“Stop, you’re gonna make me choke.” I wheezed.
“Enough about my domestic hell, let’s get back to this meeting with the real estate guy. How much money are they offering?”
I began to tell Becks about my lunch meeting with Preston Smith. He was just as condescending and smarmy as I’d expected based on our initial meeting, but his generous offer on the farm left me with a huge dilemma. “A lot,” I answered with a grimace.
“So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that I don’t know if I want to sell it.”
“Mija, I know your family situation is fucked up, and your mother was dead wrong for keeping you in the dark all these years, but you are an adult with your own life. You’re about to be married to a state senator, buy a big-ass house, fill it with kids, host elaborate dinner parties, and invite your best friend and her surgeon husband to them so she can sit next to John Legend and Chrissy Teigen…” She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a wicked smile.
“You’re right,” I said with a sigh.
“As usual,” she said in a bored voice, popped an orange triangle in her mouth, and crunched.
“Becks, are you eating Doritos?”
“No,” she yelled. “They’re kale chips, and they’re very, very spicy!” She narrowed her eyes at me before rolling them and eating another Dorito. “So what did Teddy say when you told him about the offer?” I loaded up my chopsticks with noodles and shoved them in my mouth instead of answering her. “You didn’t tell him? Em…”
“It’s my decision. I just want some time to think things over.” Ialso wanted to know more about my grandparents and Annie, but I didn’t mention that to Becks. I thought about the picture in my desk drawer at work.
“If you and Teddy are planning to spend your lives together, you have to share everything. It’s what keeps me and Ben together. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Like very, very spicy kale chips?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes in response and ate another chip.
“That’s different, and you know it. Stop trying to deflect.” She let out a loud crunch. “How many times have I told you over the last decade to stop trying to handle everything yourself?”
“I’m not trying to handle everything myself,” I retorted. “Just this. Teddy is busy at the firm, and with his upcoming senate run… I don’t need to bother him with this.”
“Bother him?” She leaned back dramatically, rolled her eyes, and slapped her countertop. “Bother him? Emma, Teddy is crazy about you. That man worships the ground you walk on. Every time Ben talks to him, he’s bragging about how beautiful and smart you are and how lucky he is to have you. In school, you two had the kind of love everyone wanted. Emma and Teddy—destined to rule the world.” Rebecca was painting a rosy picture of Teddy’s and my relationship. I couldn’t talk about my issues with Becks because, not only was her husband Teddy’s best friend, but she also had put Teddy and me on this impossible pedestal. I was almost afraid to disappoint her by admitting that things weren’t as perfect as she thought.
“Well, I don’t know how close we are to world domination, but I promise I’ll talk to Teddy about this soon.”
“Okay, babe. Let me let you go so I can get back to my little bums.”
“Okay, Becks. Don’t eat too many kale chips.”
“Shut up.” She chuckled. “Love you, Em. Take care of yourself. Tell Teddy I said hi.”
“Will do. Love you, too.”
I tapped the red button on my screen. Rebecca disappeared and I was once again left to my own thoughts.
I was still no closer to a decision on the farm when I dragged myself into work the next morning. I’d already sucked down two venti lattes and was prepared to have my assistant grab another as soon as I got to my desk.
The elevators opened to Maxima pacing in the hallway. She practically attacked me when she saw me.
“Jesus Christ, Emma!” She grabbed me by the arm and tugged me down the hall. “Where have you been?”
“Max, what in the hell?” I struggled to keep up with her in my heels. She finally pulled me into a storage closet and locked the door behind us.
“I’ve been calling you all morning.”
“I turned my phone off last night. I needed some time to think.”
“You turned off…” Max looked like she was using all of her energy not to grab me by the shoulders and shake me until my neck snapped. “Nina is furious. She’s been looking for you all morning. Did something happen with Blake Malone?”
“Blake Malone? No.” That was one blessing in all this mess. Blake seemed to have actually kept his promise to turn over a newleaf. He was photographed with his family at the beach. His wife was sporting a new diamond ring. He’d been showing up to set on time. I couldn’t imagine why Nina would be pissed at me.
