2. The Napkin

The library on campus had its own building. It contained two floors and was practically the size of a supercenter grocery store. Despite the size, there were only a few parts of the entire place that Estelle would wander to. On the second floor, located on the west and east sides of the library, were several private rooms that students could rent out for a couple of hours. Each room held a max of six people, and there were eight available rooms at all times, or at least one could hope. The private room she was headed to was reserved almost a week in advance. Although popular, she could care less about getting her hands on a room. Her friends on the other hand felt that reviewing class material together twice a week would improve their comprehension of the course content. Still, she valued her friends, and any time she had to spend with them was time well spent.

The rooms were completely made of glass, so when she finally found private room C, she could see all three of her friends in what appeared to be the start of a heated argument. Conflict was never too far behind when James' brows would become furrowed, making him look like an annoyed cat. Typically when he looks frustrated, he's wearing a fitted button down shirt, a tie, dress pants, and a black belt, making him look like a defense attorney. Believe it or not, law students like to dress down too.

Estelle opened the door and took a seat next to her friend Emma, who was rubbing her temples, and didn't even notice her walk in.

"Well, look who it is," James started, "You're twenty minutes and forty-nine seconds late. Do you have a valid reason for your tardiness, or should I tell you pack up your office and leave?"

Satchel, who was sitting across from Estelle and Emma rolled his eyes and put his head in hands.

"Oh, get off of your high horse before you cause a scene. It'd be a shame to be kicked out like last time".

James' mouth opened and his hand right slowly rose, but he said nothing. Instead, he grabbed an expo marker off the desk and turned his back on everyone to focus on the whiteboard, which happened to be blank. Estelle and Satchel looked at each other and Satchel winked. He isn't as hot headed as James, but the boy had a talent for closing any conversation when needed.

The silence in the room must have brought Emma back to Earth as she finally opened her eyes.

"Welcome to hell, how may I be of service ma'am," said Emma.

The girls looked at each other and softly laughed. James glanced over his shoulder and glared. Emma caught him staring and shot a more menacing expression his way. He rolled his eyes and returned to the board.

"So Estelle, what happened? It's not like you to be late," Emma said.

Estelle placed the napkin Gavin had given to her on the table and started to unpack several binders and a pen.

"A man stopped me to return my phone that I had dropped, and by the time I was done thanking him, I missed the bus".

Estelle opened one of her binders, dated it, and began making herself comfy by removing her coat. Without asking, Satchel slid the napkin over to himself and raised his eyebrows.

"Looks like you did more than get your phone back. Were you going to tell us you have a date tomorrow?"

"What!" yelled James and Emma in unison.

Estelle snatched the napkin away from Satchel and buried it deep into her backpack. Her face grew hot while James quickly seated himself and Satchel sat there with a devilish grin on his face. The thought of him calling it a date made her even more flustered. She had been so worried about catching the bus and getting off at the right stop, that she had forgotten all about the napkin. Truth be told, she didn't even read what was on it yet.

Twice in one day she had become the center of attention, which was very unusual. She couldn't help but stutter, and Satchel's stupid smile made it harder for her to speak.

"Is it true? Did you get asked on a date?" asked Emma.

"No, I was not asked on a date".

She paused to think about her response. Gavin said something about going somewhere tomorrow, but never told her why. Feeling stupid for blindly accepting the favor she covered her face with her hands for a moment. Maybe Satchel was right, this place she was asked to go could be a scheduled date, or maybe the site of her grave.

"Alright, then what does the napkin say?" James asked.

Estelle reached into the bottom of her bag and carefully took the napkin out. All four of them leaned toward the center of the table to read it.

"Corner of 23rd Street and Stephens Ave. 12th Floor. Tell the receptionist that there is a new alpha in town."

Without looking at her friends, Estelle knew she was just as confused as they were. At this point, Gavin's personality was as unpredictable as the week's weather forecast. Either way, she wasn't going to get out of this conversation, but deep down, she wanted to talk about it.

"After he gave me my phone, I tried to give him money. The guy was sitting on the floor bent over, so I assumed he was homeless".

Satchel laughed, but he usually laughed at the bizarre encounters she had with people. James on the other hand went from looking like an attorney to a concerned mom.

"Do you know how dangerous that was?" said James. "That man could have easily attacked you or something".

Estelle ignored him and continued her story. "Well, it turned out that the man wasn't homeless and asked me to accompany him in a café while I waited for the next bus to arrive. Gavin's actually an owner of a company and was very nice to me. He even paid for my drink".

Suddenly Emma gasped and slightly covered her mouth.

"You met Gavin Bafford!"

On que, a librarian opened the door and asked the group to lower their voices and disappeared. The room was quiet. Emma's face had become its own ray of sunshine while Estelle looked puzzled like the boys. She watched as Emma's smile had faded when no one added on to her statement.

"Emma, speak english please," said Satchel, and James lightly nodded beside him.

Emma's posture altered slightly as she whipped her phone from her purse and typed vigorously. She then placed the phone on the table for everyone to see.

"Gavin Bafford is the CEO of Green Paw, one of the country's most popular pet product companies, and the address on the napkin matches the address to the main company building".

James scoffed, leaned back, and crossed his arms. "And how are you so sure that she really met the guy, detective Emma".

She took her phone back and started right through James.

"Because 'New alpha in town' is part of the company's slogan. I think we should be more worried about why Mr. Bafford would tell Estelle to visit the company".

Estelle had an idea as to why, and it was clear now that Mr. Bafford didn't secretly plan a date.

"I think Gavin, I mean, Mr. Bafford wants to offer me a job at his company."

Satchel laughed again, but this time Estelle wasn't amused. Instead, she gazed long and hard at her open binder. Sure, Satchel somehow gets a rise out of most things, but this conversation didn't feel like a joke. The conversation felt more like two people having a game of tug of war in her stomach. James nudged Satchel with his elbow and when he finally noticed her now sullen face, his demeanor changed.

"In the café," Estelle said, "He asked me if I could change careers knowing it would change my life, would I? I told him yes. When I agreed, I knew my life couldn't change because I'd come too far to drop everything. Although I told him that, he looked through me, and said I'm keeping myself from using my full potential."

Satchel cleared his throat, his eyes less vibrant than before.

"Are you considering dropping out?"