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“You were laughing when I got back.”
“I changed the subject. Asked her about her own life. She asked me if there were any single guys on the team. I joked that none would be good enough for her. Then she told me about the coffee machine exploding, or something along those lines. That’s when you came back.”
“It still doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Look, I know your focus is on Cam, and with good reason. The facts seem to line up with his predicament. But she doesn’t want to lose you. She wants you to need her. Her obsession with you isn’t healthy.”
“Again, you came up with that in five minutes?”
“It was more like ten, but yes. The tip about Cam and his father’s business was to hurt Cam. The tip about our fake relationship was to hurt us. Everything else has been to help you.”
Reese stood up and paced the room. “She’s been my assistant for years. Why now?”
“She’s saving you from Jen, from Cam, and from me. She’s saving you for herself.”
“Are you suggesting she has a crush on me?”
“No. She just needs you to need her. And she’s driving out everyone else. So far, she’s succeeded with Cam. And now she’s working on me.”
“I’m just not sure…I don’t think I believe it.”
“I know I’m throwing a lot at you. But think about it. You’ll see that it makes sense.”
“And if it doesn’t? That does mean it’s Cam.”
“Tell you what. Feed her something. Give her some information you’ve given no one else. See what she does with it. But make sure she knows you’ve ‘told’ other people.”
“Like what? I’ve told her everything about me.”
“I don’t know. We can brainstorm and come up with something.”
“Whether it’s Daria or Cam, in the end it’s going to devastate me.”
* * *
Reese was a mess for the rest of the workweek. She couldn’t get anything done, and her repeated calls to Cam went unanswered. John had started her interview prep that she insisted on doing at his office or her condo, making sure that Daria was politely uninvited. She needed to find her mole, and if by chance Grady was right, she couldn’t have Daria around for interview prep.
On Saturday, another of Semple’s articles came out. This time he’d interviewed many people who had been at the skating academy with Reese and Jen. And like the last few weeks, this piece was a draw as well. Jennifer came off as domineering and Reese aloof. No winners. All the latest piece did was ramp up her anxiety. At least she was thankful there were no otherLowdownposts about her.
“How is the interview prep going?” Grady asked.
“It’s exhausting. I feel like I’m under cross-examination.”
He pulled her close, kissing her gently on the lips. “It’s two weeks away. You’ll be fine.”
“I hope so. I’ve been trying to convince people that you are my wonderful boyfriend thanks to the mole.”
“And Daria?”
“I’m stilling thinking of what I can drop on her. To test her.”
“You’ll come up with something. In the meantime, I thought we’d have a pizza night. And we’d make it from scratch. It will be my guilty pleasure this week. Want to help?”
“You bet! Tell me what to do.”
They started with the sauce. He pulled out an onion for her to chop and had her slowly sauté it in some oil. He added the can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste, salt, and some spices. He instructed her to stir occasionally and reduce the heat, as he got started on the dough.
“I like to use the traditional method, but we’re going to get hungry, so I’ll use the quick-rise yeast. The dough and sauce will be ready around the same time.”
