I’m shocked by how steady my voice is when I say, “I got your wine, Ella.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Great,” Ella replies as her eyes jump between me and Ian.
Jack slaps Ian on the shoulder, still looking perplexed. “Come on, man. Let’s go in my office.”
Ian doesn’t say a word as he heads down the hallway. I watch him walk away until Ella settles on the couch next to me, breaking my fixation on his retreating back. Her stare shifts from confused to concerned, and I know I’ve let too much of my emotions show. I clear my face as best I can and force a smile back in place. “I can see why you didn’t have a problem moving in here. This house is gorgeous, and Jack isn’t too bad himself.”
Ella gives me a grim smile. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Even if I am really happy to be here with Jack.”
I curl up on the couch and take another sip of wine. Her tone suggests that I’m not going to like what she has to say. “What’s going on?”
She proceeds to tell me about how someone’s been stalking her for the last ten months or so and how it escalated to a point that Jack felt it was necessary to have her move in with him.
Ella’s also recently been fired from the company we bothworked at for reasons that I think were fabricated. From what she’s told me and the way the CFO, Craig, has been acting since she left, it seems there may be something more going on than what we were told by upper management. I’ve already started looking for a new job because it felt like things were getting weird there, but this confirms I made the right decision. The last thing I need is to be caught up in a news story about the company I work for being involved in a scandal while trying to literally hide like my life depends on it.
Because it does.
Reaching over, I grasp my friend’s hand. “Ella, that sounds terrifying. I’m so sorry that’s happening. I liked Jack before because he clearly makes you happy, but I’m even more glad you have him now.”
Ella gives me a weak smile. “Thanks, Maggie. How are things at work since I left?”
I sigh. Besides her being my only friend there and now being gone, it’s been awful. And I tell her as much. “It hasn’t been great. Everyone’s weirded out by you being fired. Craig has been an even bigger asshole than before, while the rest of the C-Suite is trying to calm everyone else down. I’m already looking for something else. I don’t want to stay there.”
She gives me a sympathetic nod. “I’m glad you’re getting out of there.” Like she has an idea, she glances over her shoulder toward the hallway. “You know, Jack’s front desk lady is retiring, and I don’t think they’ve found anyone else. I can see if he’ll interview you?”
As nice as her offer is, the thought of working there and seeing Ian every day makes me nauseous. Besides, there’s no way he would let Jack hire me, even if I thought I could do it.I mumble into my wineglass as I take another drink. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Ella chews on her bottom lip while studying me intently.
I drop my head to the back of the couch and squeeze my eyes shut tight. “Go ahead and ask me what you want to ask me.”
“I don’t want to pry, but I do have to admit that I’m curious.”
Opening my eyes, I stare at the ceiling. “I met Ian a couple of months ago.” I lick my suddenly dry lips. “To put it simply, it didn’t end well.”
“But what happened?”
I don’t lift my head when I shake it. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I look up.
“You seem like it bothers you,” she comments.
Understatement of the year.
I attempt to explain the best I can without giving too much away. “I don’t like the way it ended. And it’s bothered me ever since it happened. I wish I could change it. But I can’t.”
My words do nothing to quell her curiosity, but I didn’t want to lie to my friend. But I’m also not ready to tell her anything.
Both of us turn toward the hall as footsteps get louder as they approach. I school my features once again and get ready to play the part. Ian emerges from the dim hall and heads straight to the door. I don’t even have to fake the glare I throw his way. It hurts that he’s treated me so coldly, even if I deserve it. And now he acts like I’m not sitting right here, watching him pass me without even a glance in my direction. I don’t look back at Ella until the front door closes and Jack returns to the kitchen alone.
“Maggie, you have to tell me at some point.” Ella’s voice is soft with sympathy.
My heart cracks a little bit more. As much as it’ll hurt, I don’t lie when I say, “I will. Just not right now.”
9
Ian
