But the words coming back at me were Chad’s, and I could not reach him, and he was always, now, just on the other side of her.

Chapter 15 — You Want Me to Fail

Upstairs she arranged tomatoes in a bowl while I asked why Dubai, and she said because that is where the transaction is handled, through Chad’s company, and when I asked which company she turned around and said, “You asked me that yesterday.” “And you didn’t answer.” “I told you he has partners there.” Which is not a company.

She put the tomatoes in the refrigerator and said, “Kiki, I’m thirty-five years old.