Page 54 of Just the Wrong Twin

Sonia was tempted to say ‘Boston’, but she didn’t. She just laughed and talked about Ariel, a subject that Kyle seized upon with enthusiasm.

Once home, Sonia found herself filled with energy, like her haircut included some special magic. When she got home, she finished up the proposal for Cassie, then made herself a cup of green tea. She could hear her fellow tenants in their apartments, cooking or doing whatever. The woman upstairs was running her sewing machine and listening to the radio. She liked NPR. The woman two floors below was playing scales on her piano. It was a warm night so Sonia opened the window and turned on her fairy lights early.

She wondered what Nate was doing, picked up her phone, then put it in the charger.

He was getting ready to start his new job. She shouldn’t mess with that.

Even if it would have been great to hear his voice.

Then she wondered again what Katia had wanted, but didn’t surrender to the temptation of finding out. No doubt the truth would become clear sooner or later.

It was much more pleasant to daydream about Nate.

* * *

After his runon Monday morning, Nate had a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast. It took him a while to get the internet connection working on the laptop Jimmy had given him but he was ready for the online meeting with Silver Fox Security in time.

Nate felt like he’d passed the first test of his new job.

He didn’t doubt there would be more.

“Good morning,” Pierce said, appearing on the screen. He was wearing a dark T-shirt and spoke with his usual economy. He was predictably first on the call and it looked like he was in his home office in New York. “Everything good there, Nate?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Nate said. “I wasn’t expecting such a fancy place.”

“You might be glad of it. We’ve got two weeks of preparations lined up for you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Mack has already found a couple of apartments that you might like. She’ll tell you about them after the call.”

“Full service relocation,” Nate said with a grin.

“It’s a more efficient use of time. Mack knows the market and your budget, and with you in quarantine, you can’t look around so easily.”

“I never had staff before.”

Pierce smiled. “You still don’t. Mack solves everything for all of us. She’s a force of nature.”

As if she’d heard her cue, Lisa MacAvoy joined the call then. “Morning,” she said as she appeared in a window beside Pierce on the screen. She gave a fingertip wave and took a sip from a huge coffee. Nate knew she was a lawyer, but she wasn’t stiff and formal like other lawyers he’d met. He instinctively liked her—actually, he liked the whole team already. “All good, Nate?”

“Perfect. Thanks, Mack.”

“Hey, Nate. Welcome aboard!” Jimmy was the next to log in. He waved from what looked like an office and Nate guessed it was the firm’s facility in Boston.

“Thanks for everything. I’m looking forward to digging in.”

“Wait for it,” Jimmy warned. “Pierce’s initiation plan is brutal.”

Pierce nodded and Jimmy nodded back, some silent communication happening between them. “While we wait on the others, I can tell you about a course that would be great for you to take,” Jimmy said. “It’s about online security and cryptology, as well as computerized and digital locks. The first lectures are online, accessible through our secure connection. Pierce and I thought you might want to get a jump on things.”

“Beats watching TV,” Nate said. “Hook me up.”

“Great. I’ll send you the details. You have a new email account with the firm. Mack will have set it up on the laptop but you should change the password, of course. Same with the phone we gave you.”

“Got it.” Nate opened the email account to discover several messages he hadn’t realized were there. There was a form for him to fill out for insurance and a request from Mack about housing preferences. “On it,” he said, energized to have a To Do list building already. He preferred to be busy.

“I’m sending you the address of a rehab center for vets, in case you’re interested,” Pierce said. “I go there when I’m in Boston and it’s a good crowd. Not as fancy as Flatiron Five Fitness, but I mentioned your coaching to them and they’d love if you wanted to volunteer for a couple of hours a week.”

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