No Longer Anyone’s Accessory Chapter 32
Three months later.
Nadia called. Her voice carried an indescribable tangle of feeling.
“Corinne. Did you hear about Trevor?”
“What about him?”
“He finally landed at one of those bottom-of-the-barrel software outsourcing shops. Entry-level code grunt. Clearing barely over a thousand bucks a month. And every payday — the IRS and the county sheriff’s office garnish it down to nothing. What’s left over hardly covers instant noodles.”
“Hm.”
“And that loan-shark business — Ursula got formally indicted back home in Kentucky. The FBI hauled her in. Interstate wire fraud and forgery. The bank repossessed her mobile home. She’s looking at federal felony time.”
I was quiet for a moment.
“Corinne?”
“I’m listening.”
“What do you feel?”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Really?”
“Really. It’s like watching the local news cover the doings of a total stranger. It has nothing to do with me.”
Nadia let out a sigh.
“What about Kiara?”
“Kiara quit. Left California. Moved back to her parents’ place in Texas. That loan — total write-off. She had to sell her BMW just to plug part of the hole.”
“And Trevor’s tech bro friends?”
“All scattered. Not one left. Silicon Valley, when you get right down to it, is nothing but an extremely utilitarian transaction pit — nobody picks up his calls now. A few of the ones who used to hype him up are on the anonymous workplace forums using him as a punchline. The exact same crowd that was cheering him on two months ago.”
That was Silicon Valley. Four words summed it up.
“Nadia.”
“Yeah?”
“My parents are coming to London next month. You come too.”
“To London?”
“Yep. Flights and hotel, my treat.”
“The rich lady’s picking up the tab now? What even is your net worth these days?”
“You don’t need to worry about that number. Are you coming or not?”
“Coming, coming! Of course I’m coming!”
I hung up. I sat in my office chair and spun a full turn.
Beyond the window, the London sky was its usual gray-blue. Somewhere along the way, without my noticing, I’d grown used to the palette here. Not as harshly bright as California, but deep enough, steady enough.
Like me, now.
