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“I’ll say.” His smile disappeared. “Heard about Queen Pearl. It’s a damn shame.”
I glanced out the window, a heavy weight settling in my gut. “Word travels fast, huh?”
“Your friend Miguel took me out to the bar, invited me a beer. He’s pretty roughed up.”
I put on a smile. “I guess he had some emotional attachment after all. He’s just fine with Leon, isn’t he?”
He shrugged, taking a big bite out of his sandwich. “Think the guy blames himself to some extent.”
“Huh.” I chewed my cheek. “I guess we all do.”
“That’s human nature, isn’t it? The self is bigger than the universe, and everything else is measured through its lens.”
The guy’s random turns into mysticism were always charming. “How’s the new office looking?”
He hung his head. “Moving a whole office isn’t easy. Still, I’ve been working with some staff in the new building, moving things around like you suggested. You’ve got a keen eye. It’s good for the spirit. Think maybe we should hire you on as a consultant for these things, huh?”
I flickered a smile at him. “It sounds like a lot of fun, but… I’m heading out of the city.”
“Oh, yeah? What for?”
“Work. Life.”
“Oh.” He set down his sandwich. “Heading out permanently.”
“Mm.” I sipped lightly at my drink, turning back to the window, the street out front busy with people. “It’s been nice here, and I’ve met a lot of lovely people, but… my career’s kind of ground to a halt.”
“Ground to a halt? Weren’t you headlining a conference two days ago? I saw you all over social media.”
I put my laptop away with a sigh, leaning over the table. “Headlining it as the representative for a company that closed its doors while I was on stage. That’s been all over social media. They made me into the fall girl, the face to attach to the collapse of the company. Getting the heat off themselves. Just… guess it’s just my bad luck streak again.”
“Dios mio. Doesn’t everyone think they have bad luck? It’s human nature to notice the bad more than the good and feel like you’re drowning in it.”
I gave him a thin smile. “Yeah. You’re probably not wrong. But… it’s too much to dismiss as coincidence, especially since it’s not usually happening to me. It happens to people around me. It just screws me over when it’s something like… María having her company go under while I’m working there.”
He laughed. I felt my face burn.
“Is it that funny?” I said. “When my livelihood is falling apart?”
“Oh—sorry.” He waved the laughter off. “I guess it’s serious right now. Lo siento. Just… you know something? I noticed it when we had the meditation session together.”
“Noticed what?”
“A little black cloud around you. I’d thought maybe I was imagining it. You had me questioning everything I thought I knew—should have been no way I was that wrong about you. But now it’s obvious.”
My stomach churned, but I just arched my eyebrows lightly. “A little black cloud, huh? Sounds… flattering.”
“You’re not yourself, London. That’s what it is.”
I hesitated, tension drawing taut in my throat. I wanted to ask what he was talking about, but… I knew what he was talking about. Cameron had been telling me the same thing. Adam went on without a care.
“You’re so at odds with yourself. It’s a profound disharmony.”
“I… don’t see how that brings people bad luck.”
“Isn’t it obvious? What is bad luck itself, if not disharmony in the first place? The lack of coordination between what you want and what happens.”
I pursed my lips. “I think we’re veering a bit far into the mystical.”
