Maureen was at Stephanie’s desk early the following morning. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What happened?”“Nothing much.” Stephanie kept her gaze lowered, doing her best not to reveal her emotions. She’d been depressed and out of sorts from the minute she left Jonas’s office.“Nothing much? What does that mean?”“It means I don’t want to talk about it.”“You had an argument?” Toni joined her friend. The two of them placed their hands on the edge of Stephanie’s desk and leaned forward, as if what she had to say was a matter of national importance.“I wish,” Stephanie muttered, sighing heavily. “No, we didn’t argue.”“But you don’t want to talk about it?”“Very perceptive, girls.” She made busywork around her desk, inserting a pencil in the sharpener at the far edge of her desk. The grinding sound followed, but neither Toni nor Maureen budged.“I think we need to talk to the others.”“You’ll do no such thing,” Stephanie insisted, her tone determined.“Hey, come on, Steph, we’re all in this together.
