“Did it go well?”
“It went great.”
“Then what’s wrong?” she asked.
“Who says something’s wrong?”
“Your voice.”
He laughed. “I’m just tired. Talk to me.”
Chase closed his eyes and listened to his mother prattled on about normal things. Family friends, her hobbies, his dad, his sisters. Little by little, the hole inside shrank. The pain eased to a dull ache. Maybe he should take a few days and drive south. Reground himself in the normalcy of his family.
“Oh, and Jen has interviews with American Express and Intel next week,” she told him. “I hope she gets the one with American Express. Their offices are in New York. You know how she’s always wanted to live there.”
“Yeah.” He smiled, thinking of his oldest sister, who’d just graduated from college. “I bet she’ll get it. She’s damn sharp.”
“It would be fun to spend Christmas in New York, wouldn’t it? The whole family? We could watch the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center. I’ve always wanted to do that. If Jen was there, we’d all have a reason to go.”
“That would be cool. When is the interview? I’ll call and give her a pep talk the day before.”
“Oh, honey, that would be great. You know how she looks up to you.”
“I think I’m the one who looks up to her.”
“Don’t you have a party to go to tonight?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just wanted to call you before I headed out,” he lied.
“Do you have a date for this party? It doesn’t sound like you’ve dated much since Lila.” She tsked. “A lovely girl, but so troubled.”
Customers came and went from the bar as Chase stared into the shot glass. Lila was a sweet girl, and she and Chase had remained friends, but he was damn glad she’d gone and cheated on him before they’d married.
“I don’t think she was as troubled as she was immature,” he told his mom.
“Probably true. Still, I’m glad. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are. The last thing you need is someone hurting you or your career. And it got pretty messy at the end.”
It had. Even messier when the press embellished every detail until the st
ory barely resembled reality.
Chase’s mind jumped to Zahara, and her words earlier that day. Your career is all about being seen. Mine is all about being invisible.
He closed his eyes and rubbed at the fatigue there. “Yeah. Glad that’s over.”
When he opened his eyes again, he found Zahara standing beside his table.
Chase darted a look around the bar, then back to Zahara, searching for an explanation of how she’d popped up so quickly.
“Hey, listen,” he said to his mom. “I’ve got to run.”
“Okay, honey. Have fun tonight.”
He didn’t take his eyes off Zahara and her very sober expression. Everything inside him jumbled and knotted. “Will do.”
Chase disconnected and stared at Zahara, not sure what to say.
“How’s your mom?” she asked.