12. Chapter 12
Chapter 12
“T hanks for meeting me here, Jules,” Becca said, drawing out her name with a posh tone as Jules approached the empty seat next to her at the long bar. The club was almost empty, even though it was a Friday night.
She took in the beautifully carved wooden bar that wrapped around at both ends, decorated with expensive-looking gold leaf and mirrored accents. Behind them, tables with low, comfortable seating dotted the large room. The club looked like a cross between a scene from The Great Gatsby and a Frank Lloyd Wright home. She couldn’t tell if she was impressed or confused. Either way, she wasn’t planning to stay long. Just enough to have a drink over what would be an uncomfortable conversation.
“This place is…large,” Jules said, sliding onto the bar stool.
“Over twenty thousand square feet, I’m told. Being a member has its perks, but I have yet to see all of it."
Becca's hand trembled slightly as she sipped her chilled martini. She was used to having the upper hand in most conversations, but this time was different. Becca had made a misstep by revealing her relationship with the secretary, and they both knew it.
The bartender approached as Jules got settled. The service was better when you paid a premium to even enter. She ordered a French 75, not wanting to seem unrefined with her usual order of the driest Sauvignon Blanc they had on hand. As she waited for her drink, a deafening silence stretched between them. At last, drink in hand, Jules broke the tension.
“How did Secretary Monahan feel about his testimony today?”
Visibly relieved at the softball question, Becca quickly answered with a lift in her voice, “Oh, he was pleased, although I don’t think he’s eager to do it again anytime soon. Thank you again for coming back on such short notice. We wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without you.”
“I think you two would have managed just fine together,” Jules snipped, looking straight ahead.
“I shouldn’t have been jealous that he wanted you there this week. I’m sorry for that. I could blame it on exhaustion, but it was only insecurity.” Becca angled her shoulders to face Jules. “It’s not easy, you know, keeping it a secret. But honestly, I thought maybe you had already suspected.”
“That you were sleeping with the secretary?” Jules blurted. “No, I had not thought that. But looking back, I guess there were signs.”
Becca recoiled at her bluntness, looking over her shoulders to ensure no one had overheard her.
“We’re not just sleeping together. That makes it sound dirty and scandalous. We have plans to be together publicly soon.”
“Does he know you are planning to leave the department and start your firm?”
Jules wasn’t interested in hearing any justification for their affair, but a part of her felt sorry for Becca. She was clearly being manipulated.
“Yes, he’s helping me finance it and will join as part owner after he finishes his appointment.”
“Why did you tell me he didn’t know, then?”
“Because of the optics. We can’t have people knowing before we go public with our relationship. And that won’t happen until he leaves his wife, after he’s no longer holding a Cabinet position." Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Sounds pretty scandalous to me. And risky.”
Out of the periphery of her vision, Jules saw someone squeeze between the chairs beside her to order a drink.
“We have it all planned out in an iron-clad contract. You don’t need to worry. But I will answer any questions you have. I still want you to join the firm, Jules,” Becca said, with a pleading look.
At the sound of her name, Jules felt a hand grab her shoulder.
“Jules? I thought it might be you,” she heard someone say behind her. She turned and was shocked to see Luke towering over the bar.
“Luke, so nice to see you,” Becca purred before Jules could react. Luke lifted his gaze from Jules.
“Oh hi, Becca. Nice to see you as well.”
“I would introduce you to my colleague, Jules, but it seems you already know each other?”
Just then, Jules’ voice caught up with her. “Yes, we used to be friends.”
“We were more than friends, Jules. We were engaged a few years ago,” Luke added, tilting his head down at Jules with a mischievous smirk. Oh, how she remembered that look. It made her stomach go sour. It was the same look he gave her when they first met, except then she didn’t know any better. Now it only reminded her of his fake charisma.
Becca’s lips parted in surprise.
“It didn’t work out in the end, though,” he added, eyes locked on Jules.
She took in his designer suit and Cartier watch. Luke had always dressed well, but he seemed louder about it now, more brash in his ostentatiousness. He ran a hand through his perfectly coifed dirty blonde hair and asked what she was doing here.
“Just here to meet Becca for a quick drink before calling it a night.”
“Right…you’re a new member,” he said to Becca.
“Joined a few weeks ago and enjoying it so far,” she responded, trying to keep his attention.
Luke worked in venture capital, not that Jules understood what he did in that industry. He ran with an exclusive crowd in D.C. and frequently traveled for business to California and abroad. Jules wasn’t surprised that Becca knew him.
“You’re a part owner, correct?” she asked.
Luke nodded, one hand in his pocket as he sipped his whiskey.
