Page 81 of Small Sacrifices

If Ms. Coleman feels any kind of way about what he just said, she doesn't show it on her face. "Uncomfortable? What does that mean?"

Ah. Well.Reid bites his lip. He doesn't want to betray Marisol's confidence, but he alsoreallywants to answer that question. So he says: "She said not to tell you. I think she believes you wouldn't care."

Andthatmakes her react. Reid watches a furrow form between her brows, sees her hands clench into fists just at the edge of his field of vision.

"I care," she says. "I definitely care."

Reid is about to respond to that when he hears footsteps advancing down the corridor. From then, he has just enough time to hiss "I don't know why Ms. Contreras isn't here" and go to sit down at his desk.

When Mr. Wright enters the office, Reid is lining up his highlighters on his desk to get ready for the day. He takes a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing the man balk when he sees Lieutenant Governor Coleman, in watching his eyebrows draw together as she steps into his path. They end up almost face to face—but it's not Mr. Wright who gets too close. He comes to a stop at a respectable distance and then Coleman takes a deliberate step forward.

"Where is Ms. Contreras?" she asks. "We were meant to have a meeting. Even Mr. Maxwell doesn't know where she is."

Oh. Reid tries his best to make his face smooth and expressionless. She remembers his name? He hadn't expected that.

"A meeting about what?" Mr. Wright sounds polite enough, but his voice has an edge to it. He looks like he's tasted something sour.

"Oh, I just wanted an update on the Agrifarm situation. She was kind enough to oblige me. Or at least I thought so."

The smile that spreads over Mr. Wright's face at that answer looks sticky-smug. It makes Reid want to shake himself.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I had to let her go. She obliged a few people a bit too much."

There's a stinging pain in his palm where his nails dig into it. Reid uses it to distract himself from his fury, tries to widen his eyes and slacken his jaw. This is not the time to be scowling, not when he's not supposed to know anything. He wonders what Mr. Wright means bya few people,though. Is he just lying or didhe actually recruit people to corroborate his story? That's a scary thought.

"What do you mean by that?" Ms. Coleman doesn't sound like she finds that statement as funny as Mr. Wright wants her to.

Mr. Wright waves her question aside with a dismissive sweep of his hand. "Eh, you know. Point is, she ain't here, and she ain't coming back. I'll update you later today. Four p.m.?"

The look on the lieutenant governor's face is not one of satisfaction. Her right eyebrow is raised so high that it lays her forehead in folds. "You're going to need to give me actual answers this time."

Mr. Wright nods, promising to provide all the information she needs. It's clear from the skeptical set of her eyebrows that she doesn't believe him. Yet she agrees, offers a tight smile, and walks out.

Reid watches her retreat with a pang of sorrow in his gut. Is this the end? Will he ever get another chance to speak with her? He understands why she has to leave—she doesn't want to draw Mr. Wright's suspicion. But it feels like a cold dismissal. Did she grasp that there's more at stake here than just the harassment?

Once she's out of sight, Mr. Wright clears his throat so loudly that Reid flinches.

"Well, Mr. Maxwell," he says, "do you want to follow me to my office?"

Oh, goddamnit.

Reid’s heart is almost beating out of his chest as he trails after Mr. Wright. When the man carefully pulls the door closed behind them, Reid has to force himself not to freeze.

This doesn’t feel good. God, he knew he should have driven off sooner on Friday. They saw, didn’t they? He and Everett weren’t alone in the parking lot. Someone saw them kiss, and now Reid is going to be let go as well. That thought doesn’tengender the panic it would have a week ago, but it still makes Reid feel a bit woozy. What is he supposed to do now?

"Alright," Mr. Wright says when he’s stepped behind his desk and noisily sat down in his swanky office chair. "I’m sorry you had to find out about your colleague like you just did. That’s not the way I wanted to do this. But I need you to understand that Ms. Contreras was incredibly unprofessional. We can’t give people leeway to make the sorts of mistakes she did."

For a moment, those words just ping around in Reid’s head like it’s a pinball machine. They make even less sense in that combination than they would individually.

"I’m sorry."

"Me too, boy. I really thought she had potential. But you need to be careful with women like that. Sometimes, they’re just too ambitious." Mr. Wright nods. The look on his face would be profound if it weren’t for the little quirk to his lips.

"I don’t understand," Reid says.

Now, Mr. Wright outright smiles. "I can’t explain too much. You know, for privacy reasons. But I just want you to know that your friend did this to herself. I’m sure you’ll miss her, but these things happen. Do you know why I called you in here?"

"No." Unless it was to gossip about Marisol without actually saying anything. Still, it’s dawning on Reid that he won’t like this even if it doesn’t end in him being fired.

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