The Herd(21)

“Sadly, no,” I said. “Like every other straight male I know, Daniel says that all his friends are either married or ‘jackasses.’ His word.”

“Nine million New Yorkers and not one worth dating.”

She said it playfully, but I groaned. “If you go on the apps, you’ll see how much time and labor it takes to go on a single date—it’s just not where I’m focusing my energy.”

“You know I don’t care at all whether you’re seeing someone or not.” She squeezed my shoulder and we moved on to the next window. “More sister time for me.”

It was a sore spot: A few weeks back, when Mikki and I were chasing Mocktails with cocktails at a happy hour down the street, Mikki had tipsily admitted that Eleanor had remarked that I was single simply because I was too picky. But I defended you! I said you’re just waiting for the right guy! Mikki had burbled, slurping the last of her third margarita. I’d changed the subject, but her words stung.

“It feels good, right? Being back in the same city,” I said. We approached the corner, where a woman shook a bell over a Salvation Army bucket. “I mean, I missed you when I was in L.A. and you were at NYU. But with you in Michigan this past year—it made me realize how much more fun New York is with you here.”

“I still don’t understand why you moved to L.A.” She dug in her bag and dropped a few coins into the pail. “When you graduated and I was about to move here. I feel like I ask you this every few years and I still don’t get it. Eleanor and Mikki were here, too, and it seemed all set. And then out of nowhere, at the last minute…”

This was not where I wanted the conversation to go. The night I never talked about—the one I flew three thousand miles to get away from, because I couldn’t travel back in time, couldn’t undo what I’d done. My heart sped and I shook my head. “I didn’t think I was ready for New York. I had more growing to do. But hey, we’re both here now.”

“I know, and now I can basically be your annoying coworker who talks to you all day.” She drummed her fingers together like a self-satisfied villain. “I can’t wait until I’m a real member without my weekly guest pass.”

I looked down. Eleanor hadn’t mentioned the status of Katie’s application since her weird ambush on Monday, but she had given me an odd look when I’d asked how the investigation into the defacement was going: The police said whomever sent the photos might be accustomed to working with the press. That time I couldn’t hide my eye roll; unless Katie had pilfered Eleanor’s phone, determined to screw over her powerful friend and ruin the best thing she had going for her, she wasn’t the anonymous tipster. Obviously.

“I can’t wait until they make it official either!” I said. “I’m sure it’ll happen soon. Eleanor’s just busy getting ready for Tuesday.”

“She said the same thing last night.” She held her phone out and gestured for me to join her for a selfie; we beamed at the screen. “Hey, do you know what Tuesday’s announcement is gonna be?”

“I can’t say. What’s the rumor mill reporting?”

“Just speculation. A big new partnership or something. Opening a location abroad, like the Cave just did. Aurelia said The Gaze is getting an exclusive?”

“It’s true! Not my first choice, but.” I fished a water bottle out of my bag and unscrewed the cap.

“So why them?”

I took a long sip, buying time. “Eleanor’s friends with a reporter there,” I said. “Joanna Chen. She just wanted it to be there.” I sniffed the air. “Ooh, I smell a Nuts 4 Nuts cart. Should we get some?”

She shook her head. “They smell better than they taste. You said it’s Joanna Chen?” She paused, like she was committing it to memory. “I’m gonna ask Eleanor about it on Monday. That just seems so strange.” I peered at her, frowning, and she spoke quickly: “Since The Gaze is kinda mean. But also I’ve been meaning to make a contact there. So maybe if they’re friends, she can introduce me at the event.” She threw a sideways glance at me. “What?”

We paused in front of Tiffany’s, the diamonds in the window twinkling like stars. “Katie, just be careful.”

She shook her head. “I thought networking was, like, a huge part of the Herd experience.”

“It is, and that’s great.” Suddenly the holiday lights clinging to the building lit up, blinking through tall ovals and then outward in graceful arcs. “It’s just not a great time to give Eleanor the impression you’re looking for a scoop or whatever. She’s sort of…private, as much as she can be.”

“We call that media-unfriendly,” she said. We moseyed over toward the next display. “That’s why I was curious about the Gaze exclusive. That’s all.”

“You’re not going to try to write about anything that happens at the Herd, are you?”

She didn’t stop walking, but I thought I saw her shoulders hike up. We have some extremely…high-profile members here, Eleanor had said, clearing her throat.

“What are you talking about?” Katie said finally.

“It would just be…weird. A conflict of interest. I tell you stuff in confidence, and I’m their freaking publicist. You don’t want to jeopardize anything.”