All it took was one husband with a wandering eye and loose hands making a pass at me. I never would have imagined my friend would believe the lies her husband told to cover it up after I’d told her what happened. He’d said that I was the one who’d tried to kiss him in their jacuzzi while she went inside to get snacks.
Never would I have thought that the rest of the girls would follow her lead to protect their husbands against me. That’s how I lost my best friends, except for Angie, who was never close with those other girls, anyway.
Unfortunately, Angie didn’t live near me anymore. She’d moved around a bit since college and currently lived in San Francisco. We talked often enough over the phone, but it wasn’t the same as having her over almost daily like during our high school years.
I sent up a quiet prayer for the women from the bar—for their easy laughter and their loyalty to each other. And maybe, a little selfishly, for myself too.
The next morning,I woke up with a hangover. I hadn’t drunkthatmuch, but there I was with a pounding head. I took two ibuprofen, ate breakfast downstairs, and lay in bed until my alarm jolted me awake again.
By noon,I was waiting in the lobby with my tablet and notes when I spotted Colin coming in from outside. At the same time, one of the women from the bachelorette the night before stumbled past, asking the front desk for coffee. She looked my way, opened her eyes wide in recognition, and waved. I waved back.
“A friend?” Colin asked, joining me at the table.
The woman nodded in an exaggerated manner and gave me a thumbs up of approval at Colin. I bit my lip and ignored her, returning my attention to him.
“Just someone I ran into at a bar last night and shared a couple of Cosmopolitans with,” I said.
“Ah. Sounds like you had a good evening.” He sounded sincere, and then I remembered I should try to cross him off the suspect list.
“Yes, it was unexpected. So… any news about Maggie?”
I waited with bated breath for his response, itching to study any vocal spasm or facial twitch that might betray something.
He simply shook his head. “No. And it is strange, from everything I know about her. I hope she’s well.”
Something in his tone made me wonder if he already knew more than he let on.
I got little chance to ask anything else, as he steered the rest of our conversation, bringing up every possible scenario for that evening’s meeting. He wanted to discuss every fact, proposition, and number that I’d be presenting that evening.
“I’m asking you to repeat yourself a lot right now, but I like to be prepared,” he said, sitting back for the first time since I’d met him.
But he was wearing a suit and tie again.
“You’re thorough. It’s probably how you got to where you are,” I said.
One corner of his mouth turned up.
“Partly,” he said. “I made my way up the ranks at my previous company. You are aware of who I am, correct?” He sat up again, his back straight as a board.
“Colin Slade, Vice President of Sales?” I said, wondering what I was missing. Was he a celebrity as well?
“And son of Charles Gordon,” he said.
I blinked a few times, waiting for him to tell me it was a joke. But I soon realized that the stoic man before me probably didn’t tell too many jokes.
“The CEO and owner of the company is yourfather?” My brain froze at this new information.
“I assumed it was common knowledge. I used my mother’s last name to avoid nepotism all of my adult life, and yet, here I am.”
I couldn’t tell if he was happy, proud, or cynical. But I wasshocked, and I was sure it showed. To think I’d been so rude to him the first time we’d met, and he was the owner’s son.
“Anyway, Iamthorough, and there’s one more set of numbers I’d like to go over,” he said. And with that, we fell back into the meeting while I fought the strong urge to bang my head against the table.
That evening,after a much-coveted shower, I slipped into my new black dress, curled my hair, and made my way downstairs to wait by the restaurant bar next to the hotel. Colin wasn’t there yet, so I took a seat and watched as people came in and out. I fidgeted with the buckle on my gold clutch until my phone vibrated inside the purse.
I sighed when I saw Grant’s name light up on the screen.What could he want right now?
“No, I have nothing Maggie-related to share,” I said, keeping my voice low.
