Chapter 14: Published Convalescence

Bette’s assistant is this adorable little thing with a Midwestern accent who always looks surprised anytime someone walks in. I can never remember her name because it’s so boring, but I do like the way her eyes get really wide and she asks, “Is she expecting you?”

“Uh…” I played with the stress ball on the edge of her desk, tossing it up and down. “I think I forgot to call, but she probably knows I’m coming by.”

“Well, she’s on the phone, now, so…”

I looked up as Bette appeared in the doorway with the phone attached to her ear and silently beckoned me in. I tossed the stress ball back onto the desk and followed her into her office, shutting the door behind me.

“Yes,” Bette was saying into the phone. “I’m writing it down.” I snickered because she so wasn’t. Collapsing into the least comfortable chair in America, I put my feet up on the desk and poked at Bette’s computer mouse until her screensaver disappeared.

“If it seems too good to be true,” Bette said in a dry tone, “it must be.” She laughed politely, pacing back and forth in front of her desk. I tried to find Solitaire on her computer, but I don’t think she likes playing games.

“We can schedule something later in the week.” She tapped my shoes on her way past and I dutifully removed my feet from her desk. “Right. I’m swamped, pretty much. Actually, I have a meeting I need to start preparing for, so I’ll give you a call about it later. All right. Bye.” She hung the phone up and frowned at me. “Are you snooping around on my computer?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You have a lot of *****.”

She rolled her eyes and made a ­­tsking sound. “I do not.”

I stood. “Ready to go?”

“Uh.” Bette was glancing over some papers and seemed distracted. “I ordered in. I hope that’s okay. I just have so much work.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m just so…” She ran her fingers through her hair impatiently and groaned. I let her silently vent for awhile before sliding closer to her and deciding it was time to get her mind off things.