15
EMMA TAKES A LONG, WARM BATH AFTER DINNER, HOPINGto subdue the disquiet she feels over Tom’s bombshell. Part of what’s so unsettling to her is the idea that something significant like that had happened in her life without her even being slightly aware of it, like she’d clipped a jogger with the side mirror of her car, gravely injuring him, and only learned about it now.
And what if—despite Tom’s assurances—Detective Websterdoesfind out? Won’t it look suspicious that, just a couple of months before her husband’s murder, Emma was in a room with a man she became publicly involved with by the time fall rolled around?
Dunne will know what to do, she prays. Before climbing into the bath, she’d sent him an email:There’s a new development. Can we please discuss as soon as possible?
Pressing her feet against the end of the tub, Emma leans back and stretches so that her head is just above the water and the lavender scent of the bath salts fills her nostrils. She has tofind a way to stop this from eating at her. She’s done nothing wrong, nothing at all, and she shouldn’t be so fearful.
But as she stressed to Dunne the other day, the police arrest innocent people all the time, and even if those people manage to disentangle themselves with the help of a shrewd, staggeringly expensive attorney, there’s bound to be damage to their reputations, both personal and professional.
Emma finally hauls herself out of the tub and sits on the edge wrapped in a towel. So much for the healing power of lavender—she feels as tense as she did before. For the first time, it occurs to her that some of her angst may be related to the fact that she’s never been honest with Tom about her feelings around Derrick’s death; craving his love so badly she let him think what he wanted. Eventually, it didn’t matter anyway, because the murder was far behind her. But all this business with Webster has stirred up the past, reminding her every day how much she’s kept secret.
When Emma emerges from the bathroom, she picks up the murmur of voices below, so she throws on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt and follows the sounds down the back stairs to the kitchen. Tom and Brittany are sitting at the table, sharing some shortbread cookies. Though Brittany clearly got dressed up for her evening out, her makeup is faded now, her red lipstick just a faint stain and her mascara smudged.
“Hey there, how was the movie?” Emma asks.
Brittany drags her attention away from Tom and offers her a disarmingly warm smile. “Nothing worth recommending, but we had fun hanging out.”
“Well, I’m glad you found the silver lining,” Emma says. She notices Tom observing them, his face softening inpleasure at the exchange. “Would you like something else to eat? Some actual dinner?”
“Thanks, but I grabbed food before the show.... Oh, by the way, I got you two a little something, just to show my appreciation.” She rifles through her slouchy bright red purse and pulls out two gift certificates to the movie theater, which she proudly hands to them.
“Brit, that’s so nice of you,” Tom says, and Emma concurs, touching her shoulder.
“It’s the least I could do,” Brittany replies. “Both of you have been so welcoming.”
Hmm, that’s a surprise.Maybe they’re making a little progress at last. But Emma doesn’t have time to analyze it, not tonight anyway. She’s got too much else to focus on.
Emma doesn’t hear from Dunne the next morning, which annoys her. He hasn’t acknowledged her email from the prior evening, and certainly he should have talked to Webster by now and called her with an update on that front.
When it’s finally time to leave for her client presentation, she throws on a carefully selected hot-pink summer blazer, relieved to focus all her attention on work. It’s scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the company headquarters just outside of Westport. Since she’s not sure how long the meeting will go, Emma suggests to Eric that they drive to the location separately so that if things run late, he can head home from there.
They end up pulling into the parking lot right behind each other, and shortly after they sign in with the receptionist, Scott Munroe strides off the elevator to greet them. Scott left Halliday a year ago for a new opportunity with the small hotel chain, and a couple of months ago he recruited Emma to do this particular research project, with the potential for additional work in the future. He’s a handsome guy, tall and lanky with dark brown skin, brown eyes, and fairly short hair worn in twists. He’s dressed today in perfect-fitting jeans and a blue-and-white-checked shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. After ushering them to a fourth-floor conference room, he promises to return shortly with the CEO—whom Emma met at the start of the project—and about ten other staffers.
By two o’clock all the attendees, including the forty-year-old CEO, are seated, introductions are made, and Emma strides to the head of the table. She’ll start the presentation today, and then, before she wraps up and takes questions, Eric will jump in to highlight certain findings. It’s her way of giving him a chance to have more practice in front of groups. At this point in her career, she not only feels comfortable speaking in public but actually thrives on it, savoring the rush that comes from enlightening people with knowledge and watching their eyes widen as the dots are connected.
She’s only a couple of minutes into her portion when she notices one of the attendees, a youngish brunette, sneaking peeks at her phone. Though Emma finds that type of behavior rude, it’s rarely a distraction, but this time it succeeds in throwing her. She ends up flubbing a word and briefly loses her train of thought. A few minutes later she stumbles over a set of stats.
And to make matters worse, she feels herself flush.Great, she thinks,my face is going to match my blazer if I don’t get a handle on this.
Despite her less-than-stellar performance, the attendees seem riveted by the research findings. As soon as she and Eric finish up, there’s a slew of questions, including a couple of really smart ones from the CEO, and Emma manages to regain her composure. When the CEO nods vigorously as Emma extrapolates on some of the findings about generationally different travel goals, she sees Scott flash her a discreet thumbs-up from the back of the room.
Once people begin to file out, Scott strides toward her and asks Emma if he can have a minute. She nods and tells Eric to go ahead without her. Since it’s only three thirty, Eric says he’ll see her back at the studio.
“Wow, Emma, that was a ten out of ten,” Scott tells her when they have the room to themselves. He’s donned his black-framed Clark Kent glasses for the presentation but now pushes them up on top of his head.
Fortunately, her clunky moments must have been less noticeable than she thought, or maybe the neon effect of her blazer helped distract the audience.
“I’m so glad you’re happy, Scott,” she says. “How’s the job going, by the way?”
He leans back against the table, grasping the edge with both hands. “Very well. I was a little nervous about making such a big switch, but it’s been a good fit for me here.”
“I’m sure they miss you like crazy at Halliday.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“What do you mean? You were revered over there.”