Trust (15 page)

“
Shouldn’t
they?
”  I
’
m being stubborn now, annoyed a
t how logical Evelyn is sounding even though she should be
just as drunk as I am by now.  But her glass is full and mine is empty.  I
’
m still holding the full bottle in my
hand as I stare down at it, unwilling to meet her gaze.

“
You tell me.  Harrison lie
d about things he was doing that he wanted to keep hidden
because they were broken promises, they were negative and they were things he
knew you
didn’t
approve of and he
wasn’t
willing to fix.  Chase lied about
something that he was actively trying to fix
because
he was worried you
’
d judge him prematurely and he
’
d lose you.
”

Evelyn
has no right to be this logical when I
’
m trying to be upset.  I refill my glass
and pick it up with a sigh.

“
Whatever happened to
‘
What happens in Vegas,
Stays in Vegas
?
’
”
I as
k, letting a little smile
touch the edges
of my lips in the hopes that she’ll
take it as me admitting that maybe she
’
s got a bit of a point without me having
to come right out and say it.

“
That
’
s one way to go, if that
’
s what you want,
”
she smiles back. 
She picks up her own glass and we both take a long drink. 
Tonight
isn’t
a sipping night.

“
I don’
t know what I want,
”
I say softly, sinking into the couch and
closing my eyes. 
“
In some ways I just want to forget
everything that happened in Vegas after Ha
rrison and
just move on with my life.  But
…
Chase is a hard man to forget.
”

“
I can only imagine,
”
Evelyn replies. 
“
Which reminds me, you owe me some
details on that.  Help me imagine.  I want to know everything about Chase.
”

“
I’ve
told you most of it,
”
I reply, cracking my eyes to see my
roommate grinning wildly at me.

“
Not the good stuff,
”
she laughs.

I
laugh back. 
“
I’ll
need a few more drinks, but I
’
m sure you can convince me to spill the
dirt.  Anyway, there
’
s no rush.  I
’
m back for good now.  We h
ave all
the time in the world to talk about Chase and his talents.  And make no
mistake, he is talented.  And I
’
m not talking about poker.
”

I
laugh at my own joke but catch a look on Evelyn
’
s face that makes me pause.  The smile
has faded from her lips as
if something
I’ve
said has confused or upset her. 
“
What
’
s wrong?
”

Evelyn
shakes her head. 
“
Nothing.  Nothing.  We can talk about it
tomorrow.
”

“
Um, we can talk about it tomorrow means
it
’
s not nothing.  What?
”

“
Seriously, Lila, tonight is about you a
nd your news.  We can talk about me tomorrow.
”

My
mind races back to the message she left me days ago.  The one I never
returned. 
“
The text you sent me.  You said you have
news about your job, is that it?  I
’
m so sorry for not getting back to you
sooner,
I was a shitty friend.
”

“It
’
s fine, really.  You had a lot going
on.  But let
’
s talk about it tomorrow, I don
’
t want to be a downer tonight.
”

“
Oh my god, did you get fired Evelyn? 
Here I am going on about myself and-
”

“No,”
she reaches out and grabs m
y arm, giving it a little squeeze. 
“
I
didn’t
get fired Lila.
”

Evelyn
takes a deep breath, staring at me until I bug my eyes out and raise my brows
to urge her on.  Finally she lets the breath out, followed quickly by one long
run on sentence that takes m
e a moment to decipher
before it all sinks in.

“
I got a promotion, I
’
m going to be working as assistant to
the CEO but I have to move to Chicago and I wanted to tell you but it all
happened so suddenly and I
’
m actually leaving on Friday.
”

A
sin
gle ray of sunshine slices through my blinds,
hitting my eyelids with enough force to wake me with a headache.  As I roll out
of the way and pull a blanket over my head to cower in darkness, it takes me a
moment to remember why I
’
m acting like a vampire. 
Three
bottles of Chardonnay would bring even a seasoned drinker to her knees, and
although I was splitting them with Evelyn, I know I drank more than she did.  I
was the one hurting from Chase, and then reeling from Eve
’
s news. 

Chicago. 
That was an eig
ht hour drive.  Almost two hours by
plane.  I
’
d probably hardly see her anymore.  I
have no money for plane tickets, and no car of my own. 

Her
news is upsetting, but I can
’
t be angry with her.  If anything, I feel guilty that I
didn’t
call her back days
ago to hear her news, and when I finally did hear it my
first thought was about how her move would negatively affect
my
life.  It means finding a new
roommate.  One that likely won
’
t be so forgiving when I miss a rent payment. 

