Page 41

Story: Anti-Hero

He interrupts, “Lili told me you wanted the job.”
“I wantedajob, yeah. But you didn’t have to hire me.”
“What was I supposed to say to mysister?Sorry, I can’t hire your friend because we had sex last weekend? If you’d wanted Lili to know about us, you would have told her yourself. You didn’t, so neither did I.”
“You could have made up some other excuse,” I state.
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Likeno!Nois a complete sentence. Or you could have told her you’d already hired someone.”
“Lie, you mean?”
“Seriously? Where was this moral superiority when you got arrested in Monaco for stealing someone’s yacht?”
Kit scowls. “For the last time, I didn’tstealit. We had permission to be aboard. There was a … miscommunication with the staff. Am I still going straight?”
“Amiscommunication, sure.” I scoff. “Take the next right.”
We’ve already overshot my street by two blocks, but I won’t be admitting that. Kit will figure it out anyway. And it’s his fault for bringing up my dress and distracting me.
Kit flicks on his blinker. “Itwasa miscommunication. The police didn’t charge us with anything.”
“I know. I talked them out of it.”
He scoffs. “Youtalked them out of it? Bullshit. Jacques called andexplained the situation.”
“Yeah, well,you’re welcome. I had a date that night.”
“Oh, yeah? With who?”
I could make up an answer, but I decide not to bother. “I don’t remember his name. Take the next right again.”
“My sincere apologies for standing in the way of that special love connection.”
I shake my head and shift my gaze out the window. We’re only a block away from my apartment. “You can let me out here.”
“What number are you?”
“Eighty-three.”
“That’s not on this block.”
“The subway station is two blocks away. I can walk one …”
He keeps driving.
I sigh.
“I’m having dinner with Lili on Saturday night,” Kit tells me. “Charlie’s coming to meet the fam.”
At this point, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that nothing about this ride home is going to be properly classified asprofessional. And since I’m curious to know more about Lili’s new boyfriend, I ask, “Have you met Charlie before?”
“Yeah. A couple of times. He’s a decent guy. And my dad already did thebad coproutine, so I’m good to just shoot the shit with him. Worst part is, the dinner’s happening at my grandfather’s.” Kit pulls his car over in front of my apartment building.
I frown, confused. Lili’s always gushed about her grandfather. “Why’s that the worst part?”
“Arthur and I don’t have much of a relationship.” Kit drums his fingers on the bottom of the steering wheel. “And … I expect he’ll have some thoughts about my new role at the company.Good jobisn’t really in his vocabulary.”

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