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She named a sum intended to shock him and asked for an apartment. She had no idea that he would have paid three times that much to be rid of her free and clear. Within forty-eight hours, papers were signed and he had her and her things packed and headed east to New York City. She left with a check in her purse and the key to her new residence in her hand. When he closed the door behind her, he thought good riddance.
    He moved to his current townhome in Lincoln Park and rarely looked back. Which was why he was able to answer Rick’s question with absolute clarity. “I’ve seen women who look shiny on the outside with nothing on the inside. I know the difference; this one is special.”
    “If you say so.”
    “I definitely say so.”
    “Okay, she’s special . . . whatever that means. So what are you going to do about it?”
    “Wait,” Jason said with a secret smile.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “I am just going to wait.” Jason nodded, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.
    “So, what? She’s coming to you?”
    “Yes sir, she is coming looking for me to see what’s next.”
    Rick threw back his head and laughed. “This I would place money on. I wager that the Bears will go undefeated before this woman tracks you down. Five hundred dollars cash money, son.” He reached into his wallet, pulled out four hundreds and two fifties, and slapped them down on the table.
    Jason opened one eye and eyed the cash. “You just lost a half grand, Mr. Santos. I’ll be calling you shortly to collect.” He closed his eyes again. When he received no response and the silence stretched on, he opened his eyes and sat up. Rick was looking at him with a strange expression on his face. “What? Mad you just threw away five hundred dollars?”
    “Intrigued that you are this positive. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this enthused about the sheer prospect of getting to know someone. Maybe this girl is something special.”
    “See? Now you’re on my page.”
    “Just one last question . . .”
    “Half this game has gone by with you and your questions. What is it?”
    “Does she have a sister?”
    “Ha! I’ll find out.”
    “Now . . . about this game. . .”

4
    Come What May
    It had been two weeks since I watched Jason walk away from outside my condo. The good thing was I had no time to dwell on it; work was kicking my ass. The bad thing was I had no time to dwell on it; work was kicking my ass. Even though it was early September, we had started putting together budget projections for the following year. That meant long days in meetings and longer nights in front of a spreadsheet. A glance at my watch showed that it was already eight thirty. I’d been at work since seven a.m.
    “Ms. Lake, are you with us?” Charles, my executive vice president, was shooting me the evil eye from the head of the table.
    I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but what came out was, “No. I’m not. I’m not even on autopilot anymore. Eight straight days of this pace and I’m fried. I can’t be the only one. At this point, we’re in danger of doing more harm than good. I could sit here and fake it and pretend that I’m giving you my best, but we’re better than that. I’m sorry, but I for one need a break.” Then I held my breath. NOW is when I decide to get brave? Charles’s eyes narrowed and locked on mine.
    Everyone around the table froze, looking from me to Charles and back again. I was all in, holding his stare, not giving a damn about consequences. We were all a day away from nervous breakdowns or stabbing each other over the last turkey sandwich. Enough was enough. If this cost me my job or his respect, this clearly wasn’t the place for me. After a few more seconds where I swore my heartbeat was audible, Charles spoke. “Okay. Truth time: everybody’s fried?”
    “Hell yes.”
    “My kid forgot my name.”
    “I was burned out a week ago.”
    “My socks don’t match today.”
    “What day is it anyway?”
    The