Page 3 of Emergency Exit
“I have no idea what that means,” said Colin.
“My firm provides safety planning and training for companies and municipalities on preparing for emergencies. Basically, how to safeguard your data and infrastructure, as well as continuity of operations planning—how to get back up and running as quickly as possible after an emergency. I do risk assessments and run workshops on working with federal emergency response organizations.”
“Oh.” Colin blinked, and Ash felt like laughing. He knew damn well that Colin had taken one look at Harper and pegged her for a fluff job like marketing.
“I just moved here a couple of months ago,” added Harper, looking like she thought Colin’s silence needed filling.
“Oh!” said Colin, more cheerfully this time, but Ash caught the side-long glance Colin cast his direction. He realized Colin was taking the two-month timeline of Ash and Emma’s break up and matching it incorrectly with Harper’s arrival.
“How are you liking the Northwest?” asked Colin.
“It’s great. Although, you all seem unprepared for climate change.”
“Or volcanoes,” said Ash.
“Oh,” said Colin, speechless for the third time.
“We’re going to get a drink now,” said Ash, putting an arm around Harper and guiding her away. He would probably have to correct Colin at some point, but he didn’t see any way to do it now without embarrassing everyone involved.
“Why did you let me do that?” demanded Harper. “I’m such an EM nerd. Don’t let me talk to people about work. It makes everyone think I’m a weirdo.”
Ash couldn’t help laughing. “I thought it was great. I haven’t seen Colin at a loss for words since one of the VPs at his bank announced he was going to Africa to help Africans and center himself.”
“That seems… strange.”
Ash spotted a waiter and managed to snag a glass of champagne for Harper, but by the time he turned back to get his own, the sharks had descended, and the tray was empty. Ash set course for the bar and continued his explanation.
“Colin is from South Africa. I believe his general feeling was that, one, Africa is not a country. You can’t just go visit Africa—you have to go to a specific place. Two, the entire continent does not exist for white people to resolve their existential crises. And three, if the VP wanted to help Africans, he could start by giving Colin a promotion.”
Harper chuckled. “Those are all reasonable points.”
Ash felt the knot in his neck relax again. Harper was easy to be around. Maybe this party wouldn’t be too bad if he stuck with her. He was sick of being treated like he was suffering from an early midlife crisis, and Harper acted like he was a normal human being.
A half-hour later, they were barely any closer to the bar, but Ash was seriously considering asking Harper out on a real date. She was funny, literate, sweetly goofy, and just plain beautiful. And she seemed genuinely interested in everyone he introduced her to—an enormous change from being with Emma, who would talk non-stop about herself at parties.
“Harper seems nice,” said Jill Last-Name-Completely-Lost-But-Who-Ran-a-Bank.
“Harper’s great,” said Ash confidently, but he could see the wrinkle almost forming between Jill’s eyebrows as she looked at Harper.
“It’s none of my business, but from talking to Steph, I thoughtyour breakup was a hiccup over wanting kids or something.”
“Uh... No,” said Ash, floundering for what to say. Leave it to a sixty-something grandma to plop the topic out into the open. “We had some foundational differences about how we wanted to run our lives.” It sounded stilted and bitter even to him.
Jill nodded. “Well, it’s better to recognize that now than after you’re married. And Harper seems like she has your interest in weird topics and philanthropy.”
“I don’t have an interest in weird... OK, yes, I do, but in my defense...” He couldn’t think of a defense, and his brain was also throwing up red flags—Jill also thought he was dating Harper.
“It’s usually incredibly lucrative? Yes, I know.” She chuckled. “Anyway, good for you for moving on. Harper’s sweet.”
“Thanks,” he said numbly as she moved off. They had arrived together. He’d introduced her to everyone. Ash looked around the party and realized that everyone in the room probably thought he was dating Harper. And everything had been pleasant. He looked like he’d moved on.
Ash turned to where Harper was talking to some of Mason and Steph’s friends. He wasn’t sure how to break the news to her that he was now her boyfriend. Harper smiled at him, but she had a concerned arch to her eyebrows. As the friends moved on, he approached, and Harper finished her champagne in one long gulp. She dropped the glass onto the tray of a passing waiter and turned back to him, her pleasantly polite smile sliding into panic.
“Ash,” she gasped, grasping his lapel, “whose party is this?”
Ash frowned. “Mason’s.” He pointed to where Mason and Stephanie were holding court on the gilt dragon bench known as the Wishing Chair. Harper looked at Mason and then turned back to him, her eyes wide.
“You said it was Rich’s party!”
