She rolls her eyes. “That takes nearly every name I thought of out of the running.”
I smile. I already feel lighter in Hadleigh’s presence.
She whips out her phone. “Hold please.”
“What are you doing?”
She taps a few things on her phone. “George.”
“George? Why George?”
“Oh my God, it’s his middle name. How did you not know that?” she asks. “Didn’t you google the crap out of him?”
“Is that according to Wikipedia?” I ask. “How do you even know if that’s right?”
“There’s the reporter coming to life!” Hadleigh laughs. “But yeah, Wikipedia.”
“Then I’m sure his middle name is Maxwell or something else.”
“Okay, Maxwell. We’ll call him that.”
“Fine.”
“So what’s up with Maxwell?”
“Mitch is not on board with Maxwell,” I say, swirling my straw into my glass, moving the ice around. “He spent the whole ride from the airport trying to dissuade me from seeing him.”
“Okay, how did my favorite lawyer argue his case?”
“Oh, you know, that I’m young, Maxwell is young, this whole thing could destroy my professional reputation and end my career.”
A server approaches us, smiling brightly. “Are you ladies ready to order?”
“Can we get some chips and guacamole for starters?” Hadleigh asks.
“Of course. I’ll put that in and come back to take the rest of your order shortly.”
We thank her, and then she leaves us alone.
“So Mitch was in two modes,” Hadleigh says thoughtfully.
“I detected Dad mode. What other mode are you talking about?”
“Reality mode,” she says.
I didn’t think a second tidal wave of acid was possible in one day, but it rises up within me, swirling around my vodka soda and making me sick.
“Don’t look like you’re going to puke up your drink,” Hadleigh says. “Hear me out, okay?”
“I don’t know if I want to. I don’t think I can take you agreeing with Mitch.”
“Wait, I need to step back for a moment. What did Autumn say?”
I exhale. “Mom came up to reinforce what Dad thought after I got upstairs to my room.”
“It makes sense.” Hadleigh nods.
I furrow my brow. “Weren’t you the one telling me to go for this?”