“Wow.”
“I know.” Casey rolled her eyes. “I know. It’s bad. Maybe you want to take back your offer.”
Unu just shook his head. “Holy shit. What the hell didn’t you buy?”
“Stocks and bonds,” she said, then suddenly they both started to laugh.
“Do you have a drug problem I don’t know about?”
Casey started to laugh again. He didn’t think she was terrible—this much she could tell.
“Hey, Casey. I have five or six thousand in the bank, and I don’t know what bonuses will be like. If I keep it cool at the tables, then we’d be fine. I can pay for everything for the house. Listen, even if we weren’t, you know—together—you’re my friend. I can cover you for a while. When you’re a millionaire, and I’m low on chips, you can cover me. Okay?”
“I don’t get it,” she said. “Why aren’t you upset?”
“In March, I owed my bookie ten grand, and he carried me for a while until I paid him. If I hadn’t made money yesterday at Foxwoods, I would have been in deep shit. I made two hundred thousand dollars last year as a research analyst, and I have five or six thousand in the bank. I don’t own anything except my car. I spend nearly everything I have, and I gamble for fun. I will not think less of you because you buy fancy clothes. I didn’t know a person could spend that much on clothes.” Unu laughed, raising his eyebrows. “I shouldn’t encourage you, but you look great.”
“It wasn’t just clothes,” she said halfheartedly. What did she buy, anyway? Jana, a woman who worked stock at Sabine’s, weighed two hundred and seventy-five pounds for most of her life, and she used to talk about how she didn’t know how she got so big. She ate neither more nor less than most people who were quite skinny. Casey understood Jana a little better lately—they’d consumed and consumed, and at a certain point, it didn’t matter if they tried to act normal. To be healthier, they’d have to make drastic changes.
Casey and Unu were still standing half a block from his apartment.
Casey’s head hung low, and Unu put his arms around her. “Hey, c’mon. We all fuck up. Even those of us who know better. So we’ll fix it.”
“I like you,” she said, her voice very low.
“Yeah, I like you, too.” Unu took her hand and walked toward the building.
George nodded when they came into the lobby. “Evening,” he said.
“Hey, man,” Unu said, and Casey smiled at him.
“How was House of Wing?” George asked.
“Good.” Casey nodded. “Ate too much, though.”
“Working late tonight?” Unu asked him, pressing the elevator button.
“No. I’m getting off at midnight.” George looked at his watch. “If you want me to hail you a cab, lemme know,” he said to Casey. “I’m on the j-o-b for six more minutes.”
“I’m staying,” Casey said. “I’m going to move in soon, actually. Has Unu told you?”
George widened his bright black eyes. “Excellent.” He smiled coolly at Unu.
Unu nodded back and smiled. The elevator came.
“Night, man. Night. My best to your angel,” Unu said, pressing the elevator button to keep the door open.
Casey stepped in first, and Unu followed.
“Night, folks,” George said, his eyebrows furrowed. He wanted his boy to be happy. El amor es complicado, his grandfather often said. George had to agree. Sí, Abuelo. Sí.
8 GATE
TED OPENED HIS OFFICE DOOR and stuck his head out. He’d just finished a conference call with assholes from Lewison when he heard the happy commotion coming from the normally silent halls. He hoped something good was going down. A touch Nerf football game with punchy analysts would have been ideal.
The flash of red hair was unmistakable. Delia Shannon was on the floor. Bankers had found excuses to step away from their desks, loll about in the common areas, breaking away from meetings to check her out. She had that kind of effect still. Not that Ted could look away, either. The late August weather might have justified her wearing such a sheer white blouse, her lace brassiere playing peekaboo, and the blue skirt that sliced across her slender thighs, but Ted knew better. Delia’s beautiful body was her power—a rich man wouldn’t leave his wallet at home, and Delia carried her well-polished weapons perfectly. Ted’s male colleagues didn’t hide their admiration of her gifts. The women on the floor shook their heads ever so slightly out of envy or resignation.