THE JUNIOR BRIDESMAID (18 page)

“We spent the
weekend together,” I began with a half-hearted grin. “It was wonderful.” I
pulled a tissue from the box that sat atop his file cabinet. “Then Hugh’s ex
from our home town showed up and accused me of…something.” I shrugged and shook
my head still reeling from the confusion. “She had a note. Hugh read it.
Demanded an answer and left when I didn’t have one,” I finished on a whisper.

“And you have no
idea what the note said?” he questioned suspiciously.

“No.”

“Delilah,” he
admonished. “Think.”

My voice rose in
defense. “How could I possibly know? I’ve never written Darcy a note in my
life.”

“No, don’t think
about what the note might have said. Obviously a note exists and you didn’t
write it. But we both know a certain someone who could have sent that note,
don’t we?” he nodded once raising one eyebrow to his hairline. When I
seemingly wasn’t catching on he continued. “Delilah, if Stacey could
orchestrate your exile to Virginia don’t you think she could manipulate a girl
you once described to me as a complete idiot?”

My chin jerked
back in surprise while my eyebrows simulated a perfect ‘v.’

“I mentioned Darcy
to you before?” I asked with surprise in my tone.

“Well not exactly.
You were on the phone with that
pepper
from Virginia. What’s her name? Julia?” he shrugged his indifference like it
was no big deal that he was eavesdropping on my conversation. “I just
unintentionally file all nonsensical shit that doesn’t pertain to me in my
head,” he explained with a wave of his hand as if that excused his actions.

Since I didn’t
have the energy to scold Logan on his eavesdropping practices or explain to him
that his next boss might not be so understanding of such behavior, I just skipped
directly to the dropping, which was a hell of a lot easier. Dropping the
subject of his eavesdropping, that is.

I had to admit,
Logan’s theory did make perfect sense. I was starting to think I never gave
Logan as much credit as he deserved. His silly antics always undermined his
astuteness. I knew he was smart. But since he never behaved like someone who
had a modicum of intelligence I had a tendency to forget and thereby
underestimate him. As I tested his theory in my mind, my expression became more
suspicious.

“Do you really
think Stacey would go so far as to send a note to Hugh’s ex in Virginia?” I
asked with disbelief in my tone. “How would she even know about…?” As the
question breached my lips my eyes settled on Logan’s. He looked like he was
waiting for me to catch on. Then he saw the entire scenario dawn on me and he
began to nod. He held up his hand straight out at me and continued to nod.

“Okay? Okay? Are
you thinking what I’m thinking now?” he prodded.

I was.

Stacey didn’t just
want to screw up the life I had made in New York. She made sure that the one
that I was about to return to in Virginia was just as painful to settle into.
It would seem that Stacey took all of the information that Hugh shared at lunch
and used it to ruin any life I could possibly salvage anywhere.

Good Lord.

She wasn’t just
evil. She was the epitome of evil. She was the devil.

I still didn’t
know what the note that she sent Darcy said but I gathered it was pretty bad if
Hugh’s response was any indication.

Logan picked up
the receiver from its cradle and extended it out to me. “What’s Hugh’s number?
I’ll get him on the phone,” he offered.

I was shaking my
head before he even finished his sentence. “No. It doesn’t change anything,
Logan,” I whispered.

“Of course it does!”
he replied heatedly.

“No, it doesn’t,”
I protested. “Hugh didn’t even give me a chance to explain. He immediately
assumed I was guilty. If he would have paused for just a second he would have
known that I had nothing to do with what Darcy was accusing me. But he didn’t.
He jumped right on the band wagon,” the tears breached my lids as the admission
crossed my lips.

“That’s a load of
wax and you know it,” he challenged.

“Well I beg to
differ. Relationships are based on trust, Logan. Hugh made it pretty clear that
he doesn’t trust me at all.” I swiped another tissue and dabbed at the tears,
which toppled from my lids with synchronization. I kept my eyes fixed on the
carved edge of his desk hoping to rein in the emotion. Once successful I could
feel the two holes that Logan was drilling into my head with his critical
stare.

