Blake jumps in. “You practically forced us to hang around each other.”
I wince at that, but know Blake is just trying to do damage control.
“Because I’ve been working. Something you should be doing, too!” She’s yelling now. “Not flirting around town with my stylist.”
Oh, god, this is getting worse by the second.
“CC—”
“Don’t call me that!” she barks.
“I gave notice to your dad this morning. I’m sorry.”
Caroline takes what’s left of her Frappuccino, dumps it on Blake, grabs her purse, and storms out. I stare after her openmouthed.
Blake simply says, “I’m sorry, I have to get out of here and get some air,” and leaves the apartment. I watch them on the street. Caroline gets into her Mercedes and zooms off in one direction. Blake gets on his motorcycle and goes the other way.
Chapter 13
I’m not sure what to do. I’m staring at Blake’s photos, wondering how I let this mess happen. The photos are amazing. It’s hard not to think Blake was using me as a subject, or even—could it be?—a muse.
The first thing I do is call Caroline but she doesn’t answer. I text her an apology.
Me: I’m really sorry if it looked like something was going on with Blake and me but I promise there wasn’t. I want to be friends with you. I have all these clothes for you and I won’t charge your aunt a dime.
Caroline: Lose my number.
I curl up in a ball on my bed and start crying. How could everything have fallen apart so quickly? I cry myself to sleep until early evening when I’m startled away by my phone pinging.
Blake: I hope you’re okay. I think you should call Diana and tell her what happened. I think she’ll understand. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Caroline and me, but I just wanted to let you know I’m sorry I dragged you into it.
Me: It’s okay. I should have been more professional.
It’s true. I was being unprofessional. I am going to lose my two biggest clients because I couldn’t stop flirting. What if this is it for my career? I won’t be able to help my mom out and everyone will say “I told you so.”
I text Diana.
Me: Can we meet?
Diana: Sure, honey. You want to grab a bite?
The next night I meet Diana at Kevin Rathbun Steak. It’s very dark and certainly expensive but I’m sure she’ll cover it. Or maybe she won’t. I’m nervous.
When I arrive she’s already siting at a table. As I approach, she stands, and then kisses both of my cheeks. At least she doesn’t hate my guts yet. Then again, maybe she doesn’t know what happened.
“Caroline told me everything,” she says.
Aaaand yep, she knows what happened. “I’m so sorry, Diana. Everything got totally misconstrued.”
“Don’t apologize, dear, it was bound to happen. I’m telling you, Caroline and Blake are all wrong for each other. I don’t know why they’ve been holding on to each other all these years. But that’s not why we’re here, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, isn’t this about what we talked about? Going into business together?”
Saved by the bell. I wasn’t so sure if I was 100 percent ready to jump onto this business idea before, but now I really feel like I need this opportunity with Diana, especially since I’ve screwed things up with Caroline so badly and she’ll probably write a bad review about me on Yelp or something.
“Yes, Diana, I’ve put a lot of thought into it—”
