Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Waverly
He wants me in his life!
The thought plays on repeat in my mind as I head over to Alana’s new building and stride into her office. It’s modern with hints of government oversight. Her desk is glass with sleek, black legs. All the wires for her computer are hidden somewhere. She’s got an amazing view… of an office park. There is a pretty little pond guarded by Canadian geese.
Wait, no, they’re called Canada geese, which is stupid because they are native to Canada, therefore they are Canadian. But Canadians are nice and sweet and these geese have been spawned from the deepest depths of hell. We should rename them Cobra Chickens. That would be more accurate. And yeah, it’s totally fitting that Alana would have a flock of Cobra Chickens to protect her security company. I’m kinda shocked she hasn’t fitted them with tiny rifles with laser scopes.
Izzy is spinning around in one of the office chairs and stops when her boyfriend enters the room. “Babe, can you get us some wine? Waverly’s having a time and day drinking is the only solution.”
Lance frowns, which is weird because I’ve only ever seen him smile. His eyes cast between Izzy, Alana, and, finally, me. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Boo!” Izzy gives the thumbs down motion then pouted, “why?”
“Well, we’ve got to pick up Drew… And from the way you’re looking at me, it seems like I’m picking up Drew on my own. Besides, do you think it’s a good idea to have a day drink with Alana when she’s hiding ten weapons around this room?”
“Ugh, why are you so responsible?” Izzy whines and does another full rotation on the chair.
Lance leans against the door frame. “I’m pretty sure that’s why Alana hired me, and why you love me.”
“I think you’ve got a cute butt,” I chime in.
“Thanks, Waverly.” Lance shoots me finger guns.
Alana puts down her phone. “Your hot ass is exactly why I hired you.”
“That’s what I love the most about you,” Izzy says. “Now go do some squats.”
“I’ll go get some work done, since you two aren’t going to.”
Alana calls out, “If you are heading off to actually work, can you tell Macie that Phoenix has a request for a day pass so he can get a tattoo? He has permission from the rehab facility, but we’re providing extra support.”
Lance’s lip curls like he found a block of moldy cheese in the back of his fridge. “As long as I don’t have to babysit him.”
Izzy shakes her head. “You’re literally the only one of the staff who won’t work with him.”
“Then it should be easy to find someone else to get him to his vanity project.” He checks his watch. “Are we still doing the all-hands meeting at two?”
“Yes.” There’s a hint of a grin pulling at Alana’s lips. “New policies, structure shifts, and get-to-know-you team building.”
“Forced corporate fun? My god, woman, you’ve gone mad with power,” Lance sneers.
While I don’t really understand what’s going on, I pipe in with, “Oh I’m sure she’ll let you get out of it, if you agree to take this Phoenix guy to get his tattoo.”
Lance pauses, his frown deepening as he admits defeat. “I’ll play two truths and a lie.”
“Excellent choice. Close the door behind you,” Alana says and draws her attention to her laptop. “It’s my first day back after brain breaks, a merger, and getting the office put together. We’re eating fancy donuts and going over a powerpoint and making towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows.”
Alana pushes a button on her phone and all the walls shift, suddenly covered with a metal coating. “Sound proofing,” she says. “Ok, what’s up?”
“Ok, life update. Angie texted me this morning. She’s super pissed at Adam and I think she’s also kinda mad at me.” I had to reread her text a bunch of times. Hyper analyze it. And well, I don’t know how I feel. Why would she be ticked off at me? Adam’s the one who was cheating? Maybe she didn’t want the extra drama? But it stings she didn’t rush to my side the way Izzy and Alana did.
Dad and Sheila always encouraged me to have friends outside of the Four Families. They expected me to have a normal childhood experience—sleep overs, makeovers, movie nights. All those things. And when Izzy ran away, Angie was my only option left. I’ve never needed lots of friends. I was content with one, maybe two close ones.
I take a deep breath and admit, “Honestly, I don’t know how close Angie and I are anymore. She’s always working, she never asks me how I’m doing, and beside The Knights of the Night , we no longer have much in common. I’m pretty sure she’s only using me to plan her wedding.” Then I confess, “But I don’t have anyone else.”
“Well, fuck you very much,” Alana says in a dry tone. “There’s a microscopic number of people I consider friends, and you’re one of them.”
“ WHY are you friends with me ?”
Alana gets up off the chair and walks around to me, crossing her arms and leaning against the front desk. I recognize the power pose. She’s been doing it for so long I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know how to have a personal conversation without it.
“You remind me of a friend I used to have.” She hops up and sits on her desk, taking a bit more relaxed posture as she continues. “Everyone told her she needed to be something she wasn’t. And her true self was something even more amazing than what she was forced to be.”
“Why aren’t you friends with her anymore?”
Alana shrugs. “Because she stole my boyfriend.”
“WHAT!” Izzy jumps to her feet and yells, “Is she still alive?”
Alana laughs. “Yes, they both are. They only lasted six months together. They broke up and are still friends. Hell, they’re thriving.” She walks to a cabinet that’s actually a fridge, pulls out an open bottle of wine, and yanks the cork out of the bottle with her teeth. “In fact, they run through my head way more than I wander through theirs. They’re both at the top of their game.”
“Damn,” Izzy drags out the word then jumps a little. “Are they clients? Like your sister?”
“You think I’m charging top dollar to my former best friend and my ex-boyfriend for their own personal security? A job where I would have to track their every move and run background checks on anyone they sleep with? How unprofessional and masochistic.”
Alana passes the bottle over to me. I take a sip and pass it over to Izzy, who says, “Let’s circle back to Waverly. Do you think you’re going to make a clean break from Angie and her family after the wedding?”
I shrug and curl inward a little. “Well, that’s the thing.” The thread on the seam of my shirt has suddenly become very interesting. “I think I might have, potentially…kind of opened a door for ‘something’ with her other brother.”
Izzy and Alana exchanged confused glances. “Lukas?”
“DAMNNNNN!” Izzy repeats herself. “And Angie knows… wait a second.” The smile from a hot cup of spilled tea changes. “Is this the mother fucker who made you cry years ago?”
“Um, well…”
I explain all about the journal and the receipt.Izzy seems like she’s fully on team Lukas, but my super scary other friend stays neutral and quiet for a second.
Alana take the bottle and stares off into space before recorking the wine and putting it back in the fridge. No day drinking for her.
“Sex with Adam, how was it?” Conversations with her never came with logical transitions. Just BOOM, lane changes, no easy merges or blinkers. But it’s the sudden shift that makes me honest. I don’t have enough time to think of lies.
“Meh.”
“Did you ever talk to him about that?”
Humiliation burns my cheeks. “Yes, and he made me feel shitty about it.” My stomach tightens recallingall of Adam’s words to me.
Alana doesn’t ridicule me, instead she sits behindher desk and squints. “If this is a road you want to pursue, you should have an open and honest conversation with him about it. Wave, you’ve been searching for something for as long as I’ve known you, and maybe it’s because Adam was blocking the path.”