“Almost ten years all up. I worked there in high school as a page, but I stopped when I left for college. I ended up working there again after I came back to West Heights.”
“Do you enjoy your job?” Vicki asked.
“Yes,” April replied. “It’s not like I dreamed of working at a library my whole life, but I was offered a job there after college and I haven’t looked back.”
Vicki took a sip of her drink, studying April over her glass. “Why is saving the library so important to you? The way you talk about it makes it seem like it’s about more than just your job.”
“You’re right,” April said. “The library is special to me. I have my reasons for wanting to save it.”
Vicki waited for April to elaborate. But April was reluctant to share something that personal with her.
Vicki’s words reminded April of something she had said last time they spoke. “You told me that your job was more than just a job for you too. That your promotion wasn’t about a paycheck. What did you mean by that?”
Vicki crossed her legs. “It’s a chance to prove myself.”
“To who?”
“It’s personal.”
Considering her own reticence, April couldn’t fault Vicki for being tight-lipped. Everything between them felt so tenuous, like a truce that could devolve into conflict at any moment.
As April placed her drink down on the table, her eyes fell to the chrome trinket in front of her. Somehow, it was still spinning. “What is this?”
“I have no idea,” Vicki said. “My father gave it to me.”
“Your father is the Head of Blake International, right?”
“The one and only.” There was a touch of irritation in her voice.
April pressed on. “Isn’t Oasis one of their competitors?”
“It’s Blake International’s biggest competitor in the country,” Vicki said. “I didn’t know you knew so much about the world of property development.”
“I don’t,” April said. “When I heard that you were leading the Oakmont Street project, I decided to do some research. Your family came up when I searched your name online.”
“Of course they did.” Vicki sighed almost imperceptibly. “There’s no escaping the Blake family name.”
“Why would you want to?”
Vicki didn’t answer her. Not at first. “All of this,” Vicki said, gesturing around the room. “My job, my life. You think my success is because of my family, don’t you?”
“Well, I…” April hadn’t forgotten how she’d thrown Vicki’s family name at her that day they had argued in April’s office. Or how Vicki had reacted.
“I’m not successful because of my family.” Vicki stilled the spinning chrome ball contraption with her hand. “I’m successful in spite of them.”
Silence hung in the air. April sipped her drink. It was strange, that they knew so little about each other, yet they had been so intimate, had shared parts of themselves that others never got to see.
“You know,” Vicki said, drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair. “You’ve been cutting it close with your photos lately.”
April flushed. “I thought we were keeping business and pleasure separate.”
“Actually, I said that we won’t let business get in the way of pleasure, not the other way around.”
“I don’t see what the problem is,” April said. “I’ve sent you a photo every single day like you asked. I haven’t broken any of your rules.”
“One of my rules was ‘do not test me.’”
“Maybe you should have made your rules more specific.”