Chapter 27
Charlie
With Rex coming in late almost every night and being ambiguous with where he was going, my suspicions were off of the charts. He was beating around the bush about where he was and he had hickeys all over him. Nothing was making sense and I finally broke down and went to meet with Ruby. She would know what it was I wanted to know, even if I wasn’t ready to hear it yet. I had to find out, one way or another.
She was a little surprised to hear from me and I wouldn’t say that it was pure happiness that I heard in her voice when she found out who it was. But she had finally agreed and I knew that there was something to why she agreed to meet me out for coffee. At first she had wanted to meet at her house, but it seemed strange considering what it was I was thinking about. I needed to be in public with her, still not sure if she was going to try to sue because my friend was an idiot. Now I was going to find out how big of an idiot he really was. I still wasn’t sure.
I got to the coffee house and Ruby was already sitting down, waiting for me. She smiled my way, but there was something in her look that told me that I didn’t know what I was getting into.
“Good to see you Charlie. Your call caught me off guard a little bit. I don’t know why you are getting ahold of me, unless you are trying to rehire me?”
That hadn’t crossed my mind and I mumbled something about maybe when she said that. Ruby giggled and told me that she wouldn’t come back if she could. “I appreciate the opportunity Charlie, but I don’t think I want to work for a man like Rex. I don’t want to have to do favors for him for a job. At least at the new place I don’t have the owners hitting on me all of the time.”
The way she was talking didn’t make me feel any better about anything. It was the wording that told me she had been talking to someone about legalese.
“Well we are the ones at a loss Danessa, I can tell you that. People are already asking what happened to you. I don’t know what to tell them. Do you want me to point them in your direction?”
“That would be good. It is going to take some time for me to get my client list up again. I know that you don’t owe me anything, you were always a good boss, but I would appreciate it more than you know.”
I smiled back at her and hoped that this was the turnaround that I was looking for. I needed her help and information, not her animosity.
“I will make sure to do that Ruby. You were always a damn good dancer for us and I won’t forget that.”
Her smile was still there, but she wanted to know what it was that I wanted. Could she tell? Was I that obvious?
“I mean come on Charlie. I know you are here for something else, so just tell me what it is that you are doing here and I think it will make it a lot easier if you do. All of this dancing around is doing me no good. I have a job to get to in a little while.”
“You’re right. I am here for something more than just to say hi and catch up. Before you were fired, you told me something about Rex that intrigued me. I was wondering if you could finish that statement.”
“You want to know who he wanted to call me, don’t you?”
I was taken aback that she came out and said it. It told me that she knew something and I was going to have to figure out what it was. The fact that she knew what I was there for made me think that she knew why I was asking as well. This didn’t bode well for what kind of an answer I was going to get.
“Yes, that’s what I want to know.”
“How much is it worth to you?”
I told her to give me a price and it wasn’t that much. I was expecting her to ask for more. The amount she asked for was in my wallet and I slid it across the table, my finger still on it.
“Give me the name.”
“Well you already know the answer Charlie. But I will verify it if that is what you want.”
“That is what I want. I need to know who Rex would call you.”
“He called me Sherry.”
My heart was now pounding so hard in my ears that I didn’t make out anything she said for a minute. She had a satisfied smile on her face and I could tell that she was enjoying this. This was her way of getting back at Rex through me. I felt sick to my stomach.
“You have a sister named Sherry, right?”
I nodded my head, but I was seriously about to upchuck. I thanked her through clenched teeth and made my way outside. I couldn’t breathe. How could my sister and my best friend do this to me?
It was all just too much and I didn’t know what to do next. I was stuck wondering if I was going to be able to figure this out. What the hell was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like I had ironclad proof, but I had all that I needed. I knew what was going to happen next, I just dreaded the confrontation and what was going to be left when I was done.