Page 119 of All Our Nevers

My obnoxious, nosy friends are gathered in the doorway to the roof, huddling beneath the overhang, clapping and jumping and hollering with joy because they’re voyeuristic perverts and I love them so much.

Owen’s face presses against the side of my hair, laughing as he says, “Your friends are real weirdos, you know that?”

I turn to face him, our bodies still locked tight. “They’re our friends, babe.” My hands on either side of his face, I stare straight into those clear blue eyes as I say, “You’re stuck with all of us now. Because we fucking love you.”

30

Owen

Lia: how are you feeling?

Owen: Very ready

Owen: How are you feeling?

Lia: anything else i can do?

Owen: Lia you’ve done everything so far

Owen: Now it’s my turn

Owen: Ok?

Lia: ok

Owen: Your plan is perfect

Owen: It’s going to work

Owen: Thank you for including me in it

Lia: i love you

Owen: I love you too gorgeous

"Connor, please come in.”

I hold open the door to my new office, taking measured breaths as the person I hate most on this Earth walks past. Weeks of planning and research, Lia’s hard work complemented by my legal background, all coming down to this.

“Did you see we switched to the shitty brand of creamer in the break room?” he asks, taking the seat facing my desk. “This place is really going to hell.”

He seems to think we’re friends. Or at least friendly. Good. Let him be shocked by how untrue that is.

“You prefer mergers over litigation, right?” I ask, skipping the pleasantries.

“Yeah, obviously. I’ve only taken on one litigation matter and it was the InstaLooks one that was a total shit show.” He’s draped across the chair in casual disrespect, leaning back, cocked sideways, elbow pressing into the armrest.

I say, “Couldn’t agree more.”

“Huh?”

“Have you considered transferring down to the Atlanta office?” I ask, feigning indifference. “Dave says they almost exclusively handle mergers down there. I think they have maybe one court appearance a year.”

“I don’t know.” His hand reaches up to pat his gelled red hair into place—so worried about appearances that he doesn’t hear the threat behind my question. “I mean, I came to Boston for the accelerated partner track and that obviously didn’t work out.” There’s a bitter whine he can’t keep out of the words. “So I guess my next step’s still TBD.”

“Actually, it’s not. The senior partners made some decisions about your future with the firm, but I thought it would be best coming from me. They know how close we got when competing for the partner position.”

His body visibly tenses, posture shifting to lean forward with a show of aggression. “Look, if you called me in here to rub it in my face, I’m gonna leave.”