Page 155 of Blind Prophet

“Don’t give me that.” He’s the party’s dream. Relatively young, charismatic, well-spoken. And thanks to all of his satellites, he probably has kompromat, to use the Russian word for dirt, on anyone standing in the way of his initiatives.

“Telling you the truth.” He crosses one ankle over the other, relaxing on the comforter. “I love my work at Zenith. That’s enough for me. I’m fortunate. A digital nomad lifestyle is easily within my grasp. But…”

“You’ll need to travel.”

“Yes.”

“How about we compromise?”

“Are you listening? You don’t need to compromise. Tell me what you want. I’ll make it happen.”

“Do you not understand the definition of compromise?”

“What is there to compromise over? I’m offering you?—”

“If you want me to move in...”

“Oh.” He straightens as understanding registers. “I guess I did assume we were on the same page about that.”

“See…that’s where we get into trouble.”

His grin is devious. “All right. So tell me. What compromise has this insightful brain of yours cooked up?”

“During the week, we’ll stay at my place. Meaning, we’ll spend the night here. You can work wherever you’d like during the day. I haven’t seen your new place in Montecito, but I imagine it’s probably a preferable place to work.”

“I can find office space down here. Keep going.”

“And on the weekends, we stay in Montecito or wherever you want to go.”

“You don’t work on the weekends?”

“Not normally.”

“So you’re saying yes to moving back in together, but…”

“I’m saying I’m not willing to give up my place yet. I’m saying last time, we moved too quickly, and I gave up a lot right from the get-go.”

“You don’t need to give up anything.”

He’s so sincere. But he’s also wrong.

“That’s part of being a couple. But I’m not ready yet. And we need time. Time to see if we fall back into old habits, and if we do, how we break them. If we can, that is.”

“Whatever you want, whatever it takes. You name it, I’ll do it.”

“Well, first, why don’t we throw on some clothes and grab breakfast? I’ll take you to my favorite place.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Then we can maybe go for a walk down by the beach. And then there’s the holiday office party this evening. You want to join me?”

“Absolutely.”

“So we’ll need to get you clothes.”

“If you’ll ride with me to Montecito, I can pack a bag. What are you doing for the holiday?”

“The Arrow offices close between Christmas and New Year’s. I’ve already told my parents I’m coming home.” I hesitate, searching his face. “Would you have any interest in coming with me?”

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