Jane bristled and ground out her cigarette. It wasn’t that she expected Chloe wouldn’t talk about it, but it was the first time anyone outside the station had mentioned it, and it made the loss of the show more real; the story of the cancellation had a life of its own, and she couldn’t control it. “I appreciate her sympathy, but obviously, it had nothing to do with her.”

Tim took another big swallow of his Diet Pepsi, bobbed his head, and said, “Yeah, that’s what I told her. I told her they must have had the whole cancellation planned way before they accepted her proposal for a show.”

Jane felt her face flush. At the counter, one of the men got up and walked toward the door while the remaining two advised him to board up his windows, assuming he’d taken down the boards from the last storm. The butter and syrup and grease from the bacon were starting to congeal on her plate, and the sight of the hardening puddles of slime made her feel queasy. The subject of Chloe’s contrition seemed to have broken through Tim’s wall of silence; he was talking, or his lips were moving anyway, although Jane was having a difficult time hearing the words that were coming out. She was bargaining with herself, trying to talk herself out of this hot, senseless rage she felt toward Chloe, all tangled up with the sick feeling in her stomach. Jane hadn’t had any long-term hopes for Dinner Conversation, and some tiny piece of her—carefully tucked into a far corner of her body—was happy for Chloe. But for Christ’s sake, the least she could have done was tell her she was actually setting up meetings, writing proposals, and pitching some of the ideas she had tossed around with Jane. She could have been adult about the whole thing and come to talk with her after David had broken the bad news about Dinner Conversation. Jane motioned the waitress over to their table. “I’m done with this,” she said, indicating the mess on her plate.

She watched the waitress gather up the dish and her silverware. For her own sake, someone should sit Chloe down and have a talk with her, tell her how to behave, how to avoid burning bridges, how to take advantage of her advantages without burying a lot of people in the process. Maybe this afternoon when they got back from Anderton’s daughter’s house, Jane would take her out for a drink and a heart-to-heart.

The door to the coffee shop opened, and Chloe walked in.