Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
S age breathed a sigh of relief when Garrett Hollingsworth’s assistant finally left the file room.
“Is it me, or does it seem like everyone is in a terrible mood today?”
Glenda nodded. “I’m glad today is my last day. I’m too old to kiss ass anymore.”
Sage rolled her eyes at her. “Since when did you ever kiss anyone’s ass?”
“Anytime anyone from the top floor comes down. At least for the first four or five years I worked here, I did. I stopped worrying about getting fired when I was the only one who could find something when it became lost. The better you know where everything is, the more your job security rises.”
“I can understand why. I’m sure none of the lawyers want to go to court and have to explain why a document is missing.”
Taking out a magazine from her desk drawer, she started flipping through the pages.
Working in the file room could become tedious while waiting for someone to come in.
They weren’t allowed to use their cell phones or any electronic devices to read books, so she had started bringing magazines or real books to pass the time.
“After today, I bet you won’t miss working here. Everyone should be in a good mood after your party at lunch, yet everyone seemed as if they couldn’t wait to get back to the office,” she said offhandedly, not really caring why everyone seemed to be in such a foul mood.
“The firm is being sued. If they lose, they could lose millions of dollars. The case starts Monday.”
Sage looked up from the magazine. “With my luck, they’ll go bankrupt just when I got this job.”
“If they lose, they’ll not only lose money but clients, as well.” Glenda started buffing her nails as she talked. “Several of the lawyers who have been working the case will be fired, too.”
Could Kent be fired? She loved having lunch with him. They’d had lunch together every day this week, and the thought of that ending would hurt.
“Is Kent working on the case?”
“No. Relieved?” Glenda turned a knowing glance in her direction.
“Yes,” she admitted easily. Kent had come down from his office to take her to lunch, not that Glenda had seen, but Sage was pretty sure the whole office was aware that they were dating.
“Have you decided what you’re going to wear tonight?”
Her eyes went back to the magazine she was flipping through.
“Not yet. Kent said it was a small dinner party at Mr. Hollingsworth’s house.
I have a few dresses I could wear from when I performed in recitals, and a few from when Glory was getting married.
I can’t figure out how dressy the other women will be. ”
“They’re probably worried about the same thing,” Glenda said reassuringly.
“Doubtful.”
“Do you have a nice black dress?”
“Yes.”
“Wear that. You can’t go wrong with a black dress.”
“The last time I wore it was to my brother-in-law’s funeral.”
Glenda made a grimace. “Then don’t wear that. Wear something that you feel pretty in. Mrs. Hollingsworth will be wearing something designer, which likely will have cost a small fortune. If you wear something that makes you feel pretty, it won’t matter what it is.”
She had one dress that might do. It was light and flowy. Her mother had bought it for her to wear to Glory’s engagement party, but she hadn’t been brave enough to wear it then and had chosen something else.
As the rest of the afternoon passed, Sage dreaded the end of the day. Glenda had packed up her things intermittently throughout the week, so at the end of the day, she just had to carry out the various presents that had been given to her at the party.
As they walked out together, Sage helped her carry one of the bags.
“Promise me we’ll have lunch when you get back from your cruise?” she asked once they had the presents stored away in Glenda’s trunk.
“I promise.” Glenda’s eyes filled with a sheen of tears.
Sage had to blink to hold hers back. “Take care of yourself, and don’t forget to be back on time when you’re at port. I don’t want you breaking a leg running to make it back to the ship on time.”
“I don’t plan to go on any excursions. I’m going to park my ass on a lounge chair at the swimming pool and drink margaritas. That’s the only exercise I have planned.”
Hugging her goodbye, she waited until Glenda was driving away before walking to her car. She had two and a half hours before Kent would pick her up, in which she had to drop off the girls to their grandmother’s, go back to the apartment, and get dressed.
Coming to a stop, she stood there, blankly staring at the empty parking spot. Where was her car? She parked in the same spot every day, or another one close by. She turned in a circle, but her car was nowhere in sight. What the hell?
Was she going crazy? Holding her key fob, she pressed the emergency button, hoping the car’s alarm would alert her to where it was. Nothing. Other than the sounds of cars going up and down the ramps, no sounds could be heard.
Despite knowing she was standing in the spot where she had parked her car, she started walking up and down through the garage.
An hour later, she had to accept her car had been stolen.
She called Glory and told her she was going to be late picking the girls up to take them to their grandmother.
Her sister was upset, and she didn’t blame her.
Any changes in the scheduled visitation had to be approved by the judge.
Victoria was going to use this as an excuse to resume fighting for full custody of the girls.
After telling Glory she would be there as soon as possible, she called the police department. She had to wait fifteen minutes for an officer to arrive to take the report.
