Page 17 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
Excitement?Were her wheels spinning like mine? “Yeah, a change of pace might be welcome.” I didn’t want to push it too fast. Let her broach the topic. Let her beg me for another chance.
“Wow. I never thought I’d hear that come out of your mouth. You rejected every one of my suggestions.” And there it was, the unfiltered Marta.
I pursed my lips when I realized her wheels didn’t seem to be turning in the same direction as mine. Was she dating someone else?No.She couldn’t be over me this soon. “Well—”
“I mean, you said you’d never, uh, leave New York. And…”
My exact words were the only way I’d leave New York City was in the back of a hearse. A little excessive, but I’d spewed it during the heat of one of our many arguments.
Ah, she must be shocked.I just needed to give her a couple of minutes to digest the information. If Emma was right, Marta calling to rekindle our relationship must qualify as a serendipitous event. Or maybe not since Marta knew I was without a job. Was this her manipulative calculation of how to draw me back in? I could do worse.
Channeling Emma, I said, “Sometimes things happen for a reason. Now I just need to determine why.” It gave her a perfect segue.
I waited for her to say,perhaps I’m the reason.In my mind, I tossed around my response. Should I keep it simple and just say,perhaps?Or should I say something romantic? Not that it was my style, but surely, I could pull some greeting card phrase out of my ass.
“…in October. I’d love for you to attend.”
Wait. What?“Attend what?”
“My wedding, doofus. Were you listening?”
“Uh, yeah, your wedding.” When the hell had she started dating?
“You probably think it’s kinda sudden since we’ve only been dating for nine months, but when you know, you know.”
What the hell?Nine fucking months. A month after our breakup, she began dating. How low was that?
“You’re welcome to bring a date.”
Now she was gloating. I’d dated no one since she’d left. Not that it had anything to do with her. I’d been too busy, but still.
“It’ll depend on where I’m working,” I said, regaining my footing.
“Patti could put in a good word for you with Titan.”
She was giving me whiplash. “Who’s Patti?”
“Uh, I just told you. My fiancée, Patti. She’s the CEO of Titan.”
Fucking shoot me now.I would never let Marta’s fiancée set me up in a job. That would complete my fall from grace. “Oh, did you say Titan? I thought you said Titus.” I let out my derisive snort. “I’d never work for Titan.”
“Oh, well, she seems to like it. Anyhow, I’d love for you to meet her. She loves spreadsheets as much as you do.” Marta let out her carefree laugh.
It crystallized. She’d gone out and found a replica of me.
“But that’s where the similarity ends,” Marta said. “She’s a stickler for a work-life balance, and she’s instilled it in the culture.”
“And that’s why I’d never work for them,” I snapped. “No way anyone gets ahead with that laissez-faire attitude.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Marta’s pleasant tone turned harsh. “Titan was featured inForbesas one of the top new companies with a female CEO.”
I knew it since I’d been researching the stupid company. “Hmm, that’s surprising,” I said, hoping it came out unimpressed.
“It didn’t surprise me.” Her defensiveness was evident. “Patti is brilliant.”
Ouch.Shove the knife in a little farther and twist it. We’d set a new record. Ten minutes into our conversation, and we were at each other’s throats.
Regardless, I needed to save this conversation for Marta’s sake. Besides, I didn’t need the CEO of Titan blackballing me.
