"I care about doing my job well."
"That's still not what I asked."
My phone buzzed. Cassidy again. A text this time.
WHERE ARE YOU I'M TIMING THIS
"I have to go," I said.
"Answer the question first."
"Which question."
"Do you care about my sister."
She was still sitting on the edge of her desk. Still looking at me with those purple eyes that were too smart and saw too much. The late afternoon sun came through the window behind her and turned her wine-red hair into something that looked like it was on fire.
I should have lied. Should have given her the professional answer. The safe answer.
"Yeah," I said. "I do. She works her ass off pretending she doesn't care about anything. Kind of hard not to respect that."
"Just respect?"
"Vivienne—"
"Because the way you look at her when she solves a problem correctly doesn't look like respect. It looks like..." She stopped. Shook her head. "Never mind."
My phone buzzed again.
ISAIAH I SWEAR TO GOD
"I really have to go."
