Nicole shook her head. “No, I don’t think they are. I don’t actually think they’re on great terms. We’ll have to wait for details if we want more information on how this all happened.”

Asha turned to her wife, smirking. “Nicole, I know you’ve never been with a man, but as an obstetrician, you should know this. When a man and a woman really like each other, they have this special kind of hug—”

Nicole threw a pillow at her wife.

“Anil is married,” Kamila remembered, trying to work through timelines. “It’s only been a few months since he separated.”

Asha cringed. “I don’t want to speculate or gossip, but I’d bet there was overlap.”

“You literally just speculated and gossiped, Asha,” Nicole said.

Asha waved her hand.

“This is so messed up,” Kamila said, getting angrier as she thought about all their interactions over the last few weeks. “The things he said to Jana! That stupid game of Never Have I Ever! And he drew me into it, too. I need to apologize to her. He was using me to get back at her or something. Ugh. Here we were for weeks thinking we were all friends…Poor Jana. Anil is the same as the rest of them. I don’t want to do that big party for his incubator thing on Saturday anymore. Or take his organization as a long-term Emerald client.”

Kamila bit her lip. That didn’t matter anyway. Emerald, as it was now, wasn’t going to exist much longer.

“I’m profoundly disappointed in them both,” Asha said.

“No, not Jana.” Kamila shook her head. “I mean, she’s the same old Jana—snooty, condescending, and kinda crabby—but I have no doubt Anil manipulated her. He wanted me to think Jana had an affair with her boss, when it was him the whole time! What a complete dingus! How could he say those things to the mother of his child? He’s the utter worst…He makes Octopus Dane seem like a saint.” Kamila slouched in her seat. “I’m so done with men right now. All of them.” She took a gulp of her drink.

“You’re welcome to join our team,” Nicole offered.

“I tried that in college. It was quite lovely, but it didn’t take.” She took another gulp. A long one. She looked at Potato playing next to her. Why couldn’t people be more like dogs? Dogs never had secrets or ulterior motives. Nothing but complete, earnest devotion. She wiped an errant tear that had escaped.

Asha said softly, “Kamila, what happened earlier tonight?”

Kamila exhaled. “Other men have been lying to me, too.”

“Rohan?”

Asha knew her. She knew few people could upset her this much.

Kamila sighed. “Not just Rohan. Dad too. I don’t even know how to think about what they told me tonight.”