Page 73 of At First Catch

I’ve answered differently every single time. It seems my brain checked out somewhere around the moment Hadley smiled at me on the dock.

“You even listening?”

I blink.

Miguel stands in front of my desk, holding a clipboard and looking deeply concerned about my long-term survival.

“Mostly.”

“That sounded fake.”

He drops the clipboard onto my desk with enough force to make my coffee ripple.

“You’ve been staring at the same invoice for ten minutes.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

Miguel folds his arms and grins without a shred of sympathy.

“Go see the girl.”

I look up sharply.

“I’m working.”

He glances around the office.

“Are you?” Miguel adds with a chuckle as he spins on his heels, leaving my makeshift office as quickly as he entered.

Outside the office windows, the marina hums with its usual rhythm. Contractors laugh somewhere near the fuel dock. Families wander the boardwalk. A charter boat eases back into its slip while gulls circle lazily overhead.

Miguel says something else.

I nod.

Then realize I have absolutely no idea what he just asked.

“Sorry.”

He sighs.

“Go see the girl.”

I stand, collecting the truck keys from my desk.

Miguel watches from the threshold with entirely too much satisfaction.

“Where are you going?”

“I need coffee.”

“You have coffee.”

I glance at the cup beside me.

Cold.

Forgotten.