Chapter 8
Once Sloane was gone, Ava turned on her laptop again. As she waited for it to come to life, she pulled out a small bottle of vanilla spray and spritzed the air around her. Then she put her joint out.
She really needed to stop smoking in here.
Hell, she needed to stop smoking altogether.
But it made her feel grounded in a world where she was surrounded by eco-conscious phonies, and everyone she knew was cheating on everyone.
Which…was unfair, but the world was unfair and her best friend was dead.
She pulled up the web pages that Sloane had checked, then looked in the sent box of Cara’s email, saw that Sloane had forwarded the messages to herself.
Which wasn’t odd in and of itself.
Okay, it was a little strange.
She leaned back in her chair, tapped her finger against her desk as she contemplated why on earth Sloane had wanted those emails.
As she sat there, her entire body numb, there was a brief knock on her door then Ryan stepped in. Frowning, he strode to the windows. “Jesus, Ava. Close the damn windows.”
She bristled at his tone but kept her expression neutral, as usual with him. Any type of emotion seemed to set him off these days. “You don’t like the breeze?”
“How high are you?” he snapped as he clicked the lock into place.
“My best friend is dead. I’m allowed to grieve.”
“Oh, so that’s your excuse today?”
“Fuck you. Oh, that’s right, you don’t do that anymore.
” She couldn’t keep the rage out of her voice.
She knew he was screwing someone else, but couldn’t figure out who.
She didn’t even care, so she wasn’t sure why she was pushing him.
Okay, that was a lie, she knew why. Because she was angry at the entire world.
Ryan closed his eyes, sighed. “I’m not having this conversation again. Please tell me you weren’t this nasty to Sloane.”
Sloane. Ava glanced back at her screen, still trying to figure out what Sloane was up to. She was just a pilot. Why would she want those emails? Morbid curiosity?
“Can you even hear me?”
“I hear you just fine.” She shut her laptop but didn’t make a move to get up, just gave him the dead-eyed stare she’d perfected over the years. In a male-dominated industry, she’d had to be a hard-ass. “So are you fucking Sloane too?” she asked cooly.
“Oh my god, Ava! She’s Cara’s sister.” He looked horrified by her words.
Fine, maybe she had gone too far, and Ava knew someone like Sloane wouldn’t look twice at her preppy husband. She was too smart and way out of his league.
“Don’t tell me you don’t want her.” Even some happily married men had done double takes of her at the memorial. Sloane was younger by maybe a decade, petite and lean, with long dark hair and undeniable confidence, and she had the same bright blue eyes that Cara had. God, Cara.
Ava covered her face, tried to banish her image. Thinking about her made Ava want to black out, forget everything, but not tonight. She had to get out of this gorgeous home she’d thought she always wanted.
Her entire life was more like a prison now, one she desperately wanted to escape. She knew she was screwing up in more ways than one. But she couldn’t seem to stop the destructive train ride she was on. And now her best friend was dead. She had no one to talk to.
No one to confide in.
Ryan said something she didn’t catch before he stalked out of her office. She pulled out her cell phone, texted a familiar number. You free tonight?
The response was immediate. Definitely. My place?
I’ll be there in five.