Fortunately, the report didn’t take long. She called an Uber and arrived at her apartment only to have to take another Uber to take the girls to their grandmother.
Victoria listened to her excuse with a chilly indifference, shutting the door on her once both girls were inside. Sucking in a deep breath, she told herself over and over that telling the woman off would only make matters worse.
When she returned to the apartment, she only had forty-five minutes to prepare for the dinner party. At that point, she no longer cared what she wore.
Taking out the dress her mother had brought her for Glory’s engagement party, she took a three-minute shower before putting the dress on. She ran a brush through her hair and hastily applied a few sweeps of makeup, then stood by the bed.
“What do you think?”
Glory’s eyes swept over her. “Thank God you didn’t wear that dress to my engagement party. Denny wouldn’t have married me.”
The compliment made her bend down to press a kiss on her sister’s cheek. “I could have worn the most beautiful dress in the world, and Denny would have still married you.”
A pain-filled expression filled Glory’s face. “I miss him so bad.”
Sage sat down on the bed next to her to take her scarred hands in hers. “I know you do.”
She sympathized with the pain Glory was still going through.
The sister she had grown up cherishing was gone.
She had died the same day Denny had. In her place was a shell of the woman she used to be.
Glory was the reason she forced herself not to cry anymore.
The wealth of pain that Glory had to endure yet never complained about made her feel petty when the urge hit her.
“You should wear my earrings,” Glory suggested.
“I don’t want to wear your earrings.”
“I wonder why.”
Sage teased her, “Remember when I borrowed a necklace one time, and I had to listen to you complain about it for six months, even though I asked if I could borrow it?”
Regret lined Glory’s face. “You’ve always been a better sister to me than I have to you.”
“That’s not true,” she protested.
Glory made a face at her. “It is true. You were always so supportive of me, whatever I did. You would come and sit in the bleachers and watch all my softball games, while I complained about going to a recital once a year. I never shared anything with you, while you shared everything with me.”
“Stop, Glory. I was an irritating little sister—”
“That’s it. You weren’t. You did everything in the world to please everyone around you while I acted like a spoiled brat. Even now, you’re carrying all my burdens on your shoulders, yet you never complain.” Glory gripped her hands tightly. “Wear the earrings. It’ll make me happy.”
Nodding, Sage got up to get the earrings out of the jewelry box. They had been an engagement present from Denny.
She looked in the mirror. The diamond dangle earrings added another layer of elegance to her appearance.
The high-necked, shimmering, rose-colored dress skimmed her body loosely, falling in pleats until it came to the top of her thighs, where the material fell into layered ruffles, ending mid-thigh.
She wished she had her watch but shrugged it off.
The jewelry was gone. It was just one other thing she had learned to accept. Wishing for anything was useless.
Walking back to the bed, she did a twirl. “Better?”
“Kent won’t want to bring you back.”
“Too bad for him. I told him I wasn’t going to have sex with him until our tenth date, or was it the ninth?” She laughed, plopping back onto the bed to check her sister’s oxygen level.
“You didn’t?” Glory laughed.
“I did.”
“I had sex with Denny on our second,” Glory confessed.
Sage gave her an accusatory glance. “You told me you made him wait until you were married!”
“I lied.”
Sage laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach, and Glory had to wipe tears of mirth away. The doorbell ringing broke the moment.
“Go get you some,” Glory urged, her laugher stilling.
“You only live once, Sage. You can’t put a timer on when you want to do something.
I’d rather do what I want to do and regret it later.
Some opportunities never come back. Mistakes are easier to live with than regrets. Take it from someone who knows.
“I should have been there for you when we lost Mom and Dad. I should never have let you drop out of Julliard. I shouldn’t have yelled at you when you told me you were going to be late today. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You were only a phone call away when Mom and Dad died. I dropped out of Julliard because there isn’t a place I would rather be than with you and the girls. I don’t blame you for being upset today—we know how dirty Victoria plays. We’ll handle it like we also do.”
Playfully, Sage pressed a hand to Glory’s forehead, pressing her head back onto the pillow. “Read your book and get some sleep. I’ll wake you when I get back to tell you all about it.”
Rising from the bed with a lump in her throat, she stared down at the frail woman. She had talked with Tayla before getting dressed. She was going to sit with Glory when her husband got off in thirty minutes.
Each day, it seemed she was coming closer and closer to losing her sister, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. There was no way Victoria wasn’t going to use the opportunity to drag Glory back to court for being late.
“Go, Sage. I’ll be fine.”
Sage pressed her lips into a facsimile of smile. “Call if you need me. I don’t care whatever the reason, I’ll come back.”
Her sister sadly smiled up at her. “I know you will. You always do. That’s a habit you need to break.”