Page 69 of Santa Has a Six-Pack
“Correct. Because there’s nothing to tell.”
“Sure there isn’t, sweetie.” She pats me on the cheek. “You just let me know when you’re ready to talk. See you at lunch!”
I roll my eyes at her.
When Dottie’s gone, I turn to Keira. “Well, lunch awaits. Shall we?”
I’m not convinced Keira even hears me. She’s watching Eugene and Matt bundling up the kids, that dreamy look still in her eyes.
“It’s nice to see male friendship like that, isn’t it?” she says. “They seem to always have each other’s backs. I’m not used to seeing that. Tagg’s friends are all douche canoes.”
I hold myself back from saying, “That’s because Tagg himself is a douche canoe.” Instead, I agree and say, “Yeah. It is nice to see.”
“What’s-her-name doesn’t deserve him,” Keira says.
“We’re going to keep calling her what’s-her-name, huh?” I joke.
“We are.” Her face is stone when she says it.
Eugene notices Keira watching him and gives a little wave as he exits. Keira waves stiffly, embarrassed, and immediately looks away.
“So, lunch?” she says, acting as if nothing just happened.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “Let’s go.”
We start walking toward the elevator closest to the conference room.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Keira’s pace picks up considerably. “If it’s about the marketing campaign for the Spring sneaker rollout, I’m way behind and have nothing to share.”
I scoff. “No, it’s not about the—hey, could you slow down for a second? This is serious.”
She stops and faces me. “What is it?”
Geez. She’s all fired up.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine, yeah. Is that your question?”
“No. I was wondering… did you, um—Did you ever tell Eugene about the affair? Sorry, I know you don’t like that word. What are we calling it?”
“I’ve decided to call it The Betrayal,” she says.
“I like it!” I chirp, then backtrack. “I mean, I hate it obviously, but…” I soften my voice. “Did you end up telling Eugene about The Betrayal?”
“No.” Keira sighs. “I didn’t.”
“Do you think maybe you should?”
“I don’t know!” She covers her face with her hands. “I planned to! That was the whole reason I went to Bossfit in the first place, because I found out she was connected to one of the owners.”
“Wait. I thought you went there the first time because you wanted to invite them to the auditions?”
“Nope!” She shakes her head. “I was on a one-woman mission to expose what’s-her-name to her fiancé. But then I saw him—Eugene, I mean. He just seemed so kind, you know? He had this openhearted energy and this trusting face and… I just couldn’t do it. In the moment I decided, ‘Well, they’re hot, so I might as well invite them to audition for World’s Fittest Santa while I’m here.’”
It’s weird to think that if Keira hadn’t gone on that thwarted mission that day, I might never have met Matt.
