“Ya huh.” He spun on his heel and followed me out, signaling he’d hold it and close it for me. 

We walked, in what felt like an awkward silence that I didn’t understand, all the way to the elevator. Quite a few people in the building we used were coming and going, so that helped a bit. As soon as we stepped out onto the street Chris finally spoke.

“Do you want a ride? Maybe we could grab something along the way.”

If this were any other errand, I would accept. But the last thing I needed were questions on why I was drawing out so much money.

“No, I’m good. I might just walk. The weather is nice right now, and traffic is horrible around here anyway.” I laughed softly. “This will probably be faster.”

“True. Alright. I’ll see you later.”

He leaned in and kissed my cheek, which was new, and sweet. I kissed his back. With one more wave, I turned and walked away from him. I did my best not to lose my balance in my heels, since I felt his eyes on me still. I hadn’t planned on walking, but it was too late to order an Uber, and I couldn’t exactly say I would rather take a cab. He knew I hated cabs. I may or may not have gone on a rant about one at the beginning of a team meeting a few years ago. After that, it had been a long-running joke.

By the time I made it to the bank, nearly 20 minutes later, I wanted to burn every pair of high-heeled shoes in the world and murder whoever invented them. I was so tired that I didn’t even complain when they said I would have to sit and wait for someone to come talk to me, since I was pulling out so much money.

I gave them my preplanned spiel about helping pay for my Dad’s nursing home, but I was trying to do it without him knowing. The plan was to deposit it into his bank account with his next retirement check. Yes, the amount was much larger, but he was getting older. As long as he saw a deposit slip, he was fine. He wouldn’t look at the amount. The banker thought it was an odd idea but hoped it worked out for me. 

So. Did. I. 

This time, I ordered an Uber to drive me back across town. My hour was just about up. And, thankfully, Chris was nowhere around. 

I stayed a little later that night - my nerves made me want to put off going - than I normally would. Around 7 pm, the last straggler left, along with the last of the three senior partners, Gary. I had no more reasons to stay, nor did I want anyone to think I was up to anything fishy. 

I ordered another Uber and sat in the lobby to wait. My phone rang not long after my butt hit the chair. With a smile, happy for the distraction, I answered Katia’s call.

“Hey, Kat. What’s up?”

“Hey, yourself. How was your first official week as a partner?”

I smiled, feeling more at ease now. “Exhausting. But rewarding. I absolutely love it.”

“Awesome. Now, tell me… what was the best part?”

I laughed. “Easy. Hacking into a brokerage firm with the CEO sitting across the table from me. They thought they already had the best cyber security. I proved them wrong.”

Katia cackled from the other side. “I still say you would have been rolling in the dough by now if you wanted to go rogue.” 

“Eh. Maybe, but that is not me. Honest to a fault.”

Seriously, I hacked into a school bully’s TikTok account once, fully planning on messing with him. It was payback for him being a royal turd to my girl. But… I chickened out. It wasn’t that I was afraid of getting caught, I knew I wouldn’t. It was more just the idea of lying about it that bothered me. It was wrong. Besides, then I would have been the bully. The kid was a butthead, but that didn’t mean I had a right to be one as well.

“Psh, honesty is not a fault. It’s an honorable trait. Don’t believe me, check your position at work. No way they would have promoted you if you weren’t as awesome as you are.”

I giggled. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Anything new with you?”

“Not really. I’m pregnant again.” She let that bomb out in a sigh. “Two months already, too.”

My jaw dropped. “I thought you guys decided you were done?”