59. Ada
The tears steaking down my cheeks as I knocked on Jules door were real but the way I fell into her arms when she opened it wasn’t. I forced myself to hold her without strangling her as I played up my sobs. “Jules! I didn’t know where else to go. They kicked me out.”
She held me awkwardly and I could tell she was shocked to see me. “Oh. Oh! I’m so sorry, Ada. What… What happened?”
“I don’t know. They just… They started accusing me of using them and they were so angry, Jules. I don’t know what happened. They wouldn’t tell me anything. They just fired me and made me leave.” I sobbed harder into her shoulder and thought about biting her.
“They didn’t tell you what happened?”
I pulled back and shook my head. “No. Do you know? None of this makes sense. Things were going so well, Jules.”
She cleared her throat and led me into what I knew was really her kitchen. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry, Ada. Sit down. Let me pour you a glass of wine.”
If I managed to get through my act with Jules without cracking, I deserved an Oscar. I felt so much hatred towards her but I wanted to hurt her and her husband more than I wanted to yell at her. “I’m so sorry for just barging in like this. Is it okay? I can leave… I just… I don’t know where I’ll go.”
“Oh, Ada. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe they kicked you out.” She pushed a glass of wine towards me and downed half of the one she’d poured herself. “Mr. Mayhew is home today, but it’s okay that you’re here. Let me just let him know that I’m having a guest over and then we can hang out. Okay?”
I nodded and wiped my eyes, sniffling like a sad little puppy all the while. “That’s fine. I’m sorry, Jules. I really am. I know I shouldn’t have just come over. I… I’m just saying the same thing over and over again, aren’t I? I’ve been saying I’m sorry so much to the guys that I think I’m just stuck now. I begged them to forgive me, Jules. They wouldn’t hear me, though. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
She held up her hands and looked down one of the hallways off the kitchen. “Just wait right here, Ada. Let me take the rest of the day off and then we can go somewhere and figure this out.”
I nodded and put my head down on the counter. I didn’t know what I expected to find or what I hoped to gain from showing up at her house, but I wasn’t going anywhere until I found something to use against her and her husband. An eye for an eye, I figured.
As soon as Jules disappeared into the first room down the hallway I quietly followed her path until I was just outside the door she’d left cracked open. I could hear her whispering but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. Then, I heard him, the asshole who’d plotted to hurt the Carringtons. I’d read up on David Mayhew and I knew about about him to know that he was a piece of work who had a hard on for Joe.
“Get her the fuck out of here, Julia! I don’t give a shit that you feel bad about what you did.” His angry voice probably would’ve reached me in the kitchen if I’d still been sitting there. “We’re not taking in a charity case because you feel guilty for ruining her sordid little affair. She’ll get over it.”
I ground my teeth together as I strained to hear what Jules said back to him.
“It was them or us. I chose us. Cortez winning the election would ruin us. You fucking know that. You want to keep your expensive toys and keep injecting your face with shit to stay thirty? Then your friend out there had to lose. Sorry.” David Mayhew was an even bigger prick than I realized. “The shit we’re in is so deep and you’re worrying about some stupid little girl who could die tomorrow and it wouldn’t matter at all. You’re so fucking stupid, you know that? Get the fuck out of my office. I’m sick of looking at you.”
“Fuck you, David. This is your fault. How you managed to take the millions my daddy left me and lose it all, I’ll never know. I’m going to tell her. I like her and I didn’t know she’d become such a victim in all of this. She’s a nice girl, David. Just like I used to be before you came along and fucked everything to hell and back.”
I’d almost forgotten what I was doing. Despite everything, I wanted to cheer for Jules.
“You open your mouth to her and I’ll make you regret it, Julia. You want to talk about fucking everything up? Your dear old daddy left you millions but he didn’t give you the good sense to keep your mouth shut. We owe millions to some very bad people, you idiot. You keep fucking around and we’re both going to end up with our heads on stakes in the front yard. Do you understand me?” A chair squeaked like someone was shifting in it. “Get rid of her and keep your lips sealed.”
“I can’t imagine they’d want my head on a stake. Worse case for me, one of your mobster buddies wants a good fuck for a couple of months. And that wouldn’t really be all that bad, considering what I’ve been left with here for all these years.”
