“I won’t be going back with everyone.”

She had started for the hallway but swung around. “What?”

“I’m going to stay behind.”

She lifted an eyebrow.

“Alone.”

“Kian,” she started, “please tell me I don’t have to worry about another story hitting the media? That you’re not doing something to cause unnecessary attention on you? Tell me that at least, so I can take a Valium for the plane ride home. If not, I’m going to be on edge the entire way home, telling myself I never should’ve left you.”

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Your sister said you’ve been disappearing at night. Is there something else here that I need to worry about?” She paused a beat. Her eyes darkened, and I knew who she was going to bring up next. “If there’s a certain…person…we need to be aware of…”

She meant Jordan.

“No.”

“They had a lot of questions about her today.”

And I had handled every one with perfection. “Again, no.”

“One last time.” She leveled me with an ominous warning. “Are. You. Sure?”

“I’m sure, Laura.”

“Okay.” Both her hands lifted in the air, surrendering. She took a step backward. “This is me, backing off, but please, if anything happens, you call me immediately.”

“I will, but nothing will happen.”

“And I’m also assuming that Parson is okay with this?”

He hadn’t been. “Of course.” But he had no say in it.

She was all the way to the door now and she reached behind her, turning the knob. “All right. I guess I won’t see you in the morning then.”

“Good night, Laura, my publicist.”

She flashed me a grin. “Good night, Kian, my pain-in-the-ass client that I hope won’t be a pain in the ass in the future.” Then, she stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

The story was written up and received national attention.

Erica’s name was in the byline, so she took everyone to the Wine Cellar to celebrate the newspaper part of the story. The taped part of it was still being shopped around.

One night over drinks, Jake asked why it was taking so long. It’d been two weeks since Kian’s interview with them, and Erica explained that there was not much of a rush. He hadn’t scheduled any new interviews for them to be scooped, and they wanted to wait till more time was put between his last interview and the one with them.

She’d said, “If we hear that he’s interviewed with someone else, trust me, that tape will be bought, paid for, and released within a day. They’ll want to hear what he said in our interview.”

I’d been puzzled by that last statement, but I hadn’t asked any questions. When Jake let it go, I felt relieved. I didn’t want to know what else Kian had said. And since he’d left town, I went back to avoiding the news and even my email.

His face wasn’t everywhere as much as it had been. There was no news about a retrial, so the coverage was beginning to die down, but I knew when they sold their interview, it would cause another buzz. Erica promised there was stuff in that interview that he hadn’t shared anywhere…and again, I wasn’t asking. I didn’t want to know. Well, I did, but I was keeping a clear head on my shoulders. Not knowing was better.

No Kian meant no risk of losing my normalcy.

I liked being normal. And normal meant I couldn’t be late for work. I glanced at my phone and saw I was already five minutes late. I screamed.

“What’s the drama?” Erica appeared in my doorway.

Flying to the closet, I grabbed the first uniform shirt I saw and stuck my arms through the sleeves, yanking it over my head. My jeans were hastily pulled on. “I’m late for work.”

“Oh.” I could hear her grinning. “Not me. I’m on vacation this week.” She sighed. “It’s been wonderful.”

I gave her a two-second warning. “I’m going to be sprinting out of here, so if you’re in the doorway, I suggest you move aside.”

Erica laughed but stepped back as I barreled past her.

Keys. Purse. What else?

A phone started ringing in the apartment, but I had my phone. It wasn’t mine, and I didn’t have time to figure it out. I dashed out the door. “Have a good night getting drunk!”

“Will do!” Erica hollered after me. “Wait—”

I was already at the stairwell and hurrying down. Skipping the bus, I paid the extra money and hailed a cab.

When I got to work, I braked in the entryway.

Henry had taken my place. He saw me coming and had a smug smile for me. “You snooze, you lose.”

No customers were waiting.

“Fuck off. Where’s Paul?”

“It doesn’t matter. He appointed me here himself, and he said that you’re on silverware duty when you get in, so have fun being bored for the rest of the night.” He sang the last part, “With no tips.”

I growled. “You sound like a mosquito. You’re a pest like them, but it’s too bad I can’t step on you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You might be my nemesis this year, but who knows what will happen in a year? You still have two year of studies, whereas I have three more years to climb the ladder here. If you come back next year, I’ll be your boss.”