I nod, feeling slightly mollified. We both spin back to our computers as we hear footsteps approaching our cubicle. I glance up to see Pierce and Nate appear in the opening.
“Brynn, this is going to sound awful,” Pierce begins, and I brace myself. “But Nate and I had plans to go to lunch, and we got down to the lobby before I realized how rude it was not to invite you along.”
Phew. For a second I thought he overheard our conversation. “Oh, that's so nice, but I actually have lunch plans with my best friend from school, anyway.”
“Oh I see…well, enjoy! There are some great restaurants around here. We just wanted to let you know you were invited,” Pierce says kindly, though from Nate's frown I'm guessing that it was more his idea than his son's. “Constance, right?” he says, turning to her.
“Yes, that's right,” she squeaks.
“Alright, well, we better get going or we'll be late for our reservation. See you at home!” Pierce says with a wave, and walks off with Nate in tow. Huh. I notice that Nate didn't say a single word to me. I guess he doesn't like being the one left wanting for once.
“Why will Mr. Thornhill see you at home?” Constance says, slowly turning her desk chair to face me, a weird expression on her face.
“Um, well, I'm his stepdaughter. He just married my mom.”
Constance gasps and buries her face in her hands. “Oh my god, oh my god, I'm so fired. I'm fired, right?”
“What? No! I don't have that kind of authority, I'm just an intern, like you.”
“You're the boss's daughter, and I was just gossiping about him!”
“Step-daughter, and I get it. If I'd heard rumors like that, I might want to warn other women I work with, too.”
“But I don't even know if they're true, I'm so sorry,” she says miserably.
“Really, it's OK. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier that I'm his stepdaughter. I just…you know, didn't want it to seem like it was the only reason I got the internship. I mean, I really do work very hard.”
“Of course you do! Of course. Yes. I should get back to work,” Constance says, turning to her computer and beginning to type rapidly.
“…And now I'm worried she's going to keep acting really weird around me,” I confide to Allison over a Caesar salad at Clyde's on M Street.
“Do you think it's true?” she whispers, leaning over the table between us.
“I don't know…I mean, maybe he was just a flirt, and it got blown out of proportion, you know?”
“I bet that's what it is,” Allison says, nodding her head sagely. “Who knows how stories like that really get started? And once they're out there, you can't erase them.”
“I hope that's what it is…I don't want to discount some woman's, or women's, experience just because it would be inconvenient for me, though, and painful for my mom. She would be so crushed if it were true.”
“I wouldn't worry about it. And that girl said they were old stories, right?”
“Right.”
“And you said he treats your mom well, so I bet they're just ugly rumors.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I reply, pushing the thought of Pierce's alleged misbehavior to the back of my brain. “How's the place you're staying at George Washington?” I ask, knowing she's taking advantage of a program at the nearby university to give summer interns a low-cost place to stay in an otherwise expensive city.
“It's fine. My roommate's kinda loud, though. How's your new house?”
“It's so big! I don't know why anyone would need that much space. I mean before my mom and I got there, it was just for two people. Well, three, including the maid.”
“There's a maid?!”
“There was. She doesn't live there anymore. Oh, and there's all this flagstone on it, so I thought it was old, but my mom said that Pierce had the house built around fifteen years ago. He must have spent a lot of money to make something so new look worn-in.”
“You're lucky,” Allison says.
“I know.”
“How's the stepbrother? I don't know if I could live with a dumb jock.”
“Well, Nate's not dumb. I've been in a few classes with him, and he's really smart. He was even waitlisted for a Lawn Room.”
“You're a little defensive of him,” Allison observes, sipping her water.
“Yeah, I guess so. I don't know why though. He's been playing these weird mind games with me.”
“Mind games?” she repeats, frowning. I push a crouton around my plate as I think about how much to tell her. I have a feeling it's not the kind of situation she'd condone, but I also really want to talk to someone about what's been going on.
“Well, you remember that I used to have a crush on him?”
“Yeah, I remember you saying something about it sophomore year.”
“I…I still have a crush on him. Or I think I do…I don't know. I'm definitely attracted to him, and he's aware of the fact. He can be really rude, and then last night, he almost kissed me, but he…”
“Whoa, what? I mean, Brynn, he's your stepbrother.”
“I know! But only for the last few weeks, and—”
“OK…but what if you did kiss? What then? You'd have to see him every day, because your mom and his dad are married. And then even if you weren't living together, what about holidays? You'd be cutting the Thanksgiving turkey and sitting across from the guy you'd made out with…for every Thanksgiving.”
“Ugh, you're right,” I reply, dropping my fork and covering my face with my hands. This is why I didn't want to tell Allison—she'd throw logic in the face of my hormones. But the truth is, she's right. I feel like a bucket of cold water has just been poured over my head. “You're right,” I repeat. “I can't believe I even let it get this far.”
I head back to the office after lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in an awkward silence with Constance. I try to get her to engage about online shopping, but she only offers me one-word responses. Later in the day I meet another intern named Greg, a cute, strawberry-blonde guy who blushes when I look him in the eye. He is more the kind of person I should be looking to date. I just wish I felt that same rush that I do whenever I'm around Nate.
I drive home just after six in the old Audi that was just sitting in the Thornhill's garage. It's definitely the most expensive car I've ever driven, and it's fun to really let out the engine on the short stretch of the Beltway on my way back to Potomac. I park in the garage and let myself in to the small anteroom off the kitchen, where I kick off my shoes.