Chapter 10: Cindy and Will

Ryan steered me toward a couple standing near the pool’s edge. The woman was a redhead in her late twenties, the kind of pretty that made people do double-takes. She was tall and slim, wearing a bikini with more fabric than some of the others, but it still left very little to the imagination. The man beside her looked early thirties, fit in the same way most of the men here were fit, smiling as if he’d practiced it.

“Nick, this is Will and Cindy,” Ryan said. “Will used to sit in the seat you’re in now. Got the big promotion. He’s heading down to Miami soon to start up the new satellite office. He is going to be running multiple departments, the whole thing.”

Will shook my hand. His grip was firm. “Congrats on the move. You’ll like the team.”

Cindy smiled and said something polite about the weather. Up close she looked younger than I’d first thought, and quieter. Her eyes were nervous, darting past me toward the house, then to Ryan, then back. Will kept his hand on the small of her back. Neither of them looked particularly excited about Miami, even while they said all the right things about opportunity and sunshine.

Ryan clapped Will on the shoulder. “Give me a minute with him. Nick, stay here, and Cindy will keep you company.”

They stepped a few feet away. Cindy and I were left with the pool noise and the music. She held her drink with both hands and didn’t quite meet my eyes for more than a second at a time.