Page 44 of Think Outside the Boss

Tristan’s deep laugh rumbles through the phone. “It’s almost an idea worth considering.”

“The mole might run, knowing we’re on to him. You’d have to have security chase him.”

“Or her,” he adds. “My company is committed to gender equality.”

“How noble of you.”

“We all do what we can.”

I bite my lip, smiling into the phone. We shouldn’t be calling like this. Talking like this. And yet here we are.

“Thank you for last week,” I say. “At the fair.”

“Don’t mention it,” he says.

But I have to. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten on that ride in the first place.”

“I shouldn’t have assumed you wanted to,” he retorts. “It’s on me, not you.”

It’s absolutely on me, but I don’t press the point. “Let’s agree to split the blame, then. Gender equality and all that.”

“All right. We’re really taking a stand here, aren’t we?”

“We’ll be mentioned in the history books.”

He clears his throat. “At least I didn’t catch you out at a bar tonight. Are you in between social engagements for the evening?”

“I don’t go to bars every night,” I tease. “Only every other.”

“Oh to live the careless life of a trainee.”

I reach for my hat, stomach grumbling. “I worked pretty late, and then I walked back to my apartment.”

“On the Upper West Side.”

“Yes.”

A brief pause, like he’s considering his next words. But then they come. “You know I live on the Upper West Side too.”

“I remember,” I murmur. “We might be neighbors.”

“We might be.”

“I was just planning on heading out, actually.”

“To a bar?”

“No, to a deli. The one down my street has the best pastrami sandwich.”

“The best?”

“Yes. They also serve Chinese food, which is an interesting mix, but somehow they pull it off.”

“Never heard of a place like that in this area.”

“Well, it’s pretty good,” I say. And then, before I can stop myself, “Do you want to join?”

My question hangs in the air between us, and spoken out loud, it sounds ridiculous. He’s busy. He has a son, a company, and probably a far more well-stocked fridge than me.

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