“Do you mind if I steal Jules away for a moment? I’d like to give her a tour of the place and catch up,” he asked, looking back at Jules.
“Oh, s—sure,” Becca stammered.
“I wasn’t planning to stay long,” Jules said, not wanting to be alone with Luke. This was not on her bingo card for the day.
“Please, it’ll only take a few minutes.”
“I can wait for you, Jules,” Becca cut in.
The next thing she knew, Jules was walking through the large ornate room, avoiding Luke’s hand as he tried to place it on her lower back. Once they’d cleared the main room, Luke going on about the Swedish architect they’d hired to design the place, they stepped into a smaller, more intimate dining area with a modest bar in the corner. It was empty except for one bored-looking bartender.
“It’s been, what, two years since we saw each other?” he said, motioning for her to take a seat near a large window.
“Give or take. I haven't been keeping track, honestly."
“You look…well. Different. I like the dark hair.”
"Thanks? I’m not sure how to respond to that." She was wary of him and was too tired to hide it.
“I’m surprised to see you here. Not really your scene. But I’m glad we ran into each other,” he said before pausing. “What have you been up to?”
Jules didn’t know what came over her as she let out a bitter laugh. It could have been the way he asked the question, like she was being interviewed. She’d witnessed him do this to others in the past, sizing them up to gauge their value or his perceived “worthiness.”
“I’ve been away on travel the past few weeks. I’m leaving again tomorrow,” she said, offering no details. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline in interest.
“Still at the Treasury Department, though?”
“Yes, but not for much longer,” Jules said, surprising herself. As soon as the admission left her lips, she knew it was true. She couldn’t work any longer for either Becca or the secretary. What exactly she would do next, though, she had no clue.
“Well, that’s great to hear. I always thought that job was beneath you.”
Taken aback, she screwed her face into a bewildered glare. “I stopped caring what you thought about me a long time ago, Luke.”
She couldn’t believe she almost married this narcissistic man. No wonder he did so well in D.C. The town was overrun with people just like him. Or at least, that’s all she seemed to find herself surrounded by.
When she’d brought Luke home two years ago for her grandfather’s funeral, he’d acted as if Riverbend and her family were beneath him. The entire trip, he kept throwing out veiled insults like, “I bet there are more cows here than people.” When he found out they would be staying at her grandparents’ house, he flat out refused and booked them a room at a fancy bed and breakfast in the town over. He never once took the time to console or even talk to her family members, including her grandma. The last straw was at the funeral when he’d walked off to take a work call and never returned, sitting in the rental car for the entire program.
“No need to get hostile, Jules. You’re the one who left me, remember? But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about you since then,” he whispered as he leaned in to place his hand on her knee.
For the briefest of moments, Jules considered what her life would have been like if she’d married him. This kind of day would be normal; they’d spend their downtime at clubs and fancy restaurants, pretending to be people they weren’t and trying to impress others to drown their disappointment in each other. The vision terrified her.
Standing to go, Jules said, “Nice seeing you again, Luke. I wish you the very best.” And with that, she strode back out, leaving Luke sitting alone at the table, speechless.
As she made her way through the main room to where Becca still sat at the bar, she decided her time here was over. There wasn’t much left to say but the truth.
Jules collected her things from the stool and turned to Becca, forcing herself to look her in the eyes when she said, “I won’t be joining you at the new firm. In fact, you can take this as my resignation from the department as well. All the best to you and the secretary. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Becca’s mouth fell open, speechless as her cheeks turned a bright red, probably from anger and a healthy dose of embarrassment. Jules didn’t plan to stick around to hear what she had to say or to be talked out of it, so she nodded to herself and walked straight to the exit, head high.
It wasn’t until Jules was in the taxi riding back to her apartment that it hit her.
She’d quit.
She’d done it. Although the thought had been idly bouncing around her head for some time now, she had never given it any true attention until now, in the heat of the moment. But she calmed her rising panic by reassuring herself she had enough in savings to last almost a year. She’d figure out her next move by then, right? If the last few weeks had taught her anything, it was that her life didn’t need to be planned out to the minute. She could be happy living with the unknown for a while.
As she watched the streets of the city zip by through the window, a weight lifted off her shoulders for the first time since she arrived in D.C. Whether from her decision to quit her job or getting closure on her relationship with Luke, she didn’t care. She was just grateful for those in her life who would help her through the era of the unknown: Grandma Rosa, Winnie, and Miles— no, not Miles , she quickly corrected herself. Jules didn’t have a claim over him, and it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on when everything was up in the air. They hadn’t even talked about what came next, if they’d stay in each other’s lives beyond her time in Riverbend. Plus, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to tell him what happened after prom. He was building a steady, quiet life. He didn't need anything messy.
