“Cassandra?” I called after her, and she winced.
“I was kind of hoping you hadn’t seen that.”
“Uh-huh. Let’s say I blinked and missed it and I’m just coincidentally right now asking if you’re okay.”
She shot me an awkward look, a grimacing smile, and threw me a thumbs-up. “I amsogood. Never better. Having the time of my life. See you tomorrow.”
Well, maybe I wasn’t the only one in over her head.
Mortifyingly, Houdini’s magic tricks were the answer to my problem: I was right back to my best performance again once I’d said goodbye and gotten back to my regular evening work, and I moved smoothly through a networking event where I felt like I was glowing, the whole room with eyes just for me.
Estelle caught me on the tail end of the event, coming in off one of her own shoots and dropping in to say hello, and she found me at one end of the event center, pulling me into a hug.
“You look better,” she said.
“I’ve been good.”
“Okay, sure. Is this the lying competition? Going for gold?”
I didn’t know why I was bothering trying to lie. I shook my head, gesturing her to the catering bar. “The pâté here is to die for. Grab a drink with me?”
We sat by a back window overlooking 6thAvenue, Estelle in a chair across from me with a small plate loaded with snacks, and she covered her mouth as she spoke with her mouth full. “So, everything with Houdini is going well?”
I laughed awkwardly. “I don’t know why I try to argue with you, Stellie. You’re always right in the end.”
“Thank you! My god. Literally the exact words I’ve been waiting for. I am going to hold it over you that you said that.We’ll be seventy years old in the nursing home and I’ll be like,now, now, remember you said I’m always right?”
I ignored her. “I’m still terrified of what I’ll say to Linyue. She’s tracking my position and everything, so I didn’t do anything egregious enough she needed to yell at me right away, but she’ll probably have questions about what I was doing at these music studios when she next reviews me. But… I guess I like danger, because I feel like I can breathe again.”
“You like feeling like you’re moving forward, and you want to make progress towards something beyond just your father’s work.” She pointed a cracker at me while she spoke. “Just don’t enjoy the danger too much.”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t know what you’re on about now.”
“You know full well what I’m on about now.” She put the cracker in her mouth, dropping back in the armchair and kicking one leg up over the other. “So, what’ve you been up to?”
“We’re getting traction for an industry event as a value sell for the app,” I said, and I dove into describing the whole thing—how Cassandra had a few people she was managing for and how she was using them to get closer to people in the industry, networking days disguised as studio sessions. “We said goodbye with me coming here and her going off to meet her songwriting contact, so we’re meeting again tomorrow for drinks to talk about how it went and where to pick up.”
That last part threw off her whole reaction, and she sat up taller. “You’re taking her out for drinks?”
“We’re just talking about business,” I said defensively.
“Babe, listen to yourself. She’s married.”
“I know. We’re not doing anything like that.” I shook my head. “Just because I think she’s cute doesn’t mean I’m doing anything about it. I’m a grown adult. I can keep it in my pants.”
She leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. “I’m just worried for you! If you’re putting yourself in these positions…”
“You’re the one who sent her to surprise me.”
“I know. You’re not going to make me regret it, are you?”
“No. I…” I slumped back in the chair with a frustrated sigh. The only reason I was getting annoyed was because I knew she was right—that I knew exactly why I’d asked Cassandra out for drinks, and it was definitely the part of me that was drawn towards what I couldn’t have. “Do you want to come with?” I said. “It’d be fun to have the three of us all in one place again.”
She relaxed, lighting up instantly. “I can be around for a bit tomorrow evening. I’d love to hear more about her clever strategies she’s apparently using.”
So when I got back to my apartment for the night, I texted Cassandra, letting her know I’d invited Estelle to drop in for a bit. She was enthusiastic to see her, but I could feel the slight disappointment from her side, and it was a problem that I was happy to see it.
I told her I was off to bed, though, and I asked her if she was getting an early night as well, but she told me she had to hit up another venue for some networking and to talk to somebody. I was starting to wonder when the woman slept.
