“Then, last week, things changed. They settled down. I got pulled into HR, and I swear to god I thought I was going to get fired. But it turned out it wasn’t anything like that. The meeting was about you.”
“About me? What?” I sit up, intrigued.
“HR knew you had been hired based off of my referral and they wanted me to go and convince you to say yes when they asked you to come back. They asked me whether I had stayed in touch with you. Whether we were still friends. Whether I knew if you had already found a job or not.” She shakes her head in disapproval, the whole thing sounding a bit too… sketchy. “I told them we were on the outs. Also, I may have pointed out how manipulative that was. There was no way I was going to show up to your place and beg you to come back to work when we hadn’t spoken in weeks. When I had acted like a total bitch to you.”
“They were going to beg me to come back to work?” Why would theybegme to come back to work? Yes, I was good at my job, contrary to what Molly initially thought I would be. But it’s not like I wasn’t replaceable. Especially now, with Lena gone. I’m smart and capable, but I was only just learning and Sartoria wouldn’t have had a hard time finding my replacement.
She exhales heavily and refills her glass. Polishes off the last of the champagne. “I’ll tell you everything, but I want you to know that I’ve been wanting to apologize to you since the second you walked out of that bathroom door. I’ve felt so ashamed for how I behaved. Not just in that moment, but in general. You are one of the most resilient people I know, Bridget Quinn. And to suggest thatyou’rethe reason why shit falls apart around you was fucked up and horrible of me not just to say, but to think, too.”
“It’s not a crazy assumption to make,” I say with a self-deprecating shrug. “Iamthe common denominator in every single one of the crazy things that has happened in my life. The less-than-stable parent. The laundry list of odd jobs here and there and how I lost them. The list of men I thought would change but never did.”And the one I thought was perfect but broke my heart.
“Stop. While that may be true that you’re the common denominator, it’s purely coincidental. You are… an exceptional woman. A great friend. And a fantastic employee. I don’t know what came over me that day—that place is toxic and warps my thinking sometimes—but I do know that you didn’t deserve it. And you deserve much better from a friend.”
“Thank you.” I sniff.
“Everything I said was all about me and my insecurities. Not about you.”
I nod and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close into a hug I think we’ve both been needing for a while. “Thank you for being honest.”
When our long hug is over, she breaks the silence first. “I saw on socials you have a new job. At Houston’s Closet, right?” I nod and Molly smiles. “I feel like that’s perfect for you.”
“It really is. I need to tell you all about it.” And for the first time in a while, I feel a genuine smile spread across my face. “The pay is nowhere near as much as what I was making at Sartoria, but I love it.”
“That’s amazing, Bridge.” She smiles, but it’s quickly followed by a sigh. “I’m jealous you found something you love. Because that meeting I had with HR was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. It made me realize what a manipulative place we worked in and how it had turned me into someone I didn’t like. I just…” She shakes her head. “I don’t know what got into me. The competitiveness. The betrayal. Like, it’s not a soap opera or a high stakes industry. We’re not?—”
“Saving lives,” I finish the sentence for her.
This makes her laugh and bump her shoulder against mine. “Exactly. So I quit. Immediately, I wanted to call you, but I felt I needed time. To work on myself. To work out what I wanted to say, exactly. And I knew that whatever had happened at work must’ve been serious enough that you probably wanted your space, too.”
“Yeah. It was… a lot.”
“But I’m here now for myself and for you and for our friendship. I want it back. I want you back. I want to be friends again. Do you think you can forgive me?”
I reach out and wrap my arms around her. Hold her once more, eyes squeezed shut. “Yes, Molls. Of course. We’re human. We all make mistakes. And I’ve seen firsthand what that place can do to people. Let’s give this a second chance.”
“Thank you, Bridge.” She pulls away and smiles, eyes red.
“Now that we can put this all behind us…” I get to my feet with more excitement than I probably should. “Can I show you something amazing for dessert?”
She laughs and sniffles, wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “Sure. You have frozen thin mint cookies or something?”
“Even better.” I run to my kitchen cupboard and pull out the jar of peanut butter and Nutella.
* * *
“I appreciateyou coming here to see me. To apologize after everything,” I tell her between spoonfuls of peanut butter and chocolatey goodness. “I… I’ve been going through a rough time lately—I don’t just mean the craziness that happened at Sartoria, which I promise to tell you all about one day—but just… I’d been seeing this guy…”
A slow smile spreads across Molly’s face. “I thought so. All the giggling while texting. How busy you were on the weekends. The goofy smiles at your desk when you spaced out.”
I sigh wistfully, a flood of memories with Will—good ones—filling my brain. “Yeah. He was… He was amazing.”
Molly frowns. “If he was so amazing then what happened? And why didn’t you tell me?”
I feel my face twist in pain. “I don’t even know where to begin,” I confess. “I guess I didn’t tell you at first because he worked for Stevenson.”
Molly gasps. “What?”
I laugh once. “Yeah. We kind of met through work. Which is why we agreed that it would be a conflict of interest given everything that was going on between the two companies. Neither one would approve. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to put you in the uncomfortable position of knowing I was doing something wrong. But also… it was all so amazing, part of me just wanted to keep it to myself. I know that doesn’t make sense, but I wanted to hoard my relationship. Protect it, you know?”
