Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Lake
“I ’m sad that Marley can’t be here,” Brooke said as she set the cheeseboard on the coffee table.
I nodded, setting the two bottles of wine and the glasses next to them. My hands ached from holding all of that at once, but I hadn’t been in the mood to make more than one trip.
I was using my former waitressing skills for a purpose.
“She’s with her parents tonight.” May came forward and set down the spinach dip in a bread bowl next to the cheeseboard. “You would think that she wasn’t an adult or something with the way that they treat her.”
I nodded, my heart twisting for the young woman who was facing a new life and dealing with a family that didn’t understand her.
“She’s an adult, just like Sebastian is. Yes, they’re a little young for having kids—at least that would be too young for me. What do I know? It’s their lives. They’re adults. They’re making their decisions. I’m not sure what her parents could possibly do.”
Brooke shook her head as she poured us each a glass of wine. “I deal with students her age every day. There’s this odd dichotomy of becoming an adult and still relying on your parents for certain things. Marley isn’t one that constantly goes back to her parents for affection or needs or money or anything like that. She and Sebastian are each working to pay for half of their college, while their parents pay for the other half. It’s the deal that they made. And I like that deal. It’s what I might do for Luke.”
I smiled, thinking of Luke, who was now out with Leif and the crew tonight for a guys’ evening.
“Marley and Sebastian both have great heads on their shoulders, and they’re not going to do this alone. And honestly, I’m kind of excited for a new baby.” Brooke smiled, and May and I met gazes, grinning.
“Are you and Leif planning on something that I should know about?” I asked, fluttering my eyelashes. “Are you going to make me an auntie again?”
Technically, Leif and I were cousins. My father and Leif’s father were Montgomerys, but with our generation, it was just easier to call us all siblings or aunts and uncles and other things. Leif and I had been raised practically as siblings, considering we were closer in age than the others. I didn’t really think about the fact that once he and Brooke got married, that Luke would be my cousin once removed, or second cousin. I wasn’t quite sure how that worked. In my mind, he would be my nephew. Especially considering the fact that Brooke and I were like sisters these days. My best friend. And I was grateful she was in my life.
“Oh no. We need some time. We’re still pretty new in this whole relationship thing. Even if it feels like we’ve been together forever.”
“I kind of agree, though. It’ll be nice for a new baby. For the next generation to start. I know my parents are sort of getting excited about becoming great-aunts and uncles.”
“Not grandparents?” May asked, grinning, and I laughed outright.
“My siblings are a little too young for that.”
The girls didn’t mention the fact that I was not too young to be a parent. But I wasn’t anywhere near ready for that. I thought I had found the person I could be with. The person that would make everything better. That would be my happy ever after. But I was wrong. Oh so wrong. Zach was nothing like what I needed in life. And I wasn’t ready to take that chance again. I was pretty sure I was never going to take that chance again.
I didn’t need to think about it.
“Anyway,” Brooke said. “I’m glad we’re doing this girls’ night. We haven’t had a lot of time to just hang out.”
“We do okay,” I countered. “We just had a dinner the other day.”
“Yes, but it still doesn’t feel like enough most of the time. I like that we hang out as much as we do. And that today is just about us.” She smiled as she said it, and I smiled right back.
“It is nice that tonight’s about us. Plus, I didn’t have to cook dinner since you did all the cooking today.”
I looked over at May, who blushed.
“Luke helped. He’s getting really good at this whole cooking thing.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re teaching him, because I get to reap the benefits,” Brooke said with a laugh.
“Now, why don’t you tell us this news?” Brooke said as she sipped her wine.
I blinked, before I grinned. “You’re right. I forgot that I was going to mention this one thing.”
Great , I thought.
“Well, I was officially nominated and awarded top forty CEOs under forty in the country with Elite .”
The girls paused, then their eyes brightened as each let out a high-pitched squeal and jumped to their feet.
“Oh my God. That’s amazing.”
I blushed and looked down at my empty wine glass. “I feel like a fraud.”
“Excuse me?” May asked. “Don’t you dare feel like a fraud, lady.”
“I can’t help it. All of those CEOs are in big business. Yes, my company does great work, and the subsidiary company that helps other businesses does even better work. But I don’t really think of myself as a CEO.”
“Okay, we have a lot to unpack in those statements. First,” Brooke began, “you are a damn CEO. You run a multimillion-dollar company. You travel all over the world with your tech and business. Your coding for that tech has won awards. You have countless patents under your belt and even more underneath the company’s belt.
“Not to mention you’ve helped dozens of women-owned companies succeed. You’ve put down micro-loans and capital to make that happen. You’ve allowed other companies to help those companies by teaching them about those loans. You have done so much good, and you’re only just beginning. You’re amazing. So why do you think you don’t belong?”
I scrunched my face. “I don’t like it when you put it all out like that. It makes me sound like I’ve done a lot more than I have.”
“You have done a lot. You’ll do even more. I’m so proud to call you my friend. Top forty under forty? Amazing.”
“I don’t know, I always found it a little ageist that they even have that. Like as soon as I hit forty I’m no longer good enough?”
“That’s a whole other thing.” May shook her head. “I mean, it’s nice to see the next generations working up towards things. And it’s not like the men in their late forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies are letting go of power anytime soon,” May singsonged.
I snorted, shook my head. “Okay. You’re right. Damn you. But still, it’s amazing, isn’t it? And crazy.”
“So, what does this honor mean?”
“It means I get to go to their retreat. Which is insane. And there’s only two women going. Two women out of the top forty. And I’m one of them.”
Brooke blinked. “I can’t say that I’m surprised considering my job in academia.”
