Oh.
I frowned, feeling something tug in my stomach.
“Oh?” my friend echoed.
“Héctor is looking for you, Rosie. Something about a project falling through because someone he called Hand-Breaker had a fit,” he explained. “I’ve never seen Héctor so worked up.”
My friend sprang up. “Oliver ‘Hand-Breaker’? It’s one of our clients. He … he shakes hands so hard, you can literally feel your bones grinding together.” She shook her head. “That’s not important now. Oh crap.” She picked up the few things she had—the corporate badge, office keys, and wallet. “Oh no, no, no.” A panicky look took over her face. “That means the conference call is over. I had meant to be downstairs by now, but with this whole mess with Lina and—”
I pinched her arm, stopping her before she said too much.
Aaron perked up—if his eyes narrowing slightly could count as perking up.
Rosie continued, “About Lina’s cat—”
Another pinch. I didn’t have a cat, and she knew this.
“Neighbor’s cat?” Rosie looked everywhere but at Aaron or me, her cheeks turning pink. “Her neighbor Bryan, yeah. Yes, that’s it. Bryan’s cat. Mr. … Cat.” She shook her head.
Aaron’s eyes narrowed further and then jumped to me. He searched my face as my friend stuttered through her obvious lie.
“Lina is taking care of Mr. Cat this week because Bryan’s grandma is sick and he’s out of town. You know how much Lina loves to help.”
I nodded my head slowly, as if Rosie’s gibberish had made any sense.
“Aren’t you allergic to cats?” Aaron asked, shocking the hell out of me.
“I am.” I blinked. “How do you …” I cleared my throat. I don’t care. I shook my head. “It’s a hairless cat.”
His hands slipped in his pants pockets, taking a moment to assess that. “A hairless cat.”
“Like in Friends,” I said, trying to sound as casual as I could. “Rachel’s cat. A Sphynx.” I watched Aaron’s face, not a sign showing that he knew what I was talking about. “You live in New York, and you are American, yet you haven’t watched Friends?” Nothing there. “Ever? Oh, never mind.”
Aaron stayed silent, and I pretended he hadn’t caught us in a blatant lie.
“Okay, phew,” my friend said, gifting us with a wide and toothy grin. The fake one. “I really need to go talk to Héctor.”
She looked at me apologetically. I stood up, too, scared of being left behind to explain more about Mr. Cat.
“Thank you, Aaron, for coming to get me. That was very”—she glanced at me quickly—“very kind of you.”
I rolled my eyes.
Rosie elbowed me softly. “Wasn’t it, Lina?”
She probably thought she was being clever. She wasn’t.
“The kindest,” I said with a clipped tone.
“Right. I’ll talk to you later.” Rosie rushed toward the staircase, leaving us behind.
An awkward silence surrounded Aaron and me.
He cleared his throat. “Catalina—”
“What’s that, Rosie?” I cut him off, pretending my friend was calling for me. Coward, I thought. But after everything that had gone down today and having to relive our rocky start during my conversation with Rosie, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to Aaron. “Oh, you are holding the elevator door for me, you say?” I shot after my friend, not paying attention to how Aaron’s lips had pressed in a flat line as I left him behind. “I’ll be right there!” Then, I turned one last time, quickly glancing over my shoulder. “Sorry, Blackford, I gotta go. You can send me an email maybe? Yes? Okay, bye.”
When I turned my back to him, Rosie came into view. She was repeatedly pressing on the call button for the elevator.