Chapter 29
Monica
A knock sounded at my apartment door. It was nearly 10 p.m. I felt my heart drop to my stomach as I tiptoed to the door in my flannel pajamas and looked out the peephole. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Heart standing on the other side.
“I know you’re in there. Let me in,” she said through the door.
I unlocked the door, which took a while with all of the locks I had installed, and eventually opened the door to reveal my best friend standing there with a box of pizza in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as she pushed her way inside.
“I’m saving you from yourself,” she said, setting the pizza and wine on the white countertop.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, closing the door behind me.
“I haven’t seen you in weeks. You always have some sort of excuse, but I know it’s because you’re holing yourself up in here and drowning in your sadness over Mr. Billionaire.”
I rolled my eyes, even though she had read me like a book.
“Not true.”
“It is,” she said, pulling plates from my cabinets.
“At least start with the glasses.” I sighed as I reached for the bottle of wine and began uncorking it.
“That’s my girl.” She laughed.
I noticed she was in pajamas, too. Much nicer ones than my green and black plaid ones.
“You’re in pajamas…”
“Yes,” she said, as if it were an obvious choice to cross town in.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“Armand, of course.”
“Are you planning on—”
“Sleeping over? Yes. We haven’t had a sleepover in years.”
“What about Bridgette?”
“She’s with Daniel. She’s become a real daddy’s girl lately. It’s kind of pissing me off.” She laughed as she poured a generous serving of wine into each glass.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to. That’s what best friends are for.” She clinked her glass against mine and took a sip.
We both served ourselves a few slices of pepperoni jalapeno pizza and took our plates and wine to the couch. Just having Heart here made me realize how lonely I had been the past few weeks without Troy, but I had done it to myself. I had shut myself off from the world, not wanting to drown anyone with my own unhappiness. But here was my best friend, here to wallow with me. I needed her.
“So, how is work?” she asked, taking a bite of pizza.
I pushed my pizza around on the plate as I thought about how best to answer without sounding so miserable. But the truth was, I had been miserable. It was hell on earth spending so much time with Troy and trying to forget that we were ever anything more than two people who worked together. It was like someone had flipped a switch, just like that, and now I was scrambling in the dark. I couldn’t catch my bearings. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, even though he was right in front of me. It was like I missed him more when I was next to him than I did when we were apart.
“It’s…fine,” I said.
Heart narrowed her gaze. “Come on, Monica. You can tell me. Get it all out there.”
I felt my eyes welling up with tears. Tears I had refused to let fall for at least a week now, after I had told myself to toughen up. But I wasn’t tough. I was a wreck. I felt the tears stream down my cheeks.
“Oh, honey.” Heart wrapped me in a tight hug.
“I feel like such a fool,” I said into her shoulder.
She pushed me back and looked at me sternly. “ You are not a fool. You followed your heart and you’re never at fault for that.”
“But did I really think that this was going to turn into one of my romance novels?” I asked, shaking my head.
“Maybe. Why not think that? You deserve it.”
“Clearly not. Because I lost him.”
“Correction.” She held up a finger. “ He lost you.”
True. He lost me the second he said there was nothing between us, and again right after when he barely fought for me. For us. He gave up so easily when he walked out the door, and it crushed me. I didn’t even remember how long it took me to peel myself up off the floor once he had gone, red ball gown and all.
“I just don’t know how to be around him,” I said.
“You just keep doing what you’re doing. Being the best personal assistant. Make him miss you while taking the money he owes you.”
“It doesn’t feel right.”
“Why the hell not? It’s your job. You earned it.”
“I guess that’s all it really ever was…” I said softly.
“You know it wasn’t just that,” she said, wiping a tear from my cheek.
“I just want to forget him.” I shrugged.
“Well, let me help you.” Heart lifted her wine glass and signaled for me to do the same.
I laughed and took a big gulp, followed by a delicious bite of pizza. There wasn’t anything that would make me feel myself again, but pizza and wine and my best friend helped. We ended up watching a rom-com and passing out in my bed after a fit of giggles over something I could hardly remember.
Hours later, I groaned as I rolled onto my back and looked at the clock. It was 9 a.m. I couldn’t remember the last time I had slept in that late.
“Ditto,” groaned Heart from next to me.
“We probably shouldn’t have opened up that second bottle of wine,” I said, rubbing my temples.
“Probably not, but it was fun.”
“It was.”
“And the fun is not over yet,” she said, sitting up with more energy than I could muster.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking at her with one eye squinted to avoid the brightness of the morning.
“You and I are going on a proper spa day. My treat.” She grinned.
