Gemotions

The leather of the car seat was slick under Leo’s sweating palms. Across the passenger seat, David was regaling him with a story about a complex deal he’d supposedly brokered. Leo gripped the steering wheel so hard the stitching started to dig into his skin. His stomach felt like a knot.

He drove past the street David said he worked on, then back again. He looked and looked, and there was nothing. No fancy building, no sign. Nothing but a parking garage and a pizza place. He felt a throbbing pulse behind his eyes.

He imagined confronting him, ripping away the carefully constructed narrative. He pressed harder on the accelerator. They passed the sign for the highway exit. He suddenly had an overwhelming desire to go somewhere, anywhere.

“So,” David said, breaking into his thoughts, “what do you think of this opportunity?” Leo stared straight ahead. The road stretched out endlessly before him. The only sound was the low hum of the engine.