“I…I was going to call you this week. I was the one who left. Rudy’s still in the house.” She winced. “Sorry about that.”
Now I wished I hadn’t caved to their insistence to put both their names on the promissory note I’d drafted when I’d loaned them money for the house and not just hers. But I smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure your divorce lawyer will get it back for you. In fact, I’ll give you my friend Justine’s number. She’s fantastic.” When Trish pursed her lips, I had a horrifying thought. “Unless you’renotgetting divorced?”
She huffed. “I’m not that nuts. Or that Catholic. No, I’m worried about the house. I don’t think I can cover the mortgagepayment on my own. I’m hoping to get a promotion to senior librarian, but…”
“We’ll draw up new terms,” I said. “Whatever you can afford. I don’t need the money now.” I’d sunk a fair amount of my savings into my sister’s home. With what the library paid her, I wouldn’t get it back anytime soon, but she was family.
“Thank you. But there’s one more complication.” She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s early, but I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, shit.” I’d never had kids myself, but I’d seen enough of Denise’s and Megan’s experiences to know babies were expensive and difficult to manage on your own. Trish wanted kids, and although she wasn’t Catholic enough to stay in an emotionally abusive marriage, I knew she’d never terminate a pregnancy. “Well, Justine can handle that too. She’ll get Rudy to pay child support. We can pause your mortgage payments until you figure everything out.” There went next year’s vacation, but I’d never refuse my family anything.
“Thank you.” Her chin trembled again. “You’re the best.”
I was glad they’d come to me for their house loan. After what happened when our dad lost his job when we were kids, I’d sworn that once I was old enough to work, I’d support my family whenever they needed it. No one would take away what we’d clawed back. A bank wouldn’t give my sister slack, and she’d be out of her house with a baby to support.A baby.
“Congratulations, by the way.” I clasped her hand.
“Thank you. I think. It’s a lot to process.”
“You’ll make it through. Remember, we’re all here for you.”
She burst into tears, and I pulled her close, glad I’d avoided saddling myself with a husband and instead focused on my career so I could provide this support to my family. I vowed not to let Cole Campion wrest that ability away from me.
4
SCHADENFREUDE
Tenure at Apex?
Cole:Board member Ned Stone hired me last December.
Bridget:I came on as a junior marketing manager at age twenty-five, and I rose through a series of promotions to chief operating officer at age thirty-eight.
COLE
“Time for our meeting.”
Even before we’d started sharing a job and an office, I’d hated that sentence more than any other Bridget uttered. Not only were meetings a waste of time in general, but meetings with Bridget, specifically, were challenging. With everyone else at Apex, it was easy to flip on my charm. After a few minutes of shooting the shit and asking about their wife/husband/kids/pets/sports team, we’d get down to business. I’d present what I wanted as a win for them, then we’d move forward, often with the other person agreeing to do most of the work.
Not Bridget.
She asked questions. She wanted concessions. Annoyingly, she demanded that we divide the work equally. And she didn’t consider strategic thinking work. If it didn’t have a concrete deliverable, one she could touch or at least read on her screen with those irritatingly adorable reading glasses, it didn’t count.
She had an unconscious sex appeal I couldn’t ignore. If we’d met at a bar or the gym, anywhere but in my workplace, I’d have flirted her number out of her and actually called her the next day for a chance at taking her home and kissing those sweet berry-red lips. But we worked together, which meant she was off limits. I was a natural risk taker, but workplace affairs had too much chance of going off the rails and ending up with someone fired. Yet at our first meeting, she’d walked into my office with those sky-high heels and a welcoming smile, her dark hair scraped back into a low knot at her nape, revealing pale skin, oversized blue-green eyes, and a heart-shaped face. I’d been tempted to break my rule. Next to me, she looked like a fairy princess, ready to flit off through the window to sprinkle magic onto the streets of San Francisco. Then she’d opened her mouth to make a smart observation about the business, and the gorgeous firecracker had struck me speechless.
I was never speechless, so I knew I was in trouble.
I glared across the ugly brocade carpet John had left behind. “We share an office. Do we really have to schedule meetings together?”
Her smile was pure evil, like the hot pepper ice cream one of my former fraternity brothers dared me to try in Manila. Sweet and spicy, but I knew I’d pay for it later. “Scheduling a meeting is the only way I can guarantee the time is blocked on your calendar and you’re not off bothering some other department to do your bidding. I have something to discuss with you.”
“Fine.” I saved the email I was composing to my contact at Brassbound and lifted my hands from my keyboard. “What’s up?”
“Come sit.” She indicated John’s low guest chairs in front of his old desk where she reigned like a queen.
“No, thanks.” I’d sat there too many times with my knees practically tucked under my chin.
“I’m not going to shout across the office.”
