Page 113 of Positively Pricked
Chapter 38
It was an hour before nightfall, and I was alone in the elevator, going down. Already, I'd been in New York for three jam-packed days of accompanying Zane to countless interviews.
Just this morning, he'd appeared on two morning shows and a popular business channel. On air, he'd been surprisingly professional and yes, maybe even charming, at least by Zane's standards.
It made me wonder all over again, whowasthis guy, anyway?
We were staying, of course, at the Bennington Hotel in New York, which also housed the regional corporate offices, where Teddy would be working whenever he got settled in.
As far as anything we'd discussed on the plane, none of it was ever mentioned again – not by me, not by Teddy, and certainly not by Zane, who'd been even more unsociable than normal.
That was fine by me. Ever since that awkward flight, I'd been feeling nervous and unsettled for reasons that I couldn’t quite decipher. Something between us had shifted, but I had no idea what.
I was still trying to figure it out when a sudden ding jolted me back to reality. In front of me, the elevator doors slid open, and I came face-to-face with someone I was surprised to see so far from home.
It was Tiffany, and she was toting a bunch of shopping bags. At the sight of me, she stopped and squinted across the short distance. "Jane? Is that you?"
I had to laugh. "As far as I know."
She bustled forward. "What are you doing here?"
"Working."
"Oh, like a catering thing?" She gave me an encouraging smile. "Good for you."
Obviously, she had no idea what I'd been doing, which was pretty surprising, considering how obsessed she'd been with Zane. Then again, she'd never been one to follow the news.
I was just about to explain when she said, "I'm going to the lobby. Could you please hit the button?"
I glanced at the panel. "It's already hit."
"Oh." She frowned. "You're not going there, too, are you?"
I gave her a confused look. "Why? Is that a problem?"
"No." She bit her lip. "Well, maybe. It's just that I'm meeting the senator."
"That's nice." I hesitated. "Right?"
"Sure, but…" She let her words trail off into silence.
"But what?" I asked.
She sighed. "Listen, I hope you don't take this personally, but could you scoot away a little?"
Scoot away?"Why?"
The doors had already shut, and the elevator was once again heading downward.
Tiffany replied, "Because he might recognize you from the catering stuff."
"And…?"
"And, well, I don't want him to think we're together."
I stared at her. "Together how?"
"Well, not together-together. I just mean, I don't want him to think we're, um…"