“Aww, come on, Heart. You’ve done enough. Just our slumber party has me feeling better. Really.”
“Better isn’t good enough. I want you feeling amazing.”
I rolled my eyes, but smiled. I knew I wasn’t getting out of it. There was no arguing with Heart when she had her mind set on something.
“Fiiiine,” I sighed.
“That’s better. Now let’s eat some leftover pizza.”
An hour later, we were pulling up to the Four Seasons Hotel. I looked up at the white stone building that towered over us as Heart tugged me through the revolving glass doors. We rode up the elevator to where the doors opened to a large front desk area with white marble floors and modern wooden tables with orchids sitting in vases on top. I breathed in the floral scent and immediately felt relaxed.
Monica checked us in with the smartly dressed woman behind the gray swirled marble counter. She then led us through the spa, pointing out the steam room, the sauna, the meditation room, and several other rooms we would probably not even get to. The final stop of the tour was the locker room, where we found plush white robes and cloud-like slippers in our oak lockers. I undressed and slid on the robe that felt like a warm hug.
“Mmm,” I said as I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Right?” agreed Heart knowingly.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I’ll see you after your massage.” She gave my arm a squeeze.
The next hour and a half I spent in a delicious heaven of aromatherapy scents, kneads, and a scalp massage that could have put me right to sleep. When my massage was done, I sleepily opened my eyes and thanked my masseuse who I wished I could take home with me. My body felt loose as I walked down the hall toward the locker rooms to meet Heart. She looked just as dreamy as I felt.
We walked arm in arm to the steam room as we waited until our next appointment that was some sort of seaweed wrap. We stepped inside the steamy room and found a seat against the wall, resting our backs against it with our towels wrapped around us. The smell of eucalyptus wafted up toward me, further relaxing me.
“Feeling amazing yet?” asked Heart.
“Just about there.” I sighed.
The door to the steam room opened and another woman stepped inside. My breath caught as I realized I knew that strawberry-blonde hair and those long, slim legs.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered as Veronica walked by.
She looked right at me as she passed by, but pretended not to see me. Pretended like she didn’t just humiliate me in front of that ballroom of people.
“What? What is it?” asked Heart a little too loud.
I nudged her with my elbow to lower her voice.
“Ow,” she muttered. “What the hell?”
“ She’s here.”
“Who?”
“Troy’s ex-wife.”
“No way. The bitch?” asked Heart, looking around.
“Will you shhh?” I asked, holding up a finger.
“You have to say something.”
“What?” I asked, my voice a raised whisper.
“Unleash the bulldog I know you can be.”
She was right. I deserved to say something. To call her out on how she treated me. I remembered what she had said to me and how she had looked at me like I was nothing. I felt all of my feelings from the past few weeks rise to the surface. I stood up clutching my towel, feeling slightly ridiculous as I walked the few steps to where Veronica sat.
“Excuse me,” I said.
“Can I help you?” she asked, uninterested as she looked up at me.
“I know you know who I am. You owe me an apology,” I said.
She looked me up and down as if I were a cockroach. “I owe you nothing,” she deadpanned.
I heard Heart clear her throat from behind me and the rustling of her towel as she stood up and walked over beside me.
“Oh, is this your little sidekick?” asked Veronica, looking at Heart with amusement. “How cute.”
“It won’t be cute when I slap that smile off your face,” said Heart.
Veronica’s smile left her face. And I’m the bulldog , I thought.
“You think you’re better than everyone else, but you’re not,” I said. “I can see it in the way you try to put others down to build yourself back up. You couldn’t stand that I was at that event with Troy, so you tried to humiliate me.”
“I couldn’t care less what plaything Troy brings anywhere. He will tire of you eventually. I’m the only woman who has ever successfully locked him down. Just watch me do it again.”
The smile that spread across her lips told me this was all just a big game to her. She didn’t actually care about Troy. She just wanted the satisfaction of knowing she could have him again. It was disgusting.
“I feel sorry for the desperate little girl you are,” I said coolly. “Troy deserves better.”
Even if I wasn’t with him anymore, I still didn’t wish this on him.
Heart and I turned on our heels and left the room before Veronica could respond, the steam following us out as the door shut behind us. My hands shook as we walked back toward the locker room.
“Oh, my God. She’s the worst,” said Heart in disbelief.
“Can we go?” I asked. “I know you had the whole day planned, but—”
“Of course we can.”
I smiled at her gratefully. I couldn’t stand the thought of being in the same building as that awful woman any longer. We dressed quickly and left before we had a chance of running into her again.