she was better off playing it safe. And yet she couldn’t let her life become an intolerable bore. She picked up the phone and called her friend Chuck, an associate at the last big interior design firm she’d worked at. She not only adored Chuck, but he was also always game for last-minute invites.
“Well, hello Miss Kit Kat,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to call you, but it’s just been insane around here this month.”
“Any chance you could cut out from work early tomorrow? I was hoping I could interest you in a little gallery hopping in Chelsea, if you don’t already have plans that is. We could have dinner afterwards.”
“Oh, I’d adore that. I was supposed to have a date with a new guy I’ve been seeing, but he just called to say he needs to review his tax forms before he submits them this month. Who does that on a Friday night? You can ease the sting of rejection.”
“My pleasure.”
“Oh, and both partners are away this week, so I could start as early as four.”
“Perfect,” Kit said. They agreed to meet at the Gagosian Gallery on West 24th Street and grab a bite afterwards in the area.
So she’d pulled the weekend out of the fire, at least. As for her romantic situation, that was a far tougher challenge. She’d never actually been what you’d called lucky in love. Before Jeremy there’d been a fairly long drought, preceded by two and a half years of living with a man who was smart and decent and attentive, but had never roused any real passion in her. Like Jeremy, he’d been a safe bet, a situation that at first had seemed alluring, but had come, over time to feel nearly suffocating. When he eventually told her about a job offer in Silicon Valley and his desire to take it, she’d felt mostly relief.
Baby worked from home most Fridays, and it was just Dara and Kit in the office the next day. As Kit opened her email, she discovered, to her delight, a message from Keith Holt saying that he’d like to sit down for a second discussion.
“Are you ever available weekends?” he’d written.
“Definitely,” she replied. “I could even meet you tomorrow afternoon if that’s good for you.”
He responded a few minutes later, saying that he had to be downtown in the afternoon and wondered if that area would be convenient for her.
She suggested that he stop by her office. That way she could show him more of her work if necessary, and even offer him a glimpse of her apartment. They agreed on two o’clock.
Midafternoon, she looked up from her work and caught her assistant’s eye.
“Why don’t you split now, Dara?” she said. “Get a head start on the weekend.”
“Thanks, but I’m still doing research for the Avery Howe job.”
“That can wait until Monday. Besides, I’m leaving early today myself.”
Dara’s expression clouded.
“Is there anything I can do—I mean, do you need me to help with anything?”
Kit sensed that Dara was distressed about all the undercurrents in the office this past week.
“Oh, no, I’m just headed to a few galleries.”
The last thing she wanted to do was drag Dara into the mess, but she also didn’t want her fretting over the weekend.
“Look, Dara,” she added. “I know I’ve been a bit mysterious at moments this week, but you shouldn’t be concerned. It was simply a little personal drama I stupidly stepped into. Fortunately it’s behind me now.”
“Thanks, Kit. I was just worried for you. I didn’t know if a client had done something crummy or tried to screw you over.”
“No, nothing like that,” Kit reassured her. She smiled. “Besides, if a client ever tried to screw with us, we could just put Baby on the case. The person wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Ha! Okay, so I’ll take you up on your offer about splitting early. I’m just going to finish up a couple of emails.”
Dara departed a few minutes later and Kit was out the door shortly afterward. It was another gorgeous spring day, and this time she let herself relish it. She took a subway to the east twenties and then walked west to Chelsea, past endless bodegas, delis, restaurants, and flower shops. People were dashing rather than walking, charging toward their weekends. And so was she. For the first time in days she didn’t feel as if she existed in an alternate universe.
Chuck arrived at the gallery just a minute after her, dressed in the outfit that had become more or