He leans down and kisses my forehead before saying his goodbyes and exiting the apartment. Dani locks the door behind him and joins me on the couch. “So, how’d it go? Did you tell him?”
Sighing, I throw my head back against the couch. “No. Of course, I didn’t. I chickened out like usual. We did make good use of the alone time, though.” I look at Dani and smirk.
“Oh my God,” she exclaims. “You know it’ll be better if you talk to him before things explode in your face. It’s never worked out well for you in the past.”
I agree with her, but it’s a lot harder than she thinks. Dani has always been able to voice her worries and opinions easily. I’m the exact opposite.
“Well,” she continues. “I’m glad I was able to provide you two with some alone time.” She winks and we both laugh, but then Dani’s face twists into one of worry.
“Whoa, what’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up straight once more.
Dani shifts uncomfortably and faces me. “I went to the corner bar to grab a drink with colleagues, but they never showed. But someone else was there and it was…weird.”
“Weird? Weird how?”
“Well, she started asking oddly personal questions about you, actually.”
Me? Other than Dani, people at work, and the woman who works at the coffee shop across the street, no one in the city knows anything about me. Who would be interested in knowing anything about me?
My brows droop with confusion as she continues. “She wanted to know how long we’ve been friends and what we do in our downtime. Just generic things like that, but I’ve never seen this woman before.”
“What did she look like?”
“Shoulder-length reddish hair, freckles galore, and green eyes. She seemed friendly enough, but then the questions started, and I got a weird feeling. I didn’t answer her questions, but I had a few of my own that she wouldn’t answer. I don’t know.”
Sherry fucking Wilson…My jaw clenches, and I can feel my skin heating up. When is enough, enough? Why can’t she just leave me alone and worry about her own pathetic life?
“What? Do you know who it is?” Dani asks excitedly. She has always been about drama, so this is going to be a very good night for her. I want to scream…I want to find Sherry.
“Yes. I work with her. She’s been giving me dirty looks since I got my promotion and then confronted me in front of Jon’s building. She wants to blackmail me because she’s jealous I got the job and she didn’t. She even called me a fucking office tart.” I let out a little laugh, but only because I finally realize how ridiculous all of this sounds.
Dani’s eyes widen, and her mouth slightly gapes as I continue. “I guess she’s going to every length to try and blackmail me.”
“Oh, hell no. I’m taking over this one.” She stands and grabs her computer before returning to her seat beside me on the couch. “Okay, ready to do this? I can beat her at her own game.”
“Let’s do it.”
Her fingers work vigorously as she types and scrolls through search engines and social media platforms. Anything to find her and something I can use against her.
At first, we find nothing except dead ends. Maybe this is just a lost cause. It’s hard for me to admit defeat, especially against someone who doesn’t deserve to win. I slump down into the couch and sigh, ready to give up and call it a night.
“Hold on!” Dani practically yells, and I shoot back up and look at the screen. “It’s an article from a few years ago.”
I scan the article and begin to read aloud. “Sherry Wilson, thirty, was arrested on March 20th. The victim, Charlie Smith, has pressed charges of harassment and damaged property. He’srequested a restraining order against Miss Wilson as charges are pending.”
I’m in shock the further I read. She broke into this man’s house and even spray-painted his car. It reads that she didn’t do any jail time, but she has a restraining order against her and a record. I’m ecstatic that we were able to find something on her.
While it makes sense, due to how insane she’s acting now toward Jon and me, I don’t understand how she was able to get a job at Clark’s with a record.
I pray that she isn’t a repeat offender. Maybe I should fear for my safety. If she’s willing to do all that, who knows what she’ll do to me?
19
ELIZABETH
I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured Sherry’s smug little smirk and the way she thought she owned the board. This morning, though, the script flips. She won’t see it coming.
For once, I’m not the girl who hides in the background. I’m the one holding the cards. My phone is warm in my grip, the evidence tucked neatly inside, and it feels like armor.
