“Maybe you should try to stay in contact. A king doesn’t shy away from what he wants.”
“I cannot emphasize this enough, Kingmaker. Shut the fuck up.”
He laughed. “It’s been real, Julie. Good luck out there, whatever happens next.”
Had it been real? Or had it all been a hallucination? A very weird fever dream? Maybe I got hit by a car on the day Guin dumped me and this whole thing was all a wild dream I was having while I was dying in the hospital.
Probably. Seemed more likely than that it was real. But if it was a dream, I seemed to be pretty stuck in it, so I’d do what I could.
“You too, Kingmaker,” I said. “By the way, what’s… what’s your actual name?”
“Chester.”
“Are you shitting me right now?”
He shook his head gravely.
“Jesus Christ, dude. Yeah, stick with Kingmaker. I see the play now.”
He nodded gravely.
“What’s your day job, anyway?”
“Project analyst for a fintech firm.”
“That’s the most white-collar series of words I’ve ever heard. Tell me you don’t show up in a durag to that.”
“Nah, I wear business casual.”
“And introduce yourself to clients as… no, I’m not even gonna say it. It feels like I’m deadnaming you.”
“You ever find yourself back in the Big Apple, hit me up. World ain’t gonna be ready for round 2.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening. But if it does, I know where to look. Thanks. For getting me my stuff back. And despite everything, for getting me some time with Helena.”
Maybe it was the sense of closure, but once I was back in my room again, finally, I slept. I got the sleep my body had needed, had been needing for some time now, and I cracked my bleary eyes against the light through the window and sound of traffic outside at just past ten. Took a shower and got to change into some of the clothes Kingmaker had recovered for me, and I was luckily able to extend my stay by a night, having seen last-minute flight booking prices and knowing what was going to make the most sense, so I didn’t have to clear my stuff out of the room quite yet. Gave me a second of breathing room to getmy affairs in order, talk to Mom, book a flight for tomorrow, send some goodbye messages and thank people for everything. Probably pop into Krysten’s office, tell her not to let go of Helena just because I was turning and running.
But before all of that, my feet found a familiar pattern, and before I knew it, I was at the old music studio, the sketchy place behind the construction barricades that was definitely not supposed to be used as a music studio but definitely was, and I popped inside. I found Amber sitting in the front with a Red Bull in hand and headphones on, and she slipped them off when she saw me come in.
“Hey, Julie,” she said. “Oh, wow. Everything all right?”
“Had a long day.”
“It’s not even midday.”
“Had a long couple of days. Any openings in the studio schedule today?”
“Yeah, we’re pretty slow today. Wide open from one to seven. What, you got more people coming in?”
“More?”
She jabbed her thumb towards the back. “Yeah, Stephen’s in the room right now. I think he was expecting you.”
Ah, shit. No wonder I’d walked here on autopilot, my body remembered something my brain forgot. I fumbled my phone out, checking Jewel, and sure enough, I was supposed to be in here thirty minutes ago to meet Stephen Shale. Shit, same for yesterday. I’d completely blown him off.
“What, did you forget your schedule?” she said.
“Oh, god. It’s… it’s been a long couple days.”
