Mr. Langford fired me.
Not only did I lose Maverick in this whole mess, I also lost my job.
I thought I’d have something to return to here. I guess I’d already been replaced in the Chicago office, and he didn’thave a space for me—or losing the position in Vegas told him everything he needed to know about me.
So it’s one more thing to wallow over. One more thing I’ve lost. One more reason I should have listened to my initial gut instinct when Langford first told me about the job in Vegas.
When I say shemade mecome over, I mean it. It wasn’t at gunpoint or anything dramatic like that, but she told me I wasn’t allowed to sit at home by myself on a Saturday night, and she’d either pack up the boys and bring them to my place—which shereallydidn’t want to do—or I could come there. Those were the two options she gave me, and as much as I want to sit at home cursing my life, she’s right. It’s not healthy to wallow alone.
The ice cream and tequila don’t really go together. At all. Both options are working hard to heal what’s broken…but it’s not working.
A night with my best friend—wallowing under a blanket in front ofhertelevision rather than my own as we watch a sappy rom-com together—is helping a little. I’ll spend the night in her guest room, and we’ll spend the day together tomorrow entertaining the kids. I want to help give her a little break since her deadbeat nearly ex-husband currently only sees them every other weekend, and I have a plan to steal them away to take them to the movies tomorrow so we can gorge ourselves on popcorn and slushies while we watch the latest and greatest animated movie. I can be cool Auntie Ev and fill them with sugar and carbs before I send them back home.
And then I can return to my lonely existence and wallow on my own some more.
I blow out a breath as I feel myself not looking forward to that at all.
“How are you doing?” I ask Penny, if nothing else to get my mind off of my own problems, as she slips onto the stool at her counter beside me.
“I’m hanging in there. I just want this thing finalized so I can move on with my life, but Brent’s making things incredibly difficult.”
“What’s he doing?” I ask.
“He’s dragging everything out. Arguing every point. He wants to see his kids every other weekend, but he also wants authority on making decisions. He’s disputing every single thing my lawyer comes up with. Child support, division of assets, you name it.” She sighs heavily. “I’m afraid I’m going to give in on things I shouldn’t just to be done with his bullshit.”
I dig around in my bowl for some chocolate. “I’m sorry. What about the viral video? Can’t you push things forward with that evidence?”
“Not really. It doesn’t show him endangering our children or anything. It just shows him being a stupid cheating son of a bitch, and apparently there’s nothing illegal about that.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That sucks. But the good news is he’s out of this place, and you don’t have to deal with him every day.”
“Yeah. But the bad news is that he wants to sell it and force me and the kids to relocate.” She purses her lips, and she looks like she’s going to start crying.
“Can you buy him out?”
She shakes her head. “I make decent money at Langford, but not enough to buy him out. Not when our finances have been combined for the last ten years.”
“Can I buy him out?” I ask.
Her brows twitch, and her head whips over to me. “What?”
I shrug. “I have a trust fund, and I want to help. I’ve heard real estate is a good investment.” I say it for her benefit. I don’t want her to feel like it’s charity, but my best friend deserves a fresh start, and if I can be the one to give it to her, I will.
She shakes her head. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask,” I point out. “Look, I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to do it. If you don’t like the idea, then you can come stay at my place for a while until you can get on your feet. But I don’t want you to have to uproot the kids when they’re already going through a lot of changes.”
“Can I think about it?” she asks, snagging her lip between her teeth.
I nod. “Of course. The offer isn’t going anywhere, Penguin.” I try to be creative with my nicknames for her. Since her full name is Penelope, I go with anything that starts withPen. You know, like Pencil, Pensive, Penchant, Penalty, Penicillin, Peninsula, or Pennylicious. But Penguin is probably my favorite.
She giggles. “Whateverleigh, Everleigh.”
I wrinkle my nose. I’ve heardEvie-boo,Neverleigh,Beverly, andForeverleighfrom this girl, butWhateverleighis a new one.
“It’s a no?” she asks.
“Sorry my name doesn’t lend itself well to nicknames.”
