“I thought you were a sledgehammer,” Marina said.
I turned to glare at her. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten you in all this. One day, when you least expect it, you’ll look in your rearview mirror and find me sitting in your back seat. And then I’ll say something that will be mildly upsetting to you as a person, and you will know what it means to face my wrath.”
“Oh no,” Marina said. “Anything but that.”
“I’m leaving,” I announced grandly as I headed toward the door. “I have to make plans, seeing as how I now have to pimp myself out as a courtesan to white men. Good day.”
Jeremy squinted up at me. “I don’t think it’s going to be that kind of dinner. At least I hope it’s not.”
“I said good day!” I bellowed, slamming the door behind me.
I grumbled angrily to myself as I stalked toward my own office. I was going to give Jeremy so much shit for the rest of our lives for this. I heard the sound of laughter out in the front of Phoenix House but didn’t think the kids deserved to see what I was sure was the dashing and brooding look on my face. I shut the door behind me and pulled out my phone, meaning to text Sandy that I needed a new outfit ASAP. There was an inherent danger texting a drag queen such a thing, and I knew I had to make it abundantly clear that there could be no sequins or feathers involved.
But before I could type the first word, I heard my name being said.
I looked around, wondering if there was an angry bandito who was about to cover me in his ectoplasm. I probably wouldn’t fight it too much, seeing as how it’d be the most action I’d seen in forever.
Of course there wasn’t an angry bandito.
The voice had come from the vent above Marina’s desk.
I took a step toward it.
“—and while I understand the… allure,” Marina was saying, “it’s not something you should be pursuing, given your position.”
“I’m not pursuing anything,” Jeremy said, his voice faint but clear. He sounded pained. “Jesus, Marina.”
“Don’t try that bullshit with me, Jeremy. I’ve known you a long time. You may be able to hide it from other people, but I know flirting when I see it. And you and Corey are definitely flirting.”
“We’re not flirting.”
“Then what the hell are you doing?”
Silence. Then, “It’s not like that. He’s a student of mine. I would never—”
“Former student,” Marina said, and my heart tripped all over itself. I could barely breathe. “And I’m not saying that because I’m trying to blur the lines. But you are his boss. You have power over him. That isn’t fair to him. Especially because you know he’d do anything to make you happy.”
“He’d do that for anyone,” Jeremy said. “He’s a good person.”
“Yes,” I whispered as I nodded furiously. “Damn right I am. Keep saying nice things about me.”
“Did you hear that?” Marina asked.
I slapped my hand over my mouth.
“What?” Jeremy asked.
“Nothing. I thought—it doesn’t matter. Maybe if things were different. If he wasn’t working here, or you weren’t. And I’m probably fucking up by saying this, but maybe after we find a new director, you could—”
“Look,” Jeremy said. “Corey is… my friend. Yes, I’m his boss, and yes, we socialize outside of work, but that’s all it is. Fuck, Marina. He’s barely older than any of the kids out there. I wouldn’t do that.”
Call it, Doctor. Time of death is 2:47 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. He’s listed as a donor, so we’ll need to harvest all his organs while they’re still viable.
“We both know that’s bullshit,” Marina said, sounding annoyed. “Corey is smarter and more mature than people twice his age. That shouldn’t—”
“You flipped on that rather quickly,” Jeremy muttered.
Marina scoffed. “You know what I mean. I like him. A lot. He’s going to go far. You could do much worse. I know because you have. But now? Right now? It’s off-limits. You can’t mess with him or his future. This job is important to him, not just because of the work we’re doing but because he actually needs it for his degree.”