Chapter 13

“There she is!” Jenny called out as I walked into the bar. I waved and walked to them.

“Don’t you come over here without drinks!” Sam shouted.

I gave her the finger and kept walking to them.

“You’re going to be pretty thirsty ‘cause there’s no drink here for you!” Sam yelled.

“Fine!” I changed my course and went up to the bar. I got a bottle of Pinot Grigio and plunked the bottle down on the table, along with the one wine glass I’d taken.

“Whoa, whoa. Where are our glasses?” Jenny asked.

“Right in front of you.”

“This is an empty beer glass,” Sam said, pointing at it with both her hands.

“Yep,” I said, pouring the wine into the glass.

“Oh come on, beer suds are foaming at the contact with the wine,” Sam groaned.

Jenny snatched her beer glass off the table and bee-lined for the bar. I sat in the seat beside her and poured wine into my glass, filling it fuller than any bartender would have.

Once Jenny returned with a clean wine glass I asked, “So, what do I do?”

“You move in with him!” Sam said.

I looked to Jenny, searching her eyes. Sam hadn’t known me when I lived with Matt. She didn’t understand how he had destroyed me. How he’d leeched off me and sucked a huge portion of my inheritance away. My parents would be so ashamed of me. I could never forgive myself for being so stupid. And I certainly could never leech off someone else.

“I think you need to take the risk,” Jenny said. She took my hand in hers.

“But how would I contribute?”

“I somehow don’t think he cares,” Sam said, rolling her eyes.

“I care.”

“Sweetie, when are you going to learn that in real life it’s not possible to have everything work out nice and fifty-fifty? So what if you can’t contribute an equal amount for the house?” Jenny said.

“He said I could pay for the maintenance on his indoor swimming pool.”

“Who cares if you can’t meaningfully contribute to the household? The only thing that cares about it is your ego,” Jenny said.

“Yeah, stop being such an egomaniac,” Sam said cackling.

“Why don’t you rent out your condo to keep it going? Cover the mortgage. Then you’d always have it as an asset to throw into his asset pool,” Jenny said.

“He doesn’t have an asset pool, he has an asset ocean,” I said.

“But if it makes you feel better, then do it. If it justifies your ability to have a functioning relationship with him, then do it. You’ve got nothing to lose,” Jenny said.

I took a long drink of my wine and let the liquid swirl around in my mouth. It seemed like a no-brainer as far as they were concerned. I’d relied on no one but myself since my parents died. I had to then. But now it was so deeply ingrained in me I could never uncoil myself from the need. There was only one person in life I could ever be indebted to, myself, and I hated myself for it.

“Okay, so now you’re moving in with him, what’s this big job he offered you?” Sam asked.

Man, I’d been so focused all week on the question of moving in with him I’d forgotten about the job thing.

“Nothing concrete, he said he thought my talents were wasted in reporting.” Just saying it out loud made me proud.

“I’d be all over it. Take the job offer tomorrow,” Jenny said.

“Or is this another of your silly hang-ups?” Sam said.

“It’s another of her hang-ups.”

“Why doesn’t she get that using contacts to get a job is normal? It’s just networking.”

“I don’t know. I never would have got into marketing without help from my dad’s friend.”

“Why are you two talking about me like I’m not here?”

“Because you’re not going to take any notice of what we say anyway, we might as well,” Sam said, mock glaring at me.

I shook my head. They were so understanding… not.

After just the one bottle of wine, I was keen to get home and see Jay. More than keen. I hadn’t seen much of him all week and I missed our chats. Plus I worried about how stressed he’d seemed on Monday and wanted to make sure he wasn’t still stressed.

“It’s been great but I have to get home to my man,” I said, standing up.

“Sure, go running to him when he’s at your house,” Sam said.

“You know, it would help if he didn’t live out in the burbs,” I said laughing.

* * *

I’d walked a couple of blocks before I remembered my promise to Jay. I didn’t understand why he was so insistent on walking me home. And I’d walked around the streets late at night so many times over so many years on my own that I never thought twice about it.

“Abbie,” Calvin said, appearing out of the shadows.

I jumped at my name, and my heart pounded. There was no way to get around him.

“Why do you keep coming up to me?” I said through my heavy breathing.

“No reason.” His voice was bitter, taunting.

“Then leave me alone.” I swept my eyes around the street, pleading for someone to help me, but the area was devoid of people. My body trembled at the realization.

“You need to be careful about James.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Here, take this.” He held out a small manila envelope. I looked at the envelope, my brow furrowed but my mind blanked.

“Take it!” Calvin shoved it at me and my reflexes took hold of it. Calvin snickered and walked away.

I stood motionless, my heart pounding as I tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Some part of my brain kicked my ass into gear, and I crammed the envelope into my Burberry jacket pocket and half jogged home.

* * *

“Why didn’t you call me?” Jay said the second I opened my condo door. I’d never heard him sound so angry before. Normally he didn’t exhibit emotions. But this was raw. Serious.

“I’m sorry, I forgot.” He walked over to me, his eyes boring into my core.

“That’s not good enough. You can’t forget.” My heartbeat, still rapid from Calvin, crashed against my ribcage.

I pursed my lips and bit them together with my teeth, trying to stop my chin from quivering. I was so on edge that my emotions struggled to grasp what was happening.

I’d left the bar, eager to rush home to his embrace a mere fifteen minutes ago. And now I stood here a wreck.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Jay smoothed my hair over the top of my head and pulled me into him.

“It’s fine. I worry about you. I need to know you are safe. I will start coming out with you, so you don’t forget again.”

He led me to the sofa and flicked an old movie on, Bullitt. I’d always liked Steve McQueen, even though the man holding me on the sofa was hotter.

* * *

We spent the weekend at his house, not doing much other than eating, watching movies and having sex. And going for a couple of swims in his basement. Naked swims.

Sunday night we went back to my little condo. The difference in the two places became more glaring each time I went between them. What must he think about staying at my teeny tiny home?

But he stayed here. He insisted.

* * *

Ugh. Every time I went into my new job, I found something else that was screwed up about the place. It was a dysfunctional company, to say the least.

At least I liked my boss, Laurie. And I was getting to grips with my staff, though I wasn’t yet in a position to guide them because I was still trying to figure out how all the reporting at the company fit together.