Marley was beside me messing with her phone. “You know,” she said after a while. “As far as work stuff goes, this thing really hasn’t been so bad. I mean this is like the first real ‘work’ meeting we’ve had to do since yesterday. I can live with that.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, although my time had been so consumed by surviving Dean, I wasn’t sure I felt the same way. Being here felt like a battle for survival, and I still had our dinner to get through tonight.

“Are you going to tell me about your luxurious spa day with your perfect boyfriend? It was this morning, right?”

“It was nice, yeah. We really enjoyed ourselves.”

“You look amazing. Super refreshed.” She got a devious look in her eyes. “You two fucked, didn’t you? That’s a fresh out the bed kind of look if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Oh, no way,” I said a little too vehemently.

Marley’s brows scrunched.

“I mean, last night. Yeah,” I said quickly, then regretted it.

She smiled wide, giving me a theatrical wink and a nudge. Then she sat back and got a dreamy look on her face. “Man. I still can’t believe you landed a guy like that. I mean, not that he’s out of your league or something. That’s not what I meant. I just meant like, that guy. He’s like bigfoot or something. You see him on TV, and one time, you think you even spotted him when you were taking a piss by your tent on a camping trip, but you don’t actually believe he’s real. I mean, big foot is definitely real, but I’m just making a point. And I’m rambling,” she added when she saw the look on my face.

I laughed. “He’s just a guy. I mean,” I added. “I really like him. But he’s not some mythical creature.”

“Oh, he’s mythical.” Marley let out a wistful sigh. “And if you’re so unimpressed with him, I’ll happily take him for a spin. Jacob from HR has been hitting on me nonstop this trip. I’ll trade you, if you want. Jacob for your man beast.”

I grinned. “Who?”

Marley pointed to the other side of the room where a guy with a thinning hairline and wisps of wild, stringy hair standing up was looking our way. He saw us looking, flashed yellowing teeth, and waved.

“I present Jacob. Still want to convince me your meatstick is nothing special?”

I snorted. “God. Please don’t call him a meatstick.”

“I’d use him like one,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes, feeling a fresh pang of guilt for not telling her the truth about him. I just had to remember it was for her own good, not because I wanted to keep secrets. I didn’t want my friend getting dragged down with my mess. “Well, did you know he’s the one speaking?”

“Uh, duh. It’s on our agenda. Why do you think I’m planning to film the whole talk? You know, because I’m such a good employee and want to re-watch this to make sure I catch every not-so-little bit. I might even watch it in the bathtub tonight. Naked,” she added, as if that wasn’t obvious. “That’s how dedicated I am to my job.”