Still,
it
’
s a selfish tho
ught
and I
’
m as quick to push it out of my mind as
I was to let it in.  But the news was yet another reason why I kept drinking
long after I know I should have stopped, and now I
’
m paying the price.

I
drag myself into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
 Evelyn
is already at the table, doing something on her phone and she looks up at me. 
I can tell by her eyes she
’
s feeling almost as bad as I am.

“
Good afternoon.  You look as shitty as I
feel,
”
she says.

“
Afternoon?  What time is it?
”

“
Almost one.  Go
od
thing it
’
s Sunday.  No way I could drag my ass
into the office feeling like this.
”

I
haven
’
t slept past noon since college.  Then
again, I haven
’
t had a night of drinking like that
since then either.  I pour myself a cup of coffee, thankful that Evelyn
, at least, got up early enough to already make some.

“
So, you
’
re leaving for Chicago next week?
” 
I sit down at the table next to her.  My
memory is mostly intact from last night but some of the details are a bit hazy.

“I
’
m working here until Thursday b
ut mostly I
’
m just packing things up and
transitioning to the other EA they hired to take my place here in the Toronto
office.
 My
flight is on Saturday.  That’ll
give me some time to settle in and unpack.  Friday
I’ll
be home as they have some movers comi
ng to pick up my stuff and meet me here.  So I have to be
packed by then.
” 
She
looks around.  Even in the kitchen, most of the stuff is hers. 
“
I haven
’
t even started yet.
”

“
I can help,
” I say.  “
Not like I have anything else to do,
aside from sending ou
t resumes.
”

Evelyn
puts her hand on mine and gives me a little squeeze. 
“
The rent is paid up for this month, and
we’ve
already paid for our last month which
would cover next month if you
aren’t
going to stay.
”

I
smile at her, appreciating the gesture. 
There
’
s no point in arguing with her about it,
I know she
doesn’t
want the money back. 
“
I haven
’
t really decided what I
’
m going to do.
”

“
I know, this comes out of left field, I
’
m sorry Lila.”

“
No, it
’
s a great opportunity for you. 
Executive Assistant t
o the CEO of a billion dollar
company?  Who the hell would turn that down?
”

“
I know,
”
she nods. 
“
I’ve
met Mr. Stonewall a few times, he seems a bit harsh to
some people but he
’
s always been very pleasant to me.
”

I
watch my best friend
’
s face for a secon
d.  There
’
s a look there that I recognize. 
“He
’
s hot,
isn’t
he?
”

She
giggles and turns a slight shade of pink as she stares down at her coffee. 
“He
’
s no Chase Anderson,
”
she admits with a shrug,
“
but he is tall, dark and pretty
handsome, yes.
”

“
Well, I
’
m really happy for you Eve, I mean it.
” 
I do.  It
’
s great for Evelyn.  I
’
m just not sure what it means for me.

“
I got a call from Harrison today,
”
I say as I scoop a large ladle full of
spaghetti onto Evelyn
’
s plate.  I figure the least I can do for
her is cook dinners while I
’
m home all day and she
’
s at work.  Yesterday I made chicken
parm and today is pasta.  It
’
s only Tuesday but I
’
m already worried about running out of
recipes before she leaves, which is why I made enough tonight to have leftovers
for tomorrow.

“I
’
m surprised it took him this long,
”
she says. 

“
I think it took a couple days for the
news of my return to filter out to him.
”

“
Did he ask you to get together?
”

“
Of course.
”

“
You
aren’t
, are you?
”

“
Of course not.
”

“
Good.  Does he
know
about Chase?
”

I
pause and purse my lips.  It
’
s a question
I’ve
been pondering myself lately, not that it matters. 
“
I don’
t think so.  I mean, not specifically. 
I think he does suspect I met someone out there.  He was asking me all sorts of
question
s about what I was doing in Vegas this long,
he knows I don
’
t gamble or really have the money to pay for a week in a
hotel.  I just avoided most of the questions and told him I needed time out
there to think.  Not sure he bought it, but whatever.  If he ca
n lie, so can I.
”

“
Well, like you said the other day, what
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  I think that
’
s one of those universal rules.  People
can
’
t ask you about it and expect the truth.
”

I
agree with a laugh as I shovel more pasta into my mouth.  It
feels good to be home, with Evelyn.  It
’
s comfortable.  Unfortunately, that
comfort has an expiration date and it
’
s coming up quickly.