Tell Me a Story

Chapter 9

"I can't believe she told you not to come home."

"Yeah, who would've guessed that Red had a social life." I fished an olive out of my martini glass and popped it in my mouth. "Maybe she hosts a book club."

Meera let out a laugh. "Can you imagine? You seriously need to get video of that."

"I'll get right on it."

"Have you chatted with her much? You know, aside from this evening's phone call telling you to get lost."

"I tried Sunday."

"And?" 

"After about thirty seconds she put her headphones on and went back to her computer."

"Nice. So, that catches me up on the roommate status. How was your first day with Eli?"

I grabbed another olive from my glass, stalling as I contemplated whether or not I should share the details.

"Good. I sat around all day stalking people online."

"That sounds fun." Meera took a sip of her brightly colored cocktail. "But seriously, what did you do all day?"

"I'm serious. I spent the day researching people that Eli is considering for placements. I'm supposed to make sure there isn't anything out there that would make Eli look bad. That and, you know, figure out what they like to eat, what their hobbies are. Nothing too exciting."

"Weird."

"Not that weird. Does your office hire anyone without checking them out online?"

Meera smiled. "You have a point. Last time we held interviews for a new paralegal, one of the girls practically had the job until we saw her Facebook page."

"Oh, was that the one who was always posting about being hungover and how much she hated her boss?"

"Among other things."

"See? Not weird at all." I looked into my empty glass, wishing for more olives to help me stall. "How's David doing?"

"Good. He's been traveling so much lately, poor thing. Good news is he got to cancel the latest jaunt and will be in town tomorrow."

"That'll be nice."

"He may even be able to stay for a little bit. Some big project the Seattle team is working on he needs to babysit."

I ran my finger back and forth along the edge of the table. "Is he enjoying his job?"

Meera shrugged. "Far as I can tell. But you know, he doesn't really talk shop, which I love. I'd probably pass out from boredom if he started telling me about projects in development."

This was true. David's company developed computer games and software solutions, something Meera had zero interest in. They were dating six months before she could even tell me the name of the place he worked.

"So why the interest in David all of the sudden?" 

"No reason."

"Whatever. You are the worst liar, so don't even try. Spill it."

"Fine, but keep it to yourself. One of the people I am supposed to be researching for Eli just happens to be your man."

"Really? Do you know anything about the job he's being vetted for?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Does Eli know you know David?"

"I don't think so. He was out pretty much all day today, so I didn't get to ask."