“She literally says six-month extension.”
“It’s an option.”
“An option you apparently applied for.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“I asked Bennett whether the assignment could be extended if things went well.”
“So when you sat there five minutes ago telling me three months, maybe four, you knew you were trying to stay for six?”
“I didn’t know it had been approved.”
“That is not an answer.”
“Natalie, I wasn’t hiding some affair.”
“Stop saying that like it’s the only possible thing you could do wrong.”
He fell silent.
That was the first moment I realized Susan might not actually be the biggest problem.
I pointed toward his phone.
“Why do you want six months?”
“It’s a good opportunity.”
“You already had the opportunity at three months.”
Nathan looked away.
There was more.
I knew him well enough to see it.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing’s decided.”
“What isn’t decided?”
He walked into the kitchen and began gathering plates as if dishes had suddenly become urgent.
I followed him.
“Nathan.”
He set two plates in the sink.
“Bennett mentioned the company might keep a small team in Seattle if the project works.”
“Might?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And he said I’d probably be considered to lead it.”
For a second, I couldn’t make sense of the words.
“Lead it temporarily?”
Nathan didn’t answer.
I felt something inside me go cold.
“Permanently?”
“There isn’t even a permanent position yet.”
“But there could be.”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve known that too?”
“He mentioned it when we finalized the assignment.”
Three weeks.