Unwilling to face
another reprimand, I did the mature thing and changed the subject. “Please just
find me a box.” I raised my chin defiantly and turned on my heel. So, all told,
at the end of the shit day that I had started, I was able to stand up to Logan.
Big fucking deal.

I heard the creak
in my doorway before I saw the figure peripherally. It had been a very long day
but I still could tell immediately that it wasn’t Logan. And anyone else wasn’t
welcome anyway, so it didn’t matter whom it was. I shuffled a few more papers
and spoke facing my desk. “Sorry, but I am quite busy. Any PR questions should
be directed to Stacey “the devil” Horner,” I stated without inflection.

“Actually I was
wondering what time I could come by and take some measurements in my new
apartment,” the unwelcoming voice drawled.

I looked up at
Will out of the corner of my eye. I almost, almost, killed him with my death
stare.

“Don’t give me
that look, Delilah. You snooze you lose.”

Really? Was he
really going with the excuse most widely used by nine-year-olds? I guess so.

That last thing I
was willing to do was let Will think that I cared he was taking over my rent
stabilized apartment. So I did my best to mask my expression. However, I
couldn’t let him get off totally scot-free. So I stooped to his level and
responded with a twelve-year-old insult. “Whatever time floats that dingy of
yours, Will.” I deliberately forced my eyes to travel to his crotch and then back
to his face. Then I followed up with a look that clearly conveyed that I
thought he was a piece of shit on the sidewalk.

Will shifted
uncomfortably under the scrutiny. “Just understand, Delilah, you brought this
on yourself.”

“How so, Will?” I
countered. Having had enough of the psychotic game he was playing, I became
more confrontational. “How exactly did I bring all this on myself? Was it
because I was giving my attention to another man? A
real
man that is?” I saw his jaw clench in anger. He was about to
say something, probably derogatory, before we were interrupted.

Logan’s timing was
impeccable. He walked in as if on cue and delivered the perfect comment.

“Hey! If it isn’t
the ding-dong from accounting.” I hadn’t even told Logan about Will’s
involvement. He was acting completely on his own reconnaissance. Logan pushed
past Will knocking him in the shoulder and then hit Will in the back of the
head with the box he lamely tried to raise over his head. Too bad it was empty.
“Sorry, Will, tight doorway,” he chuckled through his ridiculous excuse.

Will ignored Logan
and spoke to me directly. “I’ll be by around 7 o’clock tonight. You better let
me in,” he finished and spun on his heel.

“What an asshole,”
Logan barked with a laugh.

Yes, Will was
absolutely an asshole. A bitter asshole, more accurately.

“Want me to help?”
Logan’s genuine offer cut through my hateful thoughts of Will and his sadistic
cohort, Stacey.

I stared at the
empty box blankly. When I looked back at Logan I swallowed hard choking back
the lump that lodged in my throat. I could pretend all I wanted, but Stacey and
Will had won. No two ways about it. Sensing I was about to lose something else,
another shred of my dignity, Logan rounded my desk and enfolded his arms around
me.

“Don’t worry, Delilah.
Everything will work out. You’ll see,” he comforted with an authoritative
paternal tone.

It didn’t matter
that he was two years younger than me. I must have needed to hear his hopeful
outlook because I took his words as gospel even though I knew deep down he
didn’t comprehend the magnitude of the situation.

Chapter 15

My apartment
didn’t look like my apartment anymore. Most of the effects that had made it
mine were carefully enveloped in excessive amounts of bubble wrap. I had made
considerable progress in the last couple of weeks and had the majority of my
belongings already in boxes and stacked by my front door. I made sure to label
each one with detailed information so I knew for certain what was in each box.
There were more than I had expected. Hopefully the moving company didn’t jack
the price too high from the estimate I was given.

