Page 38 of Tell Me What you Think

"Lunch together today? I haven't seen you in forever and I miss you," he says with exaggerated drama.

"Yes, please — I need to get out of here and breathe some air. But somewhere quiet. There's just too much on my mind today."

"Italian place, then, though it's a bit of a walk. Grab an umbrella — it started raining a little while ago."

"Perfect," she mutters flatly.

"Are you okay? Seems like you can't even stand yourself today," Jordi says, holding the door open for her.

"Maybe it was the lack of rest." She turns back toward her assistant as they head out. "I'm stepping out for lunch, Olga. See you later."

"Of course. Enjoy your meal."

"Thanks."

"Since when do you explain your comings and goings to her?" Jordi asks in the hallway, genuinely surprised.

She looks at him like he's grown two heads.

"I'm not explaining anything. It's called being polite."

"You never tell me when you're going to lunch," he prods.

Marina rolls her eyes and decides to ignore him until they reach the restaurant. She folds her umbrella, drops it in the stand by the entrance, and curses herself for choosing a white suit, because the bottom hem is now flecked with dirty rainwater.

"Relax, it's just clothes, and you still look great," Jordi murmurs.

That lifts her mood a little, and when they bring a burrata salad to share followed by her favorite pasta, her bad mood dissolves completely and they settle into the usual rhythm of talking about work.

"Appendix three of the Ribeiro file changes the numbers," Marina says. She's already caught Jordi up on what happened in the meeting and the missing documentation Duarte made sure they received first thing this morning. "There are agreed-upon terms that weren't in the initial information they sent us. I asked Olga to cross-reference all the indexes, client by client, and she's already found two more where something similar is going on."

"I don't think it's bad faith," Jordi says. "It looks more like poor business management — they don't know where their own files are. That would explain why they ended up having to sell."

"That's what I want to believe, because I don't need more headaches. Thank God Olga caught it. She's really good, honestly. I'm thinking about giving her more authority — bringing her into the technical meetings with her own voice, so she doesn't need me to speak for her. If she spots something, she should be able to say so out loud."

"Ricard loved having her around. That had to mean something."

"Ricard had her making copies, managing his calendar, and running his dry cleaning. I think Olga's capable of a lot more than that. This is the second time she's flagged something the analysts missed."

She stops because Jordi has set his fork down and is watching her with his elbows on the table and an amused expression that makes her uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that every time you open your mouth lately, you end up talking about her. Not that I don't get it — you spent the entire holidays working together, so I imagine you two have gotten closer."

Marina doesn't know what to say. Everything she's said about Olga feels natural to her, though maybe she's gone too far with the idea of giving her more authority. Olga hasn't asked for it, hasn't complained about her role, and as far as Marina knows, hasn't requested a promotion.

"I'm just saying she's a damn good assistant. That's all."

"Sure. Ready to go? Let's take advantage of the break in the rain," Jordi says, glancing through the front window.

Marina buttons her coat as they step outside, because the sudden damp cold slips in around her collar and slides down her spine. She adjusts her bag and walks arm in arm with her friend, closed umbrella in her other hand. The fresh air helps clear her head, but when they turn left at the next corner, her steps slow and her eyes fix on two women standing outside a restaurant where she'd eaten a few times with her ex-husband. It's Olga and Andrea — and her assistant is laughing openly, loudly, while the lawyer chatters away with her hands stuffed in her coat pockets.

What Marina feels doesn't make any sense. Something strange and hot rises through her chest, a kind of burning that brings her bad mood crashing back the moment Andrea turns her head and spots her. Andrea's smile widens and she raises a hand in greeting, and when they reach them, she leans in to give Marina two quick kisses and a brief hug.

"I was literally just telling Olga we'd see each other this week — how are you? I'm Andrea," she says, turning toward Jordi. "I didn't know you were seeing someone," she adds, looking back at Marina.

Marina feels her stomach lurch and slowly pulls her arm free from her friend's, thrown off, because that kind of comment would normally make her laugh — she'd have joked about it, maybe even kissed Jordi's cheek for effect — but now, for some reason, she feels the need to make it very clear that she is very single and very available.