I heard the wryness in her tone, and considering everything Brooke had gone through with her PhD in physics and now in some of the top research, I didn’t blame her.
“That’s not great optics,” May said softly.
“Not even a little. So it’s not like I can turn it down. I have issues with it, issues with the magazine in charge of it, and some of the connections you get through it, but I can’t turn it down. Because I am one of the two women awarded.”
“What does it entail?” Brooke asked.
“It begins with a retreat. I get to fly out to a luxury hotel, go through some classes, some bonding techniques, and it’s all about the networking. People will get to know my company and my name. It will do great things for the company. Meaning I can put more money into other projects and help others. And I’m working towards that patient advocacy group. With the connections I can make, especially with this one company, I can do so much good.”
“Plus, you earned this. You deserve some recognition,” May added.
“Maybe. Sometimes I would rather just keep my head down to work. However, there’s a problem.”
“What’s the problem?” Brooke asked.
“Everybody there is bringing their spouse. Or their significant other. Or something like that. There’re no children going to this, but you bring your person. They network as well. It’s a see-and-be-seen retreat. It’s this whole other level that I don’t want to be part of, but it’s not like I can avoid.”
Brooke winced. “The faculty dinners have that. I bring Leif and people just stare at him.”
I snorted, I couldn’t help it. Just thinking about the fact that my tattooed and bearded cousin would be entrenched in a room with academics in tweed suits made me laugh.
Brooke narrowed her eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. There are no tweed suits to be seen.”
I threw my head back and laughed, surprised I could even do so.
“Oh come on. How the hell did you know I was thinking tweed?”
“Because you think of a professor of physics, and you think of tweed. Okay, Dr. Simmons might wear tweed, but not all the time. And not to faculty dinners. And you know that Leif can clean up good.”
May hummed under her breath. “Yes, he can.”
Brooke narrowed her gaze at her nanny, before she snorted. “I’ll forever be grateful that your blind date with Leif didn’t work out.”
“I’m forever grateful that you don’t mind the fact that I dated your boyfriend first.”
The two laughed, and I just shook my head, wincing. I had been the one to set up May on that date with Leif. It hadn’t worked out for them, though in the end it had been great for Brooke. Of course, my date had been with Zach that night. And that had been the beginning of the end, even if I hadn’t realized it in time.
If only I had.
“So what are you going to do?” May asked after we calmed down.
“Go alone, I guess. I mean, why should I have to bring a date to this? This is about me. My accomplishments. Me bringing a man to the event just to save face seems like I’m taking a few steps back, don’t you think?”
“If you felt that you had to take somebody like that, maybe, but it’s on them. What they think doesn’t matter. Would you want to bring a friend with you so you’re not there alone? That’s another thing.”
“Maybe.” And Brooke was right about that. I didn’t want to go alone, but it wasn’t like I could bring my admin with me. Or even a cousin. No, if I brought a family member, it would be like bringing my cousin to prom. I didn’t need to deal with that. But I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to go alone. But I was good about being alone. I needed to be.
I just didn’t like this feeling that I was doing something wrong.
We thankfully changed the subject to Luke, a subject that I adored, and we finished our dinner, before I had to head back home.
“I have a stack of papers to read and proposals to go through, so I’m going to walk across the lawn to my house. But thank you for dinner.”
“Thank you for coming. And we’ll figure out what to do for your retreat. I’m so damn proud of you.” Brooke kissed my cheek, then May kissed the other, and I laughed before I said my goodbyes.
I walked across the lawn, grateful that Brooke still lived there, but I knew she wouldn’t for long. Leif had a bigger house, and they’d be moving in soon. They were just waiting for the final paperwork to go through.
It would be weird to think that I wouldn’t have her next door any longer, even though I hadn’t known Brooke for too long. Not even a year, and yet everything had changed.
The porch light was on, so I saw the shadow well ahead of time.
I held back a scream as I looked down at the bouquet of dead flowers on my porch.
It looked as if it had hit a window.
The bouquet lay there, the rose petals strewn about the porch.
But that was the problem. Because someone had torn those petals. The rose petals had been torn from the stalks, their thorns still evident on the stems.
I knew what this was. A threat. It had to be.
Because nobody else would be leaving me flowers.
I quickly took a few photos, and then called my contact with the police.
I knew what they would say before they even said it, but it wasn’t like I could not call them.
“Go back to Brooke’s house. We’ll send somebody by.”
I sighed. “I want to go inside. I just want to go home. I’m tired of this.”
“Zach is out of town,” he said, and I swallowed hard, my throat constricting. “He’s not here. This wasn’t him, Lake, but he could have hired someone, or something else. This could be kids for all we know. A prank. We’ll send someone out.”
“I’ll be fine. But I guess tonight’s going to be a long night.”
“Go to Brooke’s. We’ll be there soon.”
I hung up, and I stood there, and though I knew nobody was watching me, I still shivered before I headed back to Brooke’s, and tried to think of what exactly I would say, knowing I couldn’t lie.
I couldn’t keep secrets, not anymore.
But I just wanted this to be over.
And I knew it wouldn’t be. Possibly ever.
Because Zach hadn’t gone to jail. There was a restraining order against him because he had hurt me, but the charges were dropped because he had friends in high places. Because his parents were judges, his sister and brother lawyers. Even his their spouses were lawyers. He had connections that I didn’t. And he would hurt my company, and the startups and patient advocacy groups that I was working with. He had threatened all of that, so I had made sure he had gone away, but I couldn’t do anything else. Not since this was his first offense, not since I knew he could hurt me again, even without laying his hands on me.
So there was nothing I could do except wait. And hope. And try to pretend everything was normal.
Even though I knew nothing was normal. And it would never be again.