She’s so determined to keep space between us that she angles her body away from the table when she crosses her legs. I’m about to put her on the spot, but I notice our company out the corner of my eye.

“What can I get for you ladies?”

Brandi looks up at the waitress who’s just bounced over. I ignore her.

“Hi. Um, I’ll have the...” She picks up the menu from the table. Her eyes move side to side and then something goes wrong. A frown flickers in and out of existence, then Brandi shuts the menu. “I’m actually not that hungry.”

I almost laugh, realizing what her problem is. It’s all over her face. “It’s on me. Go for it.”

She glances up at me and manages a smile. Then her eyes are quickly perusing the laminated pages again. It takes her so long to decide, I almost kick her in the shin to nudge her.

“I’ll take the penne pasta,” she finally says. “No parm, please.”

The waitress turns to me, smiling. “And for you?”

I ignore her and scroll on my phone, assuming she’ll get the hint.

She doesn’t. She’s still here. I look up at her. “If you want your twenty percent, I’d leave right now.”

She looks at me as if she thinks I’m trying to trick her somehow.

I glance back down at my phone.

She scoffs and walks away.

I can feel Brandi burning a hole through my forehead with her judgmental glare, but I don’t acknowledge it. “Losing the last fifteen pounds is always so hard. Skipping the cheese, good start.”

That seems to grab her attention, puts a little fire in her eyes. “I don’t diet, I just don’t eat dairy.”

She says the first part like she’s proud of that.

I reach between us for my Perrier and take a sip. “Let’s just cut to the chase. How much did you hear last night?”

A jolt of panic flashes across her face. But she recovers quickly. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“We were just joking, you know.”

She considers this for a long moment. Finally, her eyes flick up. “Joking about what? I don’t...”

She thinks I’m stupid.

I don’t know how much she heard, but by the way she seems to pull into herself, I’m guessing it was enough. I reach into my bag. “You lost this before you fled the scene.”

Brandi watches as I place the pink feather I found on the floor outside my room on the table between us.

She takes a minute, then runs the tip of her tongue over her lips as her head tilts. “This isn’t a pre-interview, is it?”