“Everything okay?” Chelsea asks when I return.
“Just give me a minute.” I don’t sit down. This is a little awkward.
“Why? Is there a problem?” she asks.
“Please, Chelsea.” I’m not looking at her either.
She practically jumps back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re acting super strange.”
Giving her a sideways glance, I bite my bottom lip. Hard.
Finally, I hear Ray enter the house. “I’ll just be one more minute,” I say, while her wide eyes follow me out of the room.
“What can I do for you?” Ray asks as I meet him in the hall.
“Chelsea wants to talk and Connie is busy with Oz. Can you be my witness to the conversation? In case there’s any confusion.”
“No problem. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, man.”
He follows me in and Chelsea stands with her hands on her hips. “What is he doing here?”
“Security,” I answer.
“Well, of course he is. I’m not stupid, but this is a private conversation. You don’t need security for that.”
“No. I need a witness.”
“You're kidding me,” she spits.
“Nope. Now, what do you want to talk about?”
She huffs and plonks herself down again. “I’m not comfortable talking in front of him.”
“Then that’s your choice.” I’m about to leave the room.
“No, wait.” She huffs again. “You really won’t back down on this, will you?”
I hold up my hands. “Take it or leave it.”
She scowls. “Have it your way.”
“Oh, I will.” I take a seat opposite her.
“After our last meeting, I took some time to consider everything you said.” She reaches into her bag and throws a brown envelope across the table.
I nod towards it. “What’s this?”
“A copy of the formal apology to Angie. The Times will be printing it tomorrow as an open letter.”
I raise an eyebrow while reading it over. “Impressive.”
“My solicitor said we should take care of it properly.”
“Your solicitor is a good guy.” I put the statement back in the envelope, but I’m happy Chelsea is admitting she was wrong. Angie didn’t deserve to be painted as the other woman. She was never that. I hope this will make her feel better.
“Is that it?” I’m about to get up from my seat.