A loud slap rang out, making me gasp. Without thinking about what I was doing or who I was trying to save, I rushed into the office and found David standing over Jules. She was holding the side of her face yet still glaring up at her husband. He was a small man, someone closer to Henry’s stature than mine. He was bloated and looked like he would pop if someone stuck him with a needle. He might’ve been handsome at some point of his life but I’d wager that too much of the liquor sitting half empty on his desk hadn’t been kind to him.
“Did you hit her?” It was a stupid question, all things considered, but I’d never had to confront a man for hitting his wife before.
“Why are you in my office? Were you listening to us?” He looked like he was getting ready to hit me next.
“What? No. I heard that sound. Did you hit Jules? She’s your nanny, asshole! You can’t hit her!” I took advantage of his confusion and grabbed Jules. “Come on, Jules. You don’t have to take that. There are more people you could work for. Nicer people. The Carringtons are going to be hiring soon.”
Jules stared at me with wide eyes and I knew she knew I’d been listening in on their conversation. The expression on her face showed just how confused she was about me helping her.
“She quits, in case you didn’t get it. Jerk.” I pulled her out of David’s office while he was still trying to make sense of things. As soon as we were out, I pushed her towards the front door. “Are your kids here?”
Her face darkened and she shook her head. “We don’t have kids.”
I growled and pushed her again. “Go.”
She hesitated just outside and looked at me while still clutching her face. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because I think your husband is a bigger dick than you. Do you have a car or are you getting into mine?” I saw her look down and sighed. “Get in, Jules. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
“You shouldn’t help me, Ada. Not after what I did to you.”
I pushed her into the front seat and slammed the door shut before running around and getting behind the wheel. “I’m not a monster. He hit you. That’s not okay. You let me listen to that, didn’t you? You wanted me to hear something.”
She stared out the window. “I knew you came here for something and I wanted to help. No offense, Ada, but you’re a terrible actor.”
I scoffed. “That’s rude.”
She didn’t say anything as I drove out of her neighborhood. It wasn’t until I kept going in a circle around the lake and put on my turn signal to head towards the Carrington Estate that she sat up. “Ada? Why are you turning here?”
“Because, Jules, what you did was bad and you need to make it right. You need to tell Joe or Collin what I just overheard.” I saw her pale and shook my head. “But you also need protection from your husband and whoever he owes money to. If you’re really in trouble, they’ll help you.”
“No, they won’t.” She began to panic as I turned. “Ada, what I did to you really hurt them. They aren’t going to just get over it. They’d have every right to hand me over to David or worse.”
“They won’t do that. Tell them everything, Jules. Or…I guess I should call you Julia now.” I stopped short at the closed gate and felt a sharp pain go through my whole body. Tears filled my eyes and I didn’t bother stopping them.
“What? What is it?”
“The gate’s closed.” I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head. “They never closed the gate before. It’s a pretty clear sign about how they feel about me. Thanks again for that, Julia.”
“Call me Jules, Ada. Once upon a time, before all of this, that was who I was.” She grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry. I knew it was wrong and I did it anyway. You should’ve left me to face whatever it was David was going to do to me but you didn’t… I’ll do it. I’ll tell them everything. Will… Will you come with me?”
A heavy knock on my window made me jump and scream but when I looked out and saw the same guard who had tried to remove me from the house under Joe’s orders, I felt even worse. I rolled down the window and held up my hands. “I’m just dropping someone off to see them.”
“You need to leave, ma’am. Whatever the story between you and my boss, it’s not my business. I have orders, though, and if you don’t turn around and leave right now, you’re going to end up in jail.”
I looked over at Jules. “Does that answer your question?”
She wiped her eyes and reached over the console to hug me. When I didn’t hug her back, she squeezed me tighter before letting go. “I’m so sorry, Ada.”
“Ma’am.” The guard was growing impatient. “Leave the premises now.”
Angry and hurt, I glared up at him and snapped. “I’m leaving, asshole. Give me two seconds to get the woman out of my car, would you? Your boss will be pretty glad to hear what she has to say so just wait a minute and back off!”
Jules slammed the door shut and rushed around the front of the car. “I’m out. Just let her go.”
I continued to glare up at him. “Are you going to let her up to see Joe?”
He growled. “Yes. Now get out of here before I arrest you for being a pain in the ass.”
“Gladly.”