counters, a little awe in her tone.
I chuckle. “Fair enough.” I spare a quick glance in Pax’s direction, noting that he seems determined not to weigh in on the topic. I know he’d be over the fucking moon if she decided to go to college here, considering he currently only sees her for infrequent weekend visits, but he’ll let her come to the decision on her own.
“And what do you want to study at Columbia?” I ask my niece.
“Journalism,” she says without missing a beat.
My brows shoot up and I can’t keep the smile from my face. “Journalism, huh? You’re going to be an anchor like your dad?”
This time Kaley shakes her head, but she’s smiling. “No way. I’m going to be an EP. I want to be the one in charge of everything.”
I flash her an affectionate grin. “Be careful what you wish for, honey.”
10
Will
* * *
“Hello! Earth to Will!”
I see a hand waving in front of my face and glance up, taking in Mac’s exasperated expression. “Huh?”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh my god, where the hell has your mind been? We’ve been debating Ten versus Eleven for the past half hour and you haven’t said a word!”
I glance between her and Jamie, both of whom are studying me as if I have two heads. “Well, you already know my stance on that.”
“Yeah, but you’re usually pretty vocal about it, mate,” Jamie says.
“What was there for you to debate, anyway?” I ask. “I thought you were both Team Ten?”
Mac shakes her head. “Nope. I re-watched some of the later Eleven episodes recently and I’ve changed my mind.”
“Only because you liked seeing Jenna Coleman in a corset,” Jamie says with an eye roll. “This is a debate about the hottest Doctor, not the hottest companion.”
“Captain Jack, hands down,” I say.
“Well, on that we can agree,” Jamie says, lifting his glass in a salute.
“I don’t know…” Mac’s face forms into a thoughtful frown. “Out of the male companions I still think Mickey’s the hottest.”
“Mickey the Idiot?” Jamie and I ask at the same time before dissolving into laughter.
Mac merely shakes her head wryly. “The more important question of the evening is what the hell has Will so distracted he couldn’t come in with his Matt Smith vote for the tie-breaker?”
What else would it be but my sexy boss? Truthfully, I’ve had difficulty concentrating on anything ever since that car ride a couple weeks ago. My grand plan to clear the air backfired spectacularly and now I’m in even more of a frustrated state than I was before. And call me crazy, but I’m getting the impression he feels the same…
I’m not about to go into all that with these two, though. Mac might know the truth about my hookup at the club, but I’m still not prepared to tell Jamie.
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something from work.”
Mac’s brows shoot up suggestively and I send her a quelling glare, silently reminding her not to say anything.
“How’s all that going, anyway?” Jamie asks. “Has Spencer Cox ripped off his face mask to reveal his true alien features yet?” His face is arranged into an amused smirk, which I know has more to do with his affection for his boyfriend rather than any actual disdain he holds for Spencer.
And I’m going to admit, hearing the words “Spencer Cox” and “ripped off” in the same sentence sends my mind to all sorts of places for a split second, but fortunately I recover quickly and roll my eyes at Jamie. “Not yet. He’s perfectly human as far as I can tell. Although he did briefly suspect me of being a spy for Shay.”
Jamie lets out a burst of laughter. “You’d be a right awful spy, mate. You can’t lie to save yourself.”
Oh yeah? Watch me.
* * *
Just before midnight I say goodbye to my friends, telling them I need to get home to my mom. It’s what I intended to do when I left the bar, but for some reason as I’m walking toward the subway I’m hit with an almost compulsive need to go uptown instead of home to Brooklyn.
I need to see Spencer.
When I get to his building I’m greeted with a smile by the night duty desk clerk who asks how he can help me.
“I’m Will. I’m here to see Spencer Cox,” I tell him. “I’m his assistant.” I’ve been to Spencer’s building for work stuff before, but only during the day so I’ve never met this guy.
“One moment,” he says,