Page 15 - TruthAboutLyingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
He had laughed when she said it. Then he hadn’t spoken to her for two years.
Now he picked up the laptop, tucked it under his arm, and walked out.
The elevator ride down felt like descending through his own crimes.
Nineteenth floor: the pharma company that hid trial results.
Fourteenth: the mayor who wept on camera and gutted housing protections three months later.
Seventh: the conference room where he first met Rachel, back when she still believed he had a soul worth rescuing.
The doors opened to the lobby.
Gina, the security guard, looked up from the desk.
“Leaving early today, Mr. Talbot?”
“Leaving permanently, Gina.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Everything okay?”
The old Henry would have smiled.
Fine. Just time for a change.
The new Henry, if that was what he was, couldn’t do it.
“No,” he said. “Nothing’s okay. But I’m trying to fix that.”
He pushed through the revolving doors into the sharp April air. Wind from the lake funneled between the towers, catching at his coat.
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