Page 112 of My Secret Snowflake
Liam gestures with his head. We jog north on the brown dirt path, side by side. Liam is matching his stride to mine. I’m definitely in worse shape than I used to be. We started jogging together in high school because my dad didn’t want me out at night alone. Liam was scrawny back then but still tall. He’s a good partner because he’s quiet, allowing me time with my thoughts. I wipe my runny nose with my sleeve. It’s cold, but I’m warming up now. I let my hood fall back.
Through the bare trees, the buildings of Central Park are visible to the west. Patches of green grass under crumpled brown leaves line either side of the path. Farther uphill on the east side is the reservoir, with its one-way running path.
Down here, the path is wide, with plenty of space for people to walk or run in either direction.
Do I think Sebastian is the one? And if he is, isn’t that worth giving up this job? It’s just a title, in the end. Maybe Jazmine is right—that it’s an easy decision. If I got this CISO title at such a young age, I can do it again. But I won’t find another Sebastian.
Sebastian sitting in my room, totally supporting me.
Sebastian coming out to Dyker Heights.
The ergonomic mouse.
“My loyalty is to you.”
Liam glances at me. “We need to do this more often. You’re getting slow in your old age.”
“Old age.” I harrumph. But I pick up my pace.
We turn the wide corner to a view of both the lit-up brown, beige, and white buildings of the East Side and the gray metal skyscrapers in midtown lining the southern view. The clouds cover the tops, only the blinking red warning lights on top visible. They’re so tall, reaching for the sky.
But would I want to live in one?
No. I definitely prefer my Lower East Side neighborhood, where everyone looks out for each other. Or the community on the Upper West Side Lily cultivated with the garden and the library.
Liam and I haven’t been running lately because I’m always working.
This is the time for me to advance my career, but I also don’t want to spend my thirties in an office staring at a screen.
We jog down the east side of the track, passing the Guggenheim, its façade one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of Manhattan. Not long now to go. I’m definitely breathing heavier than Liam, but I just have to put in that last push.
My sneakers crunch on the gravel. We pass a couple walking hand in hand and someone with AirPods talking out loud on a call.
We turn again. All I can hear is my harsh breathing and my feet hitting the dirt on this narrow path on the south end, hemmed in even more by parked police cars. A police station is somewhere around here. And finally, we’re back where we started. We walk it off.
“Did you decide what to do?” Liam asks.
“I’m going to call Raphael and see if he needs a Deputy CISO at Shooting Stars,” I say.
“For what it’s worth, I think that’s the right call. I like Sebastian,” Liam says. “And theyescortedyou out, Iris. They shouldn’t get the benefit of your expertise. They sound like a bunch of idiots. And now they’re setting rules about who you can date.Just no. Let them promote that Hank guy. And then we should hack into their systems and—”
“We work for good, not for evil,” I say, resting my hand on his arm.
“It’s still a fun fantasy.”
I perch on the green metal bench—theHis Pathbench—and text Raphael.
“You need to stretch again,” Liam says.
I dutifully get up and do so.
Raphael calls me back, incredibly enthusiastic. “I just called Shooting Stars, and you can interview right now. They’re going to be there late tonight. Where are you? Their offices are right by Columbia University.”
“I’m sweaty and in workout clothes,” I say. “But I’m at the reservoir, and Liam lives by Columbia.”
“You can shower at my place and then go,” Liam says.
“I don’t have clothes.”
