Page 58 of Full Contact

“So he knows where I am.”

“Tell him he doesn’t need to come,” Rook said.

“He wasn’t going to. He just wanted to know why it was six hours.”

“I didn’t know how long it would take,” Varga said.

“In six hours,” Rook said, “they could give me another head.”

“I’ll ask.”

I pulled on my jeans while Heath pulled his phone out to see whether Kieran had accepted.

Varga continued buttoning his shirt. He’d forgotten his question. That was what I’d been counting on. I put my phone in my bag.

***

Mark’s office door was open. He stood behind his desk, sliding his laptop into its bag. He wore jeans and a gray sweater. His desk was clear except for a legal pad with Monday written at the top and underlined twice.

“You didn’t say you were coming in,” I said.

“I had a few things I didn’t want to do at home.” He zipped the bag. “How was practice?”

“Markel didn’t like our breakout.”

“I heard. He sent Leah a note about moving Monday’s media availability so he could run the breakout again Monday morning.”

“Congratulations on the sharpener,” I said. “Did Felix issue a certificate?”

“He sent a voice memo. Forty seconds. Most of it was him saying finally.”

“Have you used it?”

“He’s coming at seven to supervise. He doesn’t trust me with it unattended.” He put the bag on his shoulder and walked around the desk. “I’m free until then. Do you want to come over for an hour? I still have a chair with a view of the lake.”

I hesitated. “I should get back to Peaches,” I said. “Anna stopped by during practice, but we’re still recording her meals, and Dr. Feld wants us watching her through the weekend, so I’ve been—“

“Is she due for anything before you could get home from my place?”

I thought about it. Anna had fed her at two. The gel wasn’t until seven.

What I’d actually planned was the couch, Peaches on my legs, and the West Coast game with the sound low.

“No,” I said.

“Then come over.”

“Has Leah’s intern found any more uses for that picture of you holding up the book display?” I asked.

He laughed. “My mother has a copy now. She wants to know why nobody helped me.”

“Why didn’t anybody help you?”

“Everybody was busy getting library cards. Three hundred of them.” He shifted the bag on his shoulder. “So. Coffee?”

He didn’t ask me why I’d changed the subject. He’d just noticed that I hadn’t answered.

“Yes,” I said. “Coffee.”