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“No,” I groaned. “Shane. Shaneknows.”
“Duh,” Heidi said. “He backed you up out there with Melon.”
“He’s practically a stranger! He’s here babysitting Melvin, and now he knows I’m not who I’ve let everybody believe I am.”
“Wait, you didn’t tell him?” Heidi asked.
“No!” I cried. “He figured it out on his own and then just backed me up. Like, seamlessly.”
Patrick touched my arm. “Ana, Artemis isn’t a large team. Props to Shane for figuring it out, but honestly, how is he the only one? This isn’t exactly rocket science, you know? It’s like a third-grade word problem.”
“It’s theeasewith which he figured it out that scares me. Plus…”
“Plus he’s hot?” Patrick asked.
“Exactly. Like burn-your-hands hot. And kind. And a good listener. He talks to me like an equal…” I trailed off again when I saw the expressions on their faces.
“You have a crush,” Heidi announced.
I winced. “Kinda. But I can’t like this guy!”
“Just because he’s Melon’s nanny?” Heidi asked.
“Not just that. He knows my secret. What if it doesn’t work out? What if he makes things worse for me? Plus, we work together.Andhe lives in New York, which is like a million miles away. Plus, maybe he doesn’t even like me.”
“First, slow your roll,” Patrick said soothingly. “You’re already talking divorce after a rocky marriage. You just shared a drink. That’s all. There’s no reason to assume he’s going to betray you or that he has any ulterior motives. Take it a day at a time. Personally, I think he seems like a nice guy.”
“Me, too,” Heidi said. “He should narrate sleep stories for that meditation app, don’t you think?”
“He does have a nice voice,” I admitted. Then I squeezed my eyes tight. “Which I’ve already told him a few times.”
“Deep breaths, Ana,” Patrick said. “I know it’s been a long emotional day. I mean, saving our lives and witnessing the birth of a child—” I reached out to smack him, but he ducked it easily. “Stop borrowing trouble. All is good. Okay?”
I closed my eyes and willed myself to believe him. “Okay. But I still have to tell Melvin who I really am. And I still have to go to that stupid work brunch tomorrow.”
“Then just combine the two. Find a quiet moment tomorrow when the vibes are good and confess. Then you don’t have to worry about your embarrassingly large crush on Shane—”
“Patrick!” I growled.
“Sorry. But it fixes both problems.” He looked at both of us and raised his eyebrows. “Did you hear the bosses are supposed to be serving us food?”
I sighed. “I really hope that’s a rumor. Besides, that makes forcing us to go to an unpaid weekend event even worse. It’s just mean.”
“I bet Melon licks his fingers while he makes pancakes.” Heidi shuddered.
“Gross,” I said. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I kind of looked like a scared rabbit. I lowered my shoulders and rolled my head from side to side. Then I checked my eyeliner. Still on point. Shake it off. Patrick was right. Future Ana could deal with the potential fallout from a nasty divorce with Shane. Present Ana could just enjoy a drink and see where things took her.
Right now, I just had to focus on the brunch. I had a new plan, and with good vibes, it should work out fine.Shouldbeing the key word.
Chapter 7
Apollo IT had rented out the entire top floor of a building in downtown Denver for this stupid event. The official word was that it wasn’t “mandatory,” but we were expected to attend. It was all I could do not to send a gift-wrapped dictionary to the CEO with the definition ofmandatorymarked. Changing what you called something didn’t change what it was. It amazed me how many adults struggled with that concept.
The event dress code was labeled as business attire, so I’d gone with a long-sleeved black dress that hit below the knee and boots with four-inch heels. I didn’t want to look up at anyone I didn’t have to. Thank goodness the event was limited to a few remote teams and didn’t include the people I had worked with previously. The last thing I needed was chitchat with Taggert or even Gerald Grass.
Heidi had organized the event, so she and I had come together, and we stopped in the entrance to take it all in. There were different breakfast food stations, waiters in suits, and, of course, the bosses each manning a station—one was at the pancakes, another was sloppily making omelets,one cutting quiche, and of course, Melvin was making waffles. There was batter all over the floor.
I must have tensed because Heidi grabbed my arm. “Keep your mouth shut,” she whispered.
