Page 29 of Always

James made a noncommittal sound.

“Anika, you like hiking, don’t you?” Hannah said, turning toward her. “We’re doing the Blue Ridge trail the Saturday before Labor Day. You two should come with us!”

“Where is it?” Marco asked.

“In Storm King State Park,” Hannah said, “north of the city. It’s a bit steep at first, but once you get up, you can see the whole Hudson valley.”

Anika was finding their coffee date awkward enough, but she did love to hike and knew from experience how lovely that area was at this time of year. Actually, she had hiked one of the other trails in the same system with James. Perhaps because he remembered it too, James seemed amenable. Marco was ready to agree to anything.

“That’s a great idea,” Marco said. “Let’s all go together.”

“It’s set then,” Hannah said happily. “Gwen and Blaine are coming too. It’ll be a party!”

* * *

13

Monday at work, Anika was both swamped and distracted. Their server had crashed over the weekend, and Calvin was in a foul mood trying to set it right again. To make matters worse, Gwen informed her that three of the criteria for operating a non-profit in New York State would be changing in the fall, and they would have to resubmit their credentials for approval within the month.

“I can handle some of it,” Gwen said, “but I need your help on the board of directors section, and some other parts.”

“We could have the accountant take a look,” Anika said. “We don’t want to lose our 501c designation.”

“I had to get a lot of this together anyway,” Gwen said. “Marco Moretti wanted me to send him a full dossier.”

“He did?” Anika asked, surprised.

“Yeah. Gemma over at Bennet Knight says he’s going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. She said he’s nice and all but he’s coming down hard on anybody who’s not pulling their weight. He’s looking for inefficiencies and he’s fired four people already.”

“I did know about that part,” Anika said. “Honestly, it’s probably about time. I think Dominic held back on a few things, because of his relationship with my father. But it’s a business, and it will die without someone strong at the head of it, somebody who knows what they’re doing.”

“And if Bennet Knight dies, the Red Line dies,” Gwen said.

“Right.”

“Well then, all hail the new king,” Gwen said.

“Goddamnit!” Calvin yelled as the server crashed once more. He put his head down on his arms, knocking over his collection of Dr. Who bobbleheads. Hannah kindly came over to stand them all up again.

“Hannah,” Anika beckoned her over, “would you be willing to get some snacks for Calvin? He’s been here since four this morning and I think he needs another dose of sugar and caffeine to keep him going.”

“Sure!” Hannah said cheerfully. She never minded being sent on menial errands, as long as she got to leave the office and swipe the company credit card.

“Thank you,” Anika said fervently.

As soon as Hannah was gone, Gwen sidled over to Anika and said quietly, out of Calvin’s earshot, “So howdoyou feel about our new overlord?”

“Marco?” Anika asked innocently.

“Yes, ‘Marco’,” Gwen said, imitating Anika’s ridiculous tone.

“He’s good,” Anika said. “Like I said, he’s doing what needs to be done.”

“I’m not talking about his business skills,” Gwen said. “I want to hear about his other skills...”

“I wouldn’t know!” Anika said, laughing.

“Come on now,” Gwen said, “it’s not just Hannah and Gemma talking—everybody knows he’s completely infatuated with you. Are you dating? Is it serious?”

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