My Brother Kept Bragging About a Deal He’d Already Lost

in a conference room on the thirty-eighth floor while eating almonds from a paper cup and listening to Marcus send me, of all people, a smug “big week for us too” text at 11:16 a.m.

I didn’t say any of that.

“I was busy.”

Patricia let out a breath through her nose. “Well. That’s one way to say it.”

From the parlor came Marcus’s voice again, louder now.continue reading …