I wasn’t sure
where I was going to stay for the first few weeks when I arrived back in
Virginia. I was actually considering shacking up with Julia. I knew deep down
that was not the best idea. We just might kill each other after the first three
hours, but my options were not what one would consider plentiful. I could stay
at a hotel. But most of the hotels were near the airport, which was a
forty-minute drive. Until I had myself settled in my new job and got the
commute down pat, I didn’t want to commit to an apartment sight unseen. Julia
had assumed that I would be staying with her. And she had apologized profusely
for sharing my friendship ring finger secret. Not that it was a good excuse,
but apparently she slipped one night at Preacher’s when she and Tiff were out
celebrating Tiff’s engagement to Griff. Since she had begged for forgiveness I
said I would forgive her. So now if I told her I wanted to stay at a hotel
instead of with her, she would take offense and assume that I was still
carrying the ‘you threw me under the bus’ torch. Therefore, I resigned myself
to the fact that it was Julia’s place for a few weeks, maybe days if we were
getting on each other’s nerves too much, and then I would search for the
perfect place.

            I
only had a couple of days left before I made my way south. Julia was excited
that her sidekick was returning. This, of course, was expressed in conjunction
with her jab once again outlining that (in her eyes) she was never truly
invited to come stay with me in New York. We could argue the point forever but
knowing she would never see it my way, it was just easier to drop the subject.

“But at least I
get my girl back. When do you actually get in?” she asked.

“My flight lands
at 3pm. Do you think you can pick me up at the airport or should I call a car?”

“Are you crazy?” I
had to pull the phone away from my ear with the high octave of her voice. “I’ll
be there. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Okay, Jules. Got
some things to finish up here,” my voice quivered slightly so I hurried off the
call. “See you in a few days.” I tried to control my emotions. I did. But every
time the topic of moving back to Virginia came up I lost it. Everyone there
knew me as the girl who ruined Hugh Rowen’s wedding and sported meat patties in
her bra. No one looked at me that way in New York and leaving the place that
had become my home was hard for me to handle.

But I wasn’t so
sure that Julia would understand my point of view so I didn’t want her to know
how much I resented the thought of returning to Virginia. Of course it had
nothing to do with her, she was the only bright spot in the whole scenario, but
I knew somehow she would take it personally. So it was just easier to work out
the details of my arrival and get off the phone quickly.

Given she let me
off the phone without argument, I was fairly certain she was afraid the
conversation would digress back to the “Hugh left me for God knows what reason”
saga. Over the past few weeks Julia and I had had never ending conversations
about what happened between Hugh and me. Oddly, Julia didn’t get in the middle.
She just offered an ear, which I chewed off night after night. Don’t get me
wrong. She had her opinion. I could hear it in the way she sighed heavily or
growled in response to a comment I made. But for some reason she wasn’t
sharing. I wasn’t sure where she was getting her information or why she was
reluctant to share it. I just knew that if she wasn’t giving it up so easy, it
was most likely information I was incapable of handling. So I left it alone. I
had bigger fish to fry anyway and a lot of shit to pack in the process.

            I
had been in touch with the HR department in the Virginia offices of Norstride.
They had sent an orientation packet, which I had glanced over briefly. I
figured I had plenty of time on the two-hour plane ride to go over the details.
So I threw the manila envelope in my carry on luggage and continued to tinker
around the apartment. I had already called the phone and cable company to
discontinue service and I had cancelled all of my magazine subscriptions.
Except for Feminine Hygiene Monthly. That subscription had been a gag gift from
Stacey. She had presented that fine piece of literature to me on April Fools
Day. So feeling a momentary bought of generosity, I transferred the
subscription to Will Krakow’s name. But not before doubling it. He would
receive that magazine for another twelve months. Who knows? Maybe he would
learn something about himself. He was such a vagina.

            An
unexpected knock on my door startled me from my daydream. “Just a second!” I
called. I put down a set of candlestick holders that I was trying to decide if
I should toss or essentially pay to move and dragged my feet to the door. I
peeked through the peephole to see who was there.

Davis.

I plastered on a
half-hearted smile knowing Davis wouldn’t be able to handle a frown and opened
the door. “Hey!” I greeted excitedly masking all signs of my depression.

Davis whipped off
his ridiculous hat and started kneading it in his hands. “Hello, Delilah,” he
stated blandly.