Chapter 88
About That Elephant
Ryder
Inside the suite, I braced for the fallout. If she was going to flip, the time would be now. My gaze strayed to the mini-bar, and I resisted the urge to scoff.
When I looked back at Tessa, she was glaring.
"What?" I asked.
Her expression hardened. "I know what you're thinking."
Doubtful. "Yeah? And what's that?"
"You're standing there thinking, 'Gee, I wonder if she's gonna raid the mini-bar.'"
It was an impressive guess, but I refused to admit it. "So, are you?"
By now, she was practically quivering with indignation. "If I didn't raid it last night, why would I now? I was here alone for two whole hours. I could've cleaned out a lot more than the bar."
As she said it, something twisted in my gut. I had imagined her storming out the moment I left, doing a grab-and-go with her own stuff.
And now I felt like an ass.
But what came out of my mouth was, "You could've. It's not a big deal."
"Oh, please," she said. "It's obviously a big deal to you, because you brought up that stupid video."
I gave her a look. "I brought up that video?"
"You brought up me 'grabbing the booze.' That is how you put it, right?" She crossed her arms. "So, do you want to know why I grabbed it?" She answered without waiting. "Because it was mine."
Yeah, right. I'd been around the block a time or two, and in no world, did someone keep their personal stash sitting out in the open. "Your booze?"
"Yes, actually. I was chasing a big campaign with this beverage company, and they were too cheap to send us samples." She gave a bitter laugh. "And my employer was even cheaper, so I spent money I didn't have on enough of those bottles to get an elephant wasted."
"A pretty big elephant."
She didn't smile. "Yeah, and a pretty big bill, too – one my boss refused to reimburse. So tell me something. If those bottles were yours, would you just leave them for the vultures who just threw you under the bus?"
From watching the video, I knew she'd left some on the table. So of course, the smartass in me couldn't resist. "Hey, even you didn't take all of them."
"Yeah? Well, I should have." Her jaw flexed. "I could use a dozen right now."
The idea was laughable, but I didn't even smile. "It's seven in the morning."
"Oh, like that's a game-changer." Her arms were still crossed. "And while we're at it, I suppose you want to know about the paramedic too."
"What paramedic?"
"The one in that presentation." She scoffed. "The photo, remember? The one where I'm dry humping his leg."
In the image, I'd seen no such thing. All I'd seen was Tessa clowning around for a photo with friends. I'd found the image hilarious, not damning.
Come to think of it, I'd seen that photo well before watching footage of the full flameout. But the photo itself? It had made me laugh louder than I had in ages.
Now, looking back, I realized something. That photo had been one of the things that had sent me falling.
Tessa had a great sense of humor and wasn't afraid to look foolish. From the start, I had always loved that about her, so hell if I'd mock her for it now.
Quietly, I said, "You want the truth? I liked it." No lie. I might be an asshole, but I was an honest one. And in spite of everything else, I wasn't here to kick her while she was down.
"I didn't," she said. "With the way they cropped it, I look like a party girl for pay."
My jaw tightened. "That's bullshit."
"Yeah, no kidding. It was taken at a bachelorette party forever ago. The guy wasn't even a real paramedic. And if you saw the whole photo, it would look a whole lot different."
I believed her. But curiosity made me ask, "How different?"
"For starters, there were at least ten other girls. And half of them were drunker than I was. But you don't see them getting dragged through the mud, do you?"
Even if I had seen the others, I would've only had eyes for Tessa. It had been this way from the start.
But that didn't change anything. And why? Because the thing holding me back had nothing to do with the video.
The footage had only given me something to stare at while sticking to a decision I'd hated to make. But now, looking at this Tessa – the one standing in front of me, looking fragile and real – I was having a hard time holding back.
It was time to get this over with. I held out my hand, palm up. "You wanna give me the keycard? I need it for someone else."
She stiffened. "Seriously?"
Shit. "I meant Griff. He's taking the suite after I leave."
She gave a hard swallow. "And when is that?"
"Tonight. After I finish some business." I glanced at my watch. "Speaking of which, I've gotta head out."
She stared. "To do what?"
"Some packing."
"But your stuff's all here. That doesn't make sense."
"Maybe. But that doesn't make it untrue."
"Hey, if you want me to leave, you don't need an excuse." She let out a short, humorless laugh. "Say we're done, and make it official."
It felt like she was daring me to hurt her. That's not what I wanted, but I refused to lie. "Fine. We're done."
For a second, she just stared, as if waiting for me to take it back. She didn't breathe, and neither did I as the moment held, like glass about to shatter.
Finally, she gave a single nod. "Right. Well…thanks for the closure, I guess."
She didn't cry. She didn't argue. And she didn't reach for the mini-bar, either—although she looked like she might break if she stayed another moment.
A minute later, it was over. I had the keycard. She had the book. And nobody was happy.
Call it a lose-lose.
But I owed her one last truth – a detail I'd been holding back, not because it wasn't worth mentioning, but because soon, Tessa would've found out on her own.
For reasons I couldn't quite decipher, I didn't want her hearing it from someone else. As she was walking out the door, I softly said, "Hey, Tessa."
When she turned to look, the hope in her eyes hurt to see. "Yeah?"
"You don't need to worry about Carver."
She hesitated. "Why?"
"Because he's dead."
She took a step back. "What? You're joking, right?"
I didn't have it in me to joke. "Nope. By noon, it'll be all over the news. But I wanted you to know first."