Now, as she stood next to her car, Pia wondered if her nerve was failing. She could never recall such a thing, but the Nano buildings suddenly looked huge and foreboding. The sky was low and dark, which didn’t help, and she felt unwelcome. The origin of that feeling was not difficult to discern, because she had received only one piece of correspondence from Nano other than the less-than-friendly call from Mariel while she was still in the hospital. The letter confirmed what Mariel had said, that Pia would have to submit to a physical before she could restart work, but gave no timetable. Pia knew her hospital bills and physical therapy charges had been taken care of by Nano’s insurance plan, but she had no record of the transactions. In the meantime, Mariel Spallek didn’t return any calls or emails, and recently when Pia called, she received an automatic reply that the voice mailbox was full.

Pia couldn’t help but wonder if she was still a bona fide employee of Nano or if she was in a kind of limbo, such as administrative leave. She had been getting her regular pay statements through the mail, so she was still being paid, but these were coming through the bank, not from Nano directly. She had in her possession letters from both of her surgeons and the physical therapy department documenting her considerable progress. She wasn’t totally finished with her rehab, but she believed she was certainly able to work. She felt she had very little alternative to showing up in person to find out what the story was.

The threatening rain began slowly with just a few drops, then it increased. As she stood in the drizzle, trying to summon her resolve, Pia saw a familiar figure recede away from her toward the building entrance. He had pulled in after her but had parked in a reserved section.

“Jason! Hold up a second.”

Jason Rodriguez turned, saw Pia, gave an embarrassed wave, and kept walking. Pia ran after him and planted herself in front of the much taller man.

“Jason, what’s going on? Can’t you stop and say hi?”

“Late, I’m late, Pia, so I can’t stop, really.”

The man’s eyes darted left and right, avoiding Pia’s gaze.

“Paul told me you came to see me in the hospital, when I was asleep. That was kind of you. I wish you’d have come back when I was awake.”

Jason looked down momentarily and caught Pia’s eye. She could see a pained expression on his face.

“What’s the matter, Jason? You seem very uncomfortable talking to me.”

“Mariel . . .” said Jason quietly, before his voice trailed off.

“Mariel? Mariel what, Jason? Mariel told you not to talk to me? What did Mariel say about me?”