Page 37

“That’s not what the buzz on the Internet is,” he says.

“We came here tonight.” I paste a polite smile on my lips. “We’re very good friends. In fact, we also spent the day volunteering together.”

“All day?” Brett asks. “Or did Jessica take some time to connect with an old friend while you were helping people adopt animals?”

I don’t know what he’s getting at or why the room is starting to spin.

18

Jessica

Something is terribly wrong.

I don’t know what, but Brett Swanson has been talking to Toni for much longer than he spoke with me. He’s trying to find flaws in our carefully presented story so he can exploit them. I can’t let that happen.

Was I planning to ruin Toni?

Yes.

Am I still planning on that?

No.

No, no, no.

I’m not the monster I thought I was. I’m not the monster I wanted to be. The truth is that we all deserve second chances and when it comes to moving forward, I need to make sure I’m doing everything in my power to stay ahead of the curve with this weird race we’re running.

I excuse myself from the conversation I’m in. Weirdly, budgetary software isn’t something I’m insanely passionate about, so I slip away and start crossing the room. I push my way through people who are standing in random areas. Even though there are both low and high-top tables throughout the space, most of the guests are standing, and most of them are standing in walkways. This makes it hard to get across the room.

Once I’m standing by Toni, I realize that yes, my instincts were correct. There’s a problem. I just don’t know what.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” she shakes her head. “That guy was just...he gave me the creeps.”

“What did he say to you?” I turn and watch as Brett Swanson slips through the crowd, disappearing amongst all of the suits and ballgowns.

“Nothing important,” she says. She shakes her head as though she’s trying to rid herself of the interaction, and she turns back to me.

“Good,” I say. “Forget that guy. Let’s dance.”

“There’s nowhere to dance,” she gestures to the packed ballroom. She’s right: no one is dancing. She’s wrong that there’s nowhere to dance, though. I know this hotel inside and out, and I happen to know that there are plenty of places to steal a private dance with a girl you like.

“Come with me.”