He looked exactly like the photographs Sarah had shown me. His suit was expensive, his watch flashed whenever he moved his hands, and his hair had the carefully casual look that required more effort than he probably admitted. He stood in the center of a circle of people, holding a glass and explaining something with the confidence of a man accustomed to being listened to. Sarah laughed loudly at one of his remarks and glanced around to see who had noticed.
I felt an unpleasant tightening in my stomach, not because he was more impressive than I was, but because I was watching a life that had been happening beside mine while I believed I was engaged to someone faithful. Liam had not forced Sarah to do anything, and I refused to treat him as the sole reason our relationship ended. Still, seeing them together gave the affair a reality that a confession at a family dinner somehow had not.
Mark appeared beside me and handed me a drink. "We can go downstairs if you want," he said.
"I'm okay," I told him. "Jenna deserves a birthday where people don't spend the evening avoiding each other."
"That's a noble idea," he said. "Just remember you're allowed to leave whenever you feel like it."
I stayed. I made a point of not watching Sarah, although every so often I caught movement at the edge of my vision and knew she had crossed the room. I heard Liam tell someone he was preparing for a major financing round, then claim he had investors in Singapore and London. He used phrases like market disruption and strategic partnerships with the practiced rhythm of somebody reciting a pitch he had delivered too many times.
A woman near him asked what his company actually did. He smiled and said it was complicated, but at its core it connected early investors with opportunities ordinary people never saw. She asked what sort of opportunities. He laughed and told her that if he explained it all at a birthday party, he would have to start charging consulting fees.
Several people laughed, but the woman did not. I noticed that because the question seemed reasonable and because I worked in a field where somebody who could not explain the basic purpose of a project usually had a problem. I reminded myself that I was not there to investigate Liam. I was there to wish Jenna a happy birthday and then go home.
Later I was at the dessert table when two of Sarah's friends came close enough that I could hear them over the music. One said she was worried about Sarah because Liam kept promising an exciting trip and then canceling it at the last minute. The other mentioned that Sarah had begun paying for dinners and lending him small amounts to cover what he called temporary cash-flow problems. They lowered their voices when they noticed me, and I pretended to be studying the cake.