Page 39 of Tell Me What you Think

"We're just coworkers."

Andrea smiles, unbothered, and turns to him.

"Nice to meet you, then. Anyway, I have to run." Andrea turns to Olga first, rests a hand on her elbow — which makes Marina's jaw clench hard enough to grind — then gives Olga two kisses that Olga returns with a smile, and finally turns to say goodbye to the other two. "You and I are getting together in a couple of days," she says, pointing at Marina. "Great to meet you, Jordi." Then one last glance at Olga. "I'll call you as soon as I know more. Take care."

She heads off down the street and the three of them stand on the sidewalk for a moment.

"I should head back up too," Olga says, adjusting her bag. "See you at the office," she adds, a little shy.

Marina wants to move, but her feet feel like two concrete blocks she can't lift. She watches Olga walk away, and only when she's far enough down the block does she manage to get going again, falling into step beside her friend. Jordi starts talking about his brother-in-law, but his voice is like a radio playing in another room — she doesn't hear a word of it, because her mind is stuck on a loop: the image of Olga laughing with Andrea, open and at ease in a way she never is with Marina.

In the elevator, Jordi presses the button, and when the doors close, he turns to look at her.

"What's going on with you? You're acting really weird."

"Me?" Her eyebrows shoot up.

"I've been talking for two minutes and I'm pretty sure you haven't heard a single word."

"That's not true, I —"

"What did I say?" he cuts her off.

Marina wets her lips to answer, but the last thing she actually remembers him saying was back at the restaurant.

"Sorry, Jordi." She lets out a frustrated breath that puffs out her cheeks. "I'm just having a strange day."

"Maybe this'll help."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the hard candies he always carries. She bursts out laughing, her lip curling to one side, and Jordi feels a small jolt in his chest — the kind Olga knows all too well — except he brushes it aside without effort, ignoring it easily, because he figured out a long time ago that with Marina there would only ever be friendship.

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you." Marina unwraps the candy and pops it in her mouth, then says goodbye to him in the hallway as they each head toward their own offices.

She finds Olga at her desk, focused on her screen, typing something into the calendar without looking up.

"Hey," the vice president says curtly, walking past her while she pulls off her coat.

Olga looks up from the screen and gives her such a genuinely warm smile that Marina suddenly feels awful and stops.

"Any news on the apartment?" she asks, trying to let that burning sensation in her body fade.

Olga's expression clouds over and Marina frowns.

"What? Bad news?"

Without realizing it, she's taken a few steps back and perched on the edge of Olga's desk.

"Not great. Andrea already has the property registry extract and, sure enough, it's in my grandmother's name. And the last will certificate she requested came back empty, which means…" Her voice starts to trail off.

"She didn't leave a will."

"Exactly. Now it all depends on whether I can dig through my mom's things and find the document I signed with the notary's office."

"Don't lose hope. I'm sure it'll turn up," Marina says, getting to her feet.

"Yeah. I'm sure it will," Olga agrees, blinking several times, because Marina's perfume is wrapping around her and pulling her under, into a kind of haze where she feels like she's floating on clouds.

"Anyway, I have some things to finish up."