“I hate to do this, but I’ve got to ask you a massive favor,” Max went on. “Can you sub for me? I’m supposed to be a guest lecturer for an entrepreneurship class, but I need to head to the airport anytime now. It’s just about financial planning, funding—things you could discuss in your sleep.”
“What time is the class?”
“Two p.m.”
“Alright.” I’d planned to spend the hours before my meeting with Nora finishing my literature review, but this was more pressing.
“That’s it? No other questions?” Surprise filled his voice.
I stifled a snort. “I’d ask why I didn’t know you were married and who Paul is, but I assume you don’t have time to talk.”
