“Wait, do you have time for a nightcap? We could go back to my place.”
“Thanks, but it’s been a long day. Take a rain check?”
“Sure, okay,” Katz said, the disappointment clear on her features. “And it was great meeting you.”
“Same here. You gave me a lot to think about, and maybe I did the same for you.”
Her expression changed, becoming somber and detached. She recovered from this a moment later, stood, and held out her hand with a forced smile. “Until next time, Melvin.”
They shook hands and Mars said, “Look forward to it, Rachel.”
He left her there gazing at all the partiers, but perhaps not really seeing a single one.