揟hat wasn抰 especially friendly,?he says, sliding in beside me.
揥e抮e not friends.?I look out the window to avoid the questions I know are coming. No way will he let this go.
揂re you going to tell me what she did, or should I run back over and ask her??
My stomach tightens. I open my phone. 揋o ask her,?I say, as if distracted. 揑抣l wait.?I抦 banking on the fact that even Ben isn抰 that shameless. I hope I抦 right.
揋emma,?he says with a sigh. 揅ome on.?
揥e worked together at Stadler Helms,?I tell him. And she was, once upon a time, my closest friend.
He blinks in surprise. 揥hen were you at Stadler? I thought you came to FMG straight out of law school.?
I cross my legs then tap one dangling heel impatiently. His eyes dart to my foot then away.
揑 was a summer associate,?I reply, though summers only represent a fraction of the time I spent there. 揑f you抮e done asking about my personal life, I抎 like to review my notes.?
揟hey didn抰 make you an offer??he asks, and my God I regret I ever told him anything. Because that抯 the red flag, isn抰 it? No one with my work history at Stadler isn抰 made an offer without having done something very wrong.
And no one gets their offer rescinded without having done something even worse.
揑 have no idea how you made partner,?I reply, opening my notes, and he gives up at last.
Attacking, as always, is the best defense.
I抳e been using it to keep Ben away now for two years straight.
7
Meg had been an associate at Stadler for a few years by the time Kyle arrived, and I抎 been there nearly as long, working part-time during law school. She was technically my boss, but no one would have guessed this based on our conversations, which were mostly about parties, clothes, and boys. Lately they抎 been focused on one boy, Kyle Cabrera, though referring to a thirty-five-year-old partner at our law firm as a boy seemed a little ridiculous.
He was only working out of the LA office temporarily. Needless to say, we hoped he抎 make it permanent. 揌e looks more like a Navy SEAL in a good suit than an attorney,?Meg whispered when we first saw him walking down the hall. She was not wrong.
For two weeks, he抎 been the sole focus of my group chat with her and another associate. Every tiny bit of info gleaned was collected secretively and mulled over, as if we were members of an underground resistance movement.
Me: He works out at Equinox every night, apparently. On a scale of 1-10, how stalkerish would it be to purchase a gym membership I can抰 afford and happen to show up there?
Meg: As you have no intent to do harm （I assume）， I think you抮e okay. Send photos.
Me: Hell, no. Get your own gym membership for that. Besides, I know what YOU扗 want pics of and I抦 not sneaking into the men抯 changing room for you.
Kirsten: I bet it抯 HUGE. You wouldn抰 even need a long-range lens.
Me: This conversation is so wrong. We still don抰 even know if he抯 married.
We抎 checked into it, of course. He didn抰 wear a ring, and his bio said he was a father of two but didn抰 mention a spouse.
揟here抯 no way,?Kirsten said. 揘o wife is letting that guy go across the country for months at a time unsupervised.?
揂nd he抯 got pictures of his kids on his desk, but there抯 not a single one of her,?Meg added.
Under normal circumstances I抎 have been the first to assume the worst梐fter all, I抎 watched my father cheat on my mom, as if it was his job梑ut there was an honesty to Kyle, an inherent decency. He treated people well梙e found work for Tom, an associate on the cusp of getting fired; he was on a first-name basis with the homeless guy who sat outside the building; he was just as nice to the janitor as he was to the managing partner.
He kept it all close to the vest, until the night I walked into his office and heard the tail end of an argument.
揑t抯 my weekend with them,?he said to someone on the other line. 揟hat抯 what the agreement is for.?
I began stepping back outside when he shook his head, waving me in as he hung up the phone.
I winced. 揝orry. Your door was open and棓
He gave me a reluctant smile. 揑t抯 okay. My ex and I are卼hings are a little tense right now.?
揥ell, that answers the office抯 biggest mystery,?I replied. 揈veryone has been wondering if you抮e single.?
He laughed then shook his head again. 揑t抯 not common knowledge. We抮e trying to keep it quiet until the divorce is finalized.?
揑 won抰 say anything,?I told him.
His eyes held mine. 揑 know you won抰。？
It killed me, but I somehow kept it to myself. I still texted and gossiped with Meg and Kirsten. I still played the do you think he抯 married? game with them, as if I knew nothing. I didn抰 tell them a single thing he抎 said.