Chapter 3 #3
He couldn’t help smiling at that.
“What?” she said. “You don’t believe me?”
“I do.” He leaned forward. “Listen, you didn’t want that promotion.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I can assure you I very much did.”
“No, you didn’t! That job sucks, and your boss sounds like an asshole.”
“He’s not,” Anya insisted. “He’s been really generous with me, letting me help with projects way above my pay grade—”
“Let me guess. His projects? He has you thinking it’s some great honor that you’re doing his work while he takes the credit?”
“What?!” Anya sputtered. “That’s not what it is!”
“Okay, then what is it?” Gabe leaned back in the booth.
“A learning opportunity.” Anya’s tone was firm but unconvincing, like she knew there was some truth to what Gabe was saying. “Lev really cares about me.”
“Oh my god.” Gabe gaped. “You like him.”
She looked down, and he knew he was right.
“Seriously, Anya?” he needled. “You’re letting this guy use you because you have a crush on him? Of course he’s not putting you up for a promotion. If he did that he couldn’t make you do all his work!”
“So you’re saying I’m a pushover?”
“I’m saying you shouldn’t be working for someone like him—you shouldn’t be at a consulting firm at all. You should be campaigning.”
“What do you call this? I am campaigning!”
“For two weeks! Then you go back to your meetings and slide decks when it’s obvious you’d rather be in the field. I don’t understand why you took this job in the first place.”
“Because I was broke!” Anya exploded. “I wanted to stay on the presidential after Beihl dropped out, but no one would pay me enough to make rent. So I moved back home and made Frappuccinos for teenagers at Starbucks while I applied for any political job I could find, and this is the one I got. We don’t all have parents who can buy us SUVs and finance our adventures.
Unlike you, I’m doing this work because I actually want to make a difference. ”
Gabe flushed with a combination of rage and shame.
How dare she throw his parents’ money in his face, or insinuate he’d worked his ass off for two years only to satisfy his own ego?
He thought back to the day that shiny Land Rover had appeared outside his dorm at Stanford, along with a note from his dad that he couldn’t make it to graduation. Gabe hated that car.
“This work matters to me too,” Gabe gritted. “A lot.”
“Yeah?” Anya leaned forward. “Then why did you decide to work on this campaign? Because you think Jenna Salditch will be amazing in Congress, or because some long-shot race was the only one that offered you a job with ‘director’ in the title?”
“At least I actually put in the time instead of showing up at the last minute to boss everyone around,” he fired back.
“Maybe that’s why you like consulting. You get a corporate account to pay for your little power trips, and who cares if everyone hates you?
You’ll be gone too soon for it to matter. ”
That was way too far. Gabe knew it immediately, and the devastated look on Anya’s face confirmed it. The worst part was he didn’t even mean it, didn’t know why he’d said it. No wonder she hated him.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion,” Anya replied sharply. “I should get home. I have an early flight back to DC.”
She slid out of the booth and stood, and he scrambled to do the same.
“Can I call you a cab?” he asked, as if that would make up for anything, but she shook her head.
“It’s only a couple of blocks. I’m fine to walk—even in heels.”
She shot him a wry little smile, and he felt a twist of something: Admiration for how steely she was, how resilient? Guilt that he’d been an ass to her for two weeks straight? Or something…else?
“It’s almost two a.m. There’s no way I’m letting you walk home alone.”
“Letting me?” she laughed. “Who says I’m willing to subject myself to any more of your company?”
“Please, Anya,” he pleaded. “I left my coat by the back door. Wait one second for me to grab it, okay? It’s the least I can do.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then nodded.
“Okay,” she agreed.
As Gabe turned to get his coat, a big cheer went up at the bar. Toby was raising his glass, triumphant.
“In your face, Dawn!” Toby yelled, then immediately slumped over, unsteady on his feet. Gabe rushed over to help Toby sit on a stool, then turned to Dawn in genuine shock.
“He beat you?”
“I obviously let him win.” Dawn threw up her hands in frustration. “It’s his big night!”
Gabe laughed, then nodded toward the bar’s door. “Listen, I’m gonna walk Anya home—it’s a couple of blocks. You okay to keep an eye on this guy until I get back?”
“I think I can handle him.”
“I kicked your ass,” Toby slurred.
“You sure did, bud.” Dawn patted him affectionately on the shoulder.
Gabe turned back toward the bar’s entry, but Anya wasn’t waiting there. He didn’t see her anywhere. He rushed to the front door and went outside without his coat—holy hell, it was freezing—but Anya was nowhere to be found.
“God,” he sighed. “That girl is stubborn.”