Page 42 of Origins of Eternity

“No, I just meant that you’reonlythirty-one. How are you this well-off if you, well, if you didn’t come from money? Did you make good connections in school or something?”

Iro glanced out the window and said, “We’re here.”

“Iro?” she asked.

“Yes, I did. I made a few connections, got some initial funding, made good business decisions, and paid those investors back. I’ve done very well for myself, Arwen.”

The door was opened for Iro, who got out first and held her hand out for Arwen, palm up as if she was accompanying her to some kind of fancy gala. They went inside and were sat right away.

“Where did you go to school?” Arwen asked once they sat down.

“Oxford.”

“Oxford?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes. I got a scholarship,” Iro said as she took a menu from behind a napkin holder and handed it to her.

“Holy shit. Where did you grow up?”

“All over,” Iro replied.

“All over?”

“Yes, a little here and a little there. I spent some time on the West Coast, some time in the Midwest, and a little on the East Coast before I went off to university, and when I finished there, I decided to stay and live in London for a time. Then, I moved to Paris before I decided to move back here recently.”

“And you’re thirty-one years old? You’ve done more in that time than most people do in a lifetime, I think.”

“What can I get you?” the waitress asked, interrupting their conversation.

Having ordered their drinks, Arwen wanted to ask more questions, but Iro seemed to want to talk about something else.

“How do you feel about heights?” she asked.

“What?”

???

“Zara?” Arwen said when she got out of the car and saw her.

“Yes. Hi,” Zara replied, looking concerned that Arwen had just caught her about to walk into their office building at one fifteen in the afternoon.

“Hi? Where have you been? You didn’t take a sick day. I asked. I also texted.”

“Hello, Zara. Good to see you again,” Iro said, buttoning her suit jacket as if Zara were someone important, making Arwen like her just a little bit more because Iro knew that Zara was important toher.

“Iro. Hello,” Zara said tersely. “Where were you two?”

“Iro surprised me for lunch,” she replied, wrapping an arm around Iro’s waist and moving into her side. “We just got back. I’ve been worried about you.”

“Sorry, I… was busy. I went to the doctor, like you asked.”

“You did?” Arwen took her in more closely now. “You look great, actually.”

“Turns out, I wasn’t sick, after all, and you were worried for nothing, like I told you.”

Zara stared at Iro, who stared back at her.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay, but you could have at least let me know that you’d be late. We have a lot of work to do. They came back with two auditor visits instead of four, and they want to know the dates. I pushed back that it’s surprise visits only.”