intend to show her off.” Sometimes I amazed myself with my suaveness. Maybe it was a hint of the player I used to be before the accident.
Anna smiled again , and I thought she seemed a little less nervous. “All right, then. I want to introduce you to Jules.”
We wa ded through a stream of sparkling party dresses and starched white shirtfronts, which gleamed under the Christmas lights illuminating the banquet room the law firm had rented for the occasion. The sweetness of too many perfumes and a tang of pine from decorated trees along one wall mingled into a strong odor that made me need to sneeze.
As we made our way toward what’s-his-name — JULES. Jules Arden —Anna occasionally stopped to introduce me to the people she worked most closely with. I smiled, shook hands, and tried to file away names, but they flitted out of my consciousness almost as soon as they entered. I could hardly pull out my iPad and type them in, and without that organizational tool, I was lost.
“Nice to meet you. Anna’s mentioned you many times,” I said to one guy, whose name was Dan or Doug or maybe Dave.
“All good , I hope.” A guy with slicked-back hair studied me intently. Definitely a turd-gazing look.
“Absolutely.” I’d decided that would be my word of the evening. People love to be agreed with , and I could get by best by keeping it simple.
“I doubt that. There aren’t many stories that have Dave as the hero.” A tall woman with long brown hair that was tousled as if she’d just fucked somebody in a janitor closet came up beside DAVE—not Dan . She wore too much makeup, and her sequined dress nearly blinded me as it caught the light. Cindy . I remembered her name from the couple of times I’d met her. Anna’s best friend at work.
“Good to see you again, Jason.”
“You’re looking, uh”—I hunted for the word—“festive, Cindy.”
She smiled and peered at me with unfocused eyes. Drunk. “Aren’t you the cutest thing.”
It was both a compliment and sort of demeaning. I had no idea what to say, so I just smiled back.
Thank God, Anna pulled me away. “See you guys in a bit. I want to introduce him to Jules.”
The music played by a DJ in one corner was loud, forcing everyone’s voices to be louder. And I thought the dogs at the kennel where I worked were noisy. Their yapping was nothing compared to a room full of half-drunk lawyers.
“Merry Christmas, Jules,” Anna greeted a balding man wearing old-fashioned half-moon spectacles. What an affectation. “I want you to meet my boyfriend, Jason.”
My boyfriend. I wouldn’t get tired of those words any time soon. After the bleak, dark days when I thought I’d never see Anna again, the fact that I was here with her now in the role of “boyfriend” was a minor miracle. I’d fucked myself over doing something stupid, but she’d forgiven me and come after me.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said, offering my hand for a shake.
“Please. Sir makes me feel old. Just call me Jules.” The lawyer’s voice was a pleasant rumble that would sound very convincing in court. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Jason. How are things going for you?”
“Can’t complain.” Keep it simple. He didn’t really want to hear about the intricacies of dog washing or cleaning kennels.
“Anna tells me you’re taking a class.”
“Yes. Intro to Business.” Which was going a little better than expected. There were a lot of terms to memorize , and I sucked at that part. But I could wrap my head around the basic idea of supply and demand.
“You hope to own your own business someday?”
“Maybe. I… It’s hard to think that far ahead,” I admitted. “I’m just taking it day by day for now.”
“Well put. We should all slow down and focus on the present instead of always thinking ten moves ahead.” Jules indicated the crowd around them. “Many of us here could work on that.”
He was a pretty nice guy.
A s their talk drifted to a case they were
Anna smiled again , and I thought she seemed a little less nervous. “All right, then. I want to introduce you to Jules.”
We wa ded through a stream of sparkling party dresses and starched white shirtfronts, which gleamed under the Christmas lights illuminating the banquet room the law firm had rented for the occasion. The sweetness of too many perfumes and a tang of pine from decorated trees along one wall mingled into a strong odor that made me need to sneeze.
As we made our way toward what’s-his-name — JULES. Jules Arden —Anna occasionally stopped to introduce me to the people she worked most closely with. I smiled, shook hands, and tried to file away names, but they flitted out of my consciousness almost as soon as they entered. I could hardly pull out my iPad and type them in, and without that organizational tool, I was lost.
“Nice to meet you. Anna’s mentioned you many times,” I said to one guy, whose name was Dan or Doug or maybe Dave.
“All good , I hope.” A guy with slicked-back hair studied me intently. Definitely a turd-gazing look.
“Absolutely.” I’d decided that would be my word of the evening. People love to be agreed with , and I could get by best by keeping it simple.
“I doubt that. There aren’t many stories that have Dave as the hero.” A tall woman with long brown hair that was tousled as if she’d just fucked somebody in a janitor closet came up beside DAVE—not Dan . She wore too much makeup, and her sequined dress nearly blinded me as it caught the light. Cindy . I remembered her name from the couple of times I’d met her. Anna’s best friend at work.
“Good to see you again, Jason.”
“You’re looking, uh”—I hunted for the word—“festive, Cindy.”
She smiled and peered at me with unfocused eyes. Drunk. “Aren’t you the cutest thing.”
It was both a compliment and sort of demeaning. I had no idea what to say, so I just smiled back.
Thank God, Anna pulled me away. “See you guys in a bit. I want to introduce him to Jules.”
The music played by a DJ in one corner was loud, forcing everyone’s voices to be louder. And I thought the dogs at the kennel where I worked were noisy. Their yapping was nothing compared to a room full of half-drunk lawyers.
“Merry Christmas, Jules,” Anna greeted a balding man wearing old-fashioned half-moon spectacles. What an affectation. “I want you to meet my boyfriend, Jason.”
My boyfriend. I wouldn’t get tired of those words any time soon. After the bleak, dark days when I thought I’d never see Anna again, the fact that I was here with her now in the role of “boyfriend” was a minor miracle. I’d fucked myself over doing something stupid, but she’d forgiven me and come after me.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said, offering my hand for a shake.
“Please. Sir makes me feel old. Just call me Jules.” The lawyer’s voice was a pleasant rumble that would sound very convincing in court. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Jason. How are things going for you?”
“Can’t complain.” Keep it simple. He didn’t really want to hear about the intricacies of dog washing or cleaning kennels.
“Anna tells me you’re taking a class.”
“Yes. Intro to Business.” Which was going a little better than expected. There were a lot of terms to memorize , and I sucked at that part. But I could wrap my head around the basic idea of supply and demand.
“You hope to own your own business someday?”
“Maybe. I… It’s hard to think that far ahead,” I admitted. “I’m just taking it day by day for now.”
“Well put. We should all slow down and focus on the present instead of always thinking ten moves ahead.” Jules indicated the crowd around them. “Many of us here could work on that.”
He was a pretty nice guy.
A s their talk drifted to a case they were
Similar Books
