Page 17 of Emergency Exit
“OK,” said Forest, standing up, “thanks, Ash. I really appreciate it. Don’t let us keep you. I know you’re busy.”
Which might have been meant as a polite thing to say, but it gave Ash flashbacks to when Forest was in the eleventh grade and wanted Ash out of the room so he could make out with Jenny Tomlinson.
“Any time,” said Ash. Forest had seemed stressed lately, but Ash wasn’t sure this nanny was the answer. Hell, judging from the nose ring and Doc Martins, Ash wasn’t sure Chloe evenwasa nanny.
The thought nagged at him all the way home, and by the next day, he’d decided he needed to talk to Rowan.
6
Harper
Patterns & Colors
Harper stared at her clothing rack with a frown.
Ash had texted details for their date, including the scheduled pick-up time and his getting dressed time slot, in case she found that helpful, which she did. She had thoroughly perused Ash’s thoughtfully prepared dossier. It was way better than the dating profiles she’d been dejectedly sorting through. Now, she had his stats, preferences, and quirks at her searchable command.
Focused on her clothing options, she answered her phone on autopilot when it rang and instantly regretted it.
“Hey, Mom,” said Harper, bracing for whatever unpredictable but negative thing would come next.
“You could sound more excited to talk to me.”
“Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out what to wear for my date. I was thinking.”
“You have a date?” Yvonne’s voice went up in intonation.
“Mm-hmm.”
“With who? How’d you meet him? What does he do?”
Ash’s self-described work title was Investment Manager, which was probably accurate but seemed vague. She wasn’t sure it would mean anything to her mother.
“I met him in an elevator on the way to a party, and he’s an Investment Manager.” She tried to sound confident. If she couldn’t say it to her mother, she probably wouldn’t be able to say it to Ash’s friends either.
“Oh, nice. A banker like Cooper. OK, well, don’t wear one of your Rainbow Bright outfits. Be tasteful.”
Harper looked longingly at the green dress she loved. Her mom might be right. Ash had seemed to know a lot of bankers. Then she remembered his dossier. He loved all the colors. Harper pulled the green dress off the hanger.
“Where is he taking you?” asked her mother as Harper surveyed her shoe options.
“He is taking me to a work event, and then we’re going to a noodle house called Reckless.”
“What’s a noodle house?” asked her mother, sounding skeptical.
“A place that I couldn’t get into last month,” said Harper, knowing it would matter to Yvonne. What Ash had actually said was to pick something that made her happy. She’d picked noodles, and Reckless was the best noodles he could think of.
“Well, that sounds promising! OK, I won’t keep you, but just remember to be nice and compliment whatever he’s into and show an interest. Men like that.”
“OK,” said Harper, knowing better than to argue.
“Even if it’s crypto,” said her mother. “Don’t do the thing.”
Harper had once tried to point out to one of her stepfather’s friends that crypto bordered on a pyramid scheme and a scam, and they were still complaining about how she had almost ruined the friendship.
“He isn’t a crypto bro,” said Harper. “He does tech investing.”
“Fantastic!”
