the victory tasted even sweeter. I got Christopher Lucas to smile. After a few short seconds, he dropped his smile. “I’ll stay on for a few months, see how it goes. You’ll be my second, and I’ll teach you everything I know. But if I find something I don’t like, I’m out of here.”
“I’ll be the best mentee you’ve ever had. You’ll never have a reason to quit on me. I promise.” I stuck out my pinkie to seal the deal.
“Put away your damn pinkie, woman. I’m not worried about you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m not sure what you have against Keith, but he’s committed and focused. Trust me.”
“Fine, sunshine.” He pushed off the wall. “Let’s get you inside before you freeze to death.”
* * *
Rain in Atlanta equaled chaos. People thought we’d lost our minds back when our city turned into the real-life version of The Walking Dead after three inches of snow—we’d really lose our big-city street cred if they realized that we were just as bad with rain. My foot stayed glued to the brake. Every couple of minutes, I inched forward on I-75. Nervous energy swarmed in my chest. Today was the worst day for rain or for me to be late.
My Bluetooth-enabled cellphone interrupted my streaming podcast. Christopher’s name flashed across the dashboard.
“Hi, Chris!”
“You’re late.”
I glanced at the dashboard. I had a minute. Technically, I wasn’t late. “Not yet.” But I would be by at least twenty minutes.
“I saw the traffic. You will be, sunshine. Thought you pinkie-swore you’d never let me down.”
Technically, we hadn’t pinkie-sworn. “I distinctly remember you swatting away my finger; therefore, nothing I promised the night of December eighteenth is binding in a court of law.”
“Because pinky-swears are binding in a court of the law.” He laughed. It was a little rough, a little rusty, and it warmed me like a shot of tequila. Like the liquor, his laughter was dangerous.
“Where are you, sunshine?”
“Um, not far, about two miles, but traffic is atrocious. I’m sorry, I’m not normally tardy but—”
“It’s fine. The coffee shop is full. I think people are trying to wait out the bad weather and gridlock. Seats are all taken, and everyone looks comfortable. We’ll need to meet someplace else.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then why did you give me crap about being late?”
“Because you are late. It’s 7:01 now.”
“Fine, Christopher. Let’s meet at Keith’s office, the one he has for city council off Trinity Avenue. I’m less than a mile away from the exit, and it’s only a few blocks from where you are, so you’ll probably get there before I do.”
“Fine.” His voice grew deep and cold. “I’ll wait outside for you.”
The podcast I’d been listening to blared through the speakers again. He’d just hung up, no see you soon or goodbye. The man was moodier than a hormonal teenage girl in the throes of PMS. I attempted to call Keith to let him know about our meeting at his office since traffic was slower than molasses, but he didn’t pick up.
Fifteen minutes later, I finally pulled into the employee parking lot for the building. After I crept my yellow Bug up the slight incline to the lot, I parked my car and pushed the electronic park brake.
“Keys, check. Purse and notebook, check. Umbrella.” I reached into the back seat and grabbed my bright yellow umbrella. I rolled my eyes. Chris was going to get a kick out of the color. I looked down at my outfit, a polka dot navy blue and white blouse with a bright green skirt. God, I looked like a walking rainbow against a storm cloud.
I opened my door and dashed across the lot. As promised, Chris stood outside, below the faded green awning, smoking a cigarette. After Chris and I became real friends, I planned to persuade him to quit. If I could convince my stubborn Baba, my father, to stop smoking, Chris didn’t stand a chance against me.
“Hey!” I retracted my umbrella once I hit the dry zone under the awning. “I’m going inside. Just come in when you’ve finished.”
He nodded and exhaled. “Be there in a minute.”
I waved at the cloud of smoke that wafted toward me. “Okay, I’ll set us up in the conference room. Yay!”
He lifted his eyebrow and shook his head.
Dang it, why did I have to say “Yay”? “I mean, excellent! See you soon.”
I propped my umbrella against the front door to the office. Rap music boomed from the back of the building. Keith