Tessa had never been a touchy-feely person, so I was surprised and warmed when she slung her arm around me and walked me from her front door into her living room the next night. She was tall, though not as tall as Cole, and her arm wasn’t nearly as thick, but her embrace was much more comforting than that Judas’s had been yesterday. Tessa would never betray me like he’d done.
Why was I even thinking about him? He was dead to me.
“Bridget.” They said my name in that mournful tone I hated, especially from my friends. It was the same one people used when they’d come over with their casseroles and shopping bags of hand-me-down clothes after Dad lost his job.
“You assembled the Goddess Gang for this?” I asked. I regretted texting Tessa on my way out of the building today. As comforting as commiserating with my friends would be,allowing them to see my humiliation made me itch. I scratched my wrist.
“This is what the Goddess Gang is for,” Tessa said. “Solace and problem-solving.”
“And snacks!” Savannah sang out, pointing to the coffee table, where there was sufficient chocolate for me to eat my feelings.
“And wine.” Carly lifted a glass to me. I seized it and took a gulp that burned down my throat.
“What aretheyhere for?” I pointed at the guys in Tessa’s kitchen: her boyfriend, Oliver; Carly’s fiancé, Andrew; and Lucie’s man, Danny.
“They’re trying to figure themselves out,” Tessa said. “Andrew thinks they should be the Guys’ Gang, but Danny wants them to be the Compagni, and Oliver thinks they should be the Fellowship. He’s such a nerd.” But her eyes went all soft when she said it. “Regardless of what they call themselves, they want to help. Specifically, they want to help you. It’s kind of sweet.”
I scratched the inside of my elbow. “Does everyone need to know about my humiliating problems?”
She shrugged. “They’re sleeping with us. They already know.”
Fucking pillow talk.“Fine.” I flopped into an armchair. “Fix my problems. First, I need a reputation rehab. Then, I need a new job. Is anyone hiring a CEO? Or a COO? Even a director? I can’t afford to be picky at this point.”
“Okay, folks.” Tessa raised her voice. “We need ideas, and we need resources. Bridget was fired. First order of business: finances.”
“I want to see a copy of your employment separation agreement,” Justine said. “I’m not an employment lawyer, but I’ve brokered a ton of marriage separation agreements. I cantake a first pass and then ask a colleague to find more holes in it.”
I pulled the folder out of my tote and handed it to her. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay for cash?” Tessa asked. “Because I can give you whatever you need.”
“I should be all right,” I said, “for a little while, anyway.” My family’s gifts were already wrapped under my parents’ Christmas tree.
“I could analyze your portfolio,” Andrew said. “Ensure you’ve got it set at a risk level you’re comfortable with under your current circumstances.”
“I—thank you,” I said. I hadn’t thought about protecting what I had. “That’d be helpful.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with money,” Savannah said, pushing a tray of chocolate-frosted cookies in front of me, “but I’ll stock your freezer with heat-and-serve meals so you don’t have to worry about cooking.”
I clutched her hand. “That’s kind of you. Thank you.” I grabbed a cookie off the tray and bit into it. My shoulders lowered as the chocolate melted in my mouth.
“Okay,” Tessa said, “that’s your current situation started. What about the future? Who has leads on a new job?”
“I know a lot of people in biotech,” Oliver said. “Have you ever considered working in that industry?”
“Do you think my skills would transfer?” I asked.
“Mine did,” Tessa said. “It’s not too different from tech. Operations is operations, right? You’ll have to do a little extra research.” Research was Tessa’s forte. I supposed I could do it, especially with her help.
“What about your foundation work?” Carly asked. “Could that become a full-time job?”
“I’m only a volunteer,” I said. “Though the foundation has some paid positions.”
“I’ll ask Audrey if she knows any nonprofits looking for an executive director,” Carly said with a grimace. “She knows everyone.”
“Wait,” Lucie said. “We need to talk about the elephant in the room. That asshole coworker of yours. The one who stole your job.”
“Cole Campion,” I said. His name felt different on my tongue tonight. In his bed, he’d wrung it out of me with pleasure. Now, the consonants were sharp as icicles.
