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“Not much. If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you end up in Connecticut?”
I swallow to clear the tightness in my throat.
“My parents died in a house fire early this year.”
Sam’s brow knits together. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks,” I say. “Aidan, the guy whose backyard you wandered into, is technically my only living relative. The courts assigned him as my guardian, even though we’d never met before.”
“That must’ve been awkward.”
“It was a little, at first. But now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“That’s sweet,” he says.
Sam leads me onto a busy street and across another intersection. I’m pretty sure Aidan’s office is located somewhere in this vicinity, but I haven’t had a reason to visit him there.
Sam stops in front of a very tall building, his expression contrite.
“So... I have a confession to make,” he says. “I didn’t just invite you along for the coffee.”
I’m immediately on guard. “Why did you invite me?”
“My dad works in this building and things are kind of tense between us. I had to leave my apartment because my last roommate went completely psycho on me.”
“How so?”
“He pulled a gun on me during an argument,” he says, still clearly shaken by the experience. “I’ve been staying in a hotel while I look for a new place, and it hasn’t been cheap. I’ve had to ask my dad for a lot of money.”
“What does all this have to do with me?”
“Well, see... I found an apartment, but I can’t afford it without a roommate, and if I have to stop and look for one, I’m gonna lose the place. I need my dad to co-sign the lease. I’m supposed to have coffee with him today, and I was hoping you might be willing to let him think you’re my new roommate.”
I shift uncomfortably. “You want me to lie to your dad?”
“Not explicitly,” Sam says. “I’ll do most of the talking. All you have to do is sit there and look collegiate. His office always puts out a free lunch spread, so we can have coffee and sandwiches here. Please?”
I check the time again. “I don’t know if I can, Sam.”
“It’ll only take ten minutes, tops.”
“What I mean is, I don’t know if I should.” This whole plan sounds pretty convoluted. Besides the fact that I’m not keen on the idea of elaborately deceiving a stranger, what if his dad starts asking me questions? “It just seems like this this is something the two of you need to work through together.”
“Right, of course.” He massages the back of his neck. “I was out of line to even ask. It’s just that I feel like I’ve failed him a lot over the last few months. It would be nice to make him proud, let him think I got my shit together, you know?”
As annoyed as I am with Sam for leading me here under false pretenses, my heart does go out to him. It sounds like he really wants his dad’s approval, and I can certainly relate to his desire to make his parents proud.
“Sorry I tried to drag you into my shit,” he says. Having perfected the art of the fake smile, I can recognize one like the back of my hand. “I’ll walk you back to campus.”
He turns to head in the direction we came from, his shoulders slumped. I check the alerts on my phone and see that Jasmine still hasn’t texted.
“Wait, Sam,” I say with a sigh. He turns. “There’d better be a giant cup of coffee waiting for me at the end of this rainbow.”
He beams and then rushes over to open the door for me.
“After you, Grace Whittaker.”
We step inside the grand air-conditioned lobby. Modern design meets industrialism in the polished stone floors and sharp angles. Sam motions for me to take a seat in the small waiting area, then saunters over to the security desk. He points to me as he speaks to the receptionist, who makes a quick call on his phone. A moment later, Sam gestures for me to follow him to the elevators.
