Page 59 of One for the Road
“What? We talk all the time on video. You already know what’s up with my life.”
“Yeah, and you already knew everything I just told you. It’s different when you say it in person.” She stops talking for a moment and squints at me. “You’re hiding something.”
I huff. “Me? Hiding something? You know I have a bad poker face.”
“Yeah, exactly.” She rolls her eyes. “Spill.”
“I can’t spill if there’s nothing to spill.”
“Hmm.” She pats her suitcase where it’s sitting between her knees. “Good thing I brought some east coast liquor with me. You’ll be telling me everything in no time.”
I fake a gasp. “My own sister, trying to drug me into a confession.”
“Ha! So you admit there’s something to confess.”
We continue like that all the way to my apartment. Paige’s lair is firmly closed off, but there’s a light shining through the crack under the door.
“Do I get to meet her?” Hope asks in a whisper. The last time she visited Montreal was before I’d moved in with Paige.
“If you remain very still, she may choose to emerge,” I whisper back. I laugh at Hope’s wary glance at the door and continue in a normal voice. “She usually comes out for a late dinner. She also always has headphones on, so don’t worry about making noise.”
I give Hope a quick tour of the place before pulling a lasagna out of the freezer and turning the oven on.
“Mother would be ashamed of you,” she informs me, nodding at the cardboard box.
“Yeah, well, I was going to grocery shop this morning, but—”
“But what?”
“I, uh, ran out of time.”
Hope gives me a look to say she’s having none of my shit before leaving the kitchen and plopping herself down on the couch.
“Oh! You know what you should tell me about? Your business! How’s it going?”
“It’s, uh, it’s good,” I answer distractedly as I slide the plastic tray into the oven.
“Zachary Hastings, you are being infuriatingly evasive today.” She pats the cushion next to her, and I make my way over to collapse down beside her. “Come on. Give me the deets.”
As an economics major, Hope is one of the few people I’ve met who can keep up with my ecommerce explanations. By the time I get past the concept with most people, they’re either too confused or too bored to listen to any more. I reel off some of my latest accomplishments and nerd out over the traction I’ve been gaining as Hope congratulates me.
“Let me show you this drop shipping meme about—”
“Wait. No.” Hope holds up a hand to cut me off. “No more of your memes. You’ve already sent me like, five memes today.”
“Yeah, but they weren’t about drop shipping,” I protest.
“I’ll just take your word for it that it’s funny.” She pats me on the shoulder, and I resign myself to shoving my phone back in my pocket. “Seriously, though, that’s incredible. Are things still moving as fast?”
“Well...”
It’s not like she’s my boss;I’mmy boss, but I can’t help feeling guilty admitting how much I’ve been neglecting things lately.
“I’ve been working at the bar a lot, so I’m not as on track as I’d like to be, but as soon as I have a little more time on my hands, things should get back to where they were and keep growing.”
Hope frowns. “I thought you went down to part time at the bar?”
“Well, that was the plan.” I shrug and chuckle, but her frown only deepens. “Things got a little crazy after Dylan left, and Monroe only just got a new manager fully trained. I’m one of the most senior staff members now, so it’s been important to have me around.”
