The Neighbor Favor(15)
PART TWO
REAL LIFE
2
Five months later
Lily wasn’t under the impression that she was a woman of many talents. But she was good at hiding. Very good.
Phone in hand, she threw a glance over her shoulder as she snuck into the coat check room at Rosa Mexicano, the fancy restaurant in Midtown New York City. It was late June and, given the heat, there shouldn’t have been many coats hanging, but Violet’s fashion friends found any reason to wear elaborate, if not unnecessary, jackets. Lily crouched down and crawled behind a long, olive green leather trench coat and sat pretzel style on the floor. She opened a text from her boss, Edith.
Did you remember to print out my emails before you left
It should be illegal for bosses to text employees on a Saturday. Especially if those bosses couldn’t be bothered to use punctuation. Lily sighed and quickly typed out a response.
Hi, Edith. Yes, I printed your emails and left them on your desk. I hope you’re enjoying your vacation!
Edith had this thing about emails, meaning that she didn’t like to read them on her computer. Every morning, Lily arrived at least an hour before the rest of her colleagues, printed out Edith’s emails and left them on her desk. Edith was old-school publishing. She got her start in the days when people were still allowed to smoke in the office and authors submitted manuscripts directly to the company via snail mail. She’d been away at her summer home in Vermont for the past week and had asked Lily to print all of the “important” emails she’d missed so that she’d be able to read them first thing Monday morning.
Edith responded: OK
No Enjoy your weekend. Or Thank you for killing hundreds of trees of my behalf every month. Just “OK.” This might have ruffled someone else’s feathers, but Lily was used to the thanklessness of her job. It was funny that Edith struggled with handling her own email but had no problem texting Lily at inappropriate times. Like in the middle of her sister’s engagement party.
Still shielded by the ridiculously long trench coat, Lily dropped her phone in her lap and leaned back against the wall. She could hear the sound of her family’s voices, shouting to be heard over the music. Aunts, uncles and cousins who all drove in from New Jersey. They weren’t arguing; they were just a loud bunch. A nosy bunch. Tonight was Violet’s night, but everyone had questions for Lily. When was it going to be her turn to get married? Was she dating anyone now? What was her job situation, still an assistant after two and a half years? Did she plan to sleep on Violet’s couch forever? All of the questioning combined with the unwanted social interaction made Lily’s skin crawl so badly, she honestly preferred to find a quiet corner and answer Edith’s texts rather than talk to her family.
Maybe she could stay hidden here for the rest of the night and no one would notice. When the party was wrapping up, she could emerge, say her goodbyes and then hop on the subway and go home—or to Violet’s apartment, which was currently her home.
Yes, that’s exactly what she’d do. She opened the e-reader app on her phone and decided to take this as an opportunity to finally start The Golem and the Jinni, a fantasy novel she’d been wanting to read for months. She never had time to read for pleasure anymore. That’s something they don’t tell you when you’re applying to be an editor. She grinned as she scrolled to chapter 1, eyes ready to devour text that had nothing to do with work.
Then she heard the telltale sign of click-clacking high heels.
“Lily?” a voice called, entering the room. Her sister Violet.
Lily held completely still. She used to play this game as a kid when she wanted to stay inside and read but her sisters came calling to go ride bikes or do anything remotely adventurous. If she was quiet enough, maybe she could actually become invisible.
“I know you’re in here,” Violet said. “Iris told me she saw you walk this way.”
Lily stayed motionless and held her breath when Violet’s footsteps paused. Maybe she’d give up and go back to the party being thrown in her honor. Then suddenly Violet’s footsteps grew louder, and the coats shielding Lily split, exposing her. Lily looked up and smiled sheepishly at her older sister. Violet smiled back and shook her head.
“I was working,” Lily said, holding up her phone by way of explanation.
“On a Saturday night?” Violet held out her hand and pulled Lily to her feet. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
Lily groaned. “No thanks.”
“Oh, don’t start. You haven’t been out in forever. And Angel is so sweet. He’s one of Eddy’s new clients, an R&B singer! Eddy swears he’s going to be the next big thing, and he’s dying to meet you.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m sure dying to meet me is an exaggeration. He won’t be interested. Let’s not waste anyone’s time.”
“What are you talking about? Of course he’ll be interested in you.”
“I don’t know what you’ve told him about me, but the reality is that I’m pretty boring, and he’s a singer. We won’t have anything to talk about.”
“Not true,” Violet said, looping her arm through Lily’s. “You work with books. You’re both in the arts. That’s something to talk about right there.”