The resolve to put an end to whatever it was they were doing back in Riverbend strengthened as she mulled over her new sense of freedom. Jules texted Winnie to confirm their plans for tomorrow:
Still planning to pick me up at the airport tomorrow? I can’t wait to tell you about how I imploded my life today :)
Ohh, do tell! Yes, I’ll be there tomorrow bright and early. Can’t wait to hear all about it 3 Unless you want to talk now?
No, thanks. I’m good. Just need some sleep and I’ll be right as rain. See you soon!
Morning came too soon after a night of fitful sleep that caused Jules to almost miss her alarm. She threw her clothes back in her bag and gave her dying plants another healthy glug of water, making it out in record time. But as she wheeled the suitcase out of the large metal front door, she paused to look back at the beautiful, sophisticated apartment she used to love and let out a long sigh. Things already felt different, and she caught herself wondering if she’d ever see the place with the same affection she once had.
A few minutes later, she was back at the D.C. airport, boarding another plane to Illinois and to the rest of her life, wherever that would take her.
On the flight, Jules didn’t give herself permission to think. Instead, she zoned out to a popular romantic fantasy audiobook she downloaded at the airport. It’d been forever since she listened to anything but true crime podcasts, so it was refreshing to lose herself in a more uplifting story. She didn’t even notice they were landing until a flight attendant tapped her on the shoulder to bring her seat upright.
Jules sped through the airport, pulling her carry-on behind her, surprised to see Winnie already parked on the arrivals curb, waving a hand out the open window.
As soon as Jules climbed into the tiny car, she pounced.
“I’ve been dying in anticipation. Spill, lady,” she said, pulling off the curb, barely missing a utility van driving past.
“Focus, Winnie, I’d like to make it back in one piece.”
“Hush, hush. You asked me to pick you up, didn’t you?”
Jules laughed. “Yes, I suppose that’s my fault. Thank you, though.” She decided to just let it out. “So, I quit my job and have no idea what I’m going to do.”
Winnie swung her head around, mouth wide open in a rare moment of speechlessness.
“Winnie!” Jules shouted. “Watch the road!”
“Jules!” Now, a huge smile plastered Winnie’s face. “I’m so proud of you! I could tell that job was sucking your soul.”
“Really? I didn’t even realize it myself until yesterday when I found out my boss was sleeping with the secretary.”
Winnie shot Jules another dumbfounded look, mouth hanging open.
“Yeah, I genuinely had no clue. I feel like an idiot.”
“Is this the same boss who wants you to come work for her?”
“’Tis the same one, indeed. But obviously, I’m not doing that.”
“I don’t blame you,” Winnie said before giving Jules some side eye and adding, “So, does this mean you’re moving back to Riverbend? That we get to keep you?”
Jules had given little thought to that possibility in the few brief hours since she’d upended her life. Could she move back here for good? Or at least until she figured out what she was going to do? Maybe. It wasn’t out of the question.
“I don’t know. I still have my apartment in D.C., but I guess other than that, I wouldn’t be leaving much behind. We’ll just have to see how things go,” she said, not ready to commit to anything.
“Well, either way, I say we celebrate! We should throw a party at my place and invite Miles."
“No,” replied Jules. “I mean, let’s celebrate, yes. But no to inviting Miles. I have too much to sort out without overcomplicating things.” Jules desperately wanted to see Miles, but she knew it wasn’t a good idea. After how she left and the feelings that were beginning to resurface, it was the last thing she needed.
“Ok. No Miles, just us. And maybe a few neighbors and other teachers? Only the cool ones, I promise,” she said, plans already forming in her head. Jules knew Winnie was dying to know more about the Miles situation, but she also knew when to let it go. Jules would tell her more when she was ready.
Sitting back, she relaxed into the seat and agreed to go along with whatever Winnie planned, determined to lean into her newfound era of spontaneity. Although, she wasn’t looking forward to having the same conversation with her grandma when she got home. She’d have to tell her she quit her job, and she didn’t know how her grandma would react to the news. Would she be disappointed or impressed with Jules’ bravery?
Once they crossed the county line to Riverbend, the reality of her situation started to creep in, forming stormy clouds of doubt in her mind. Would Grandma Rosa think she screwed up and was now crawling back home just like her mom had done so many times before? Would she understand, or would she tell her to go back to D.C. and beg for her job back? Jules wished for the serene calm she’d felt earlier to come back.
Trying to buy herself a few more minutes, she snuck in the front door with her luggage, hoping to get settled back in before breaking the news.
As soon as she stepped into the living room, a loud, “Jules!” rang from the kitchen.
Shit , she muttered under her breath.