21. Chapter 21
Monday morning, Summoner sent me off nicely.
He tucked under the covers to wake me up with his tongue.
After that awesome wake up call, we ate breakfast together.
His passionate goodbye kiss left me breathless and dazed as I walked out the front door.
Moore shook his head in mock disapproval before handing me a tumbler of coffee and a packed lunch.
Before I could thank him, he rolled his eyes and told me to get a move on so he could drive me.
I felt rested and well taken care of. It was very different, but I liked it.
My positive energy radiated off me as I strolled into the lobby.
Smiling like a weirdo who loved mornings, Jordan looked confused as hell at the sight of me.
It took everything in me not to blab about everything Summoner-related on the elevator.
I was on the tail end of an amazing weekend with an amazing man, but I couldn’t say anything about it to anyone. I managed to contain myself.
“How are you holding up?” I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“I’m alive, so there’s that.” He exhaled.
Besides a few texts to check in, I wanted to give Jordan space. He wore a brave face, complete with a few dark circles under his eyes. That afternoon, before leaving the office for a story interview, he slipped a character creation sheet for a new game on my desk.
There’s hope yet.
My week was a mix of writing for work, then coming home to write for fun. It was weird to detach myself from the structure of listicle writing. My eyes strained due to using my computer so much. But writing this romantic story reignited my passion for the written word. It was so damn fun.
***
Unknown number: 6:15 Raines Law Room
My brow furrowed at the mysterious text. I glanced at the message again, my curiosity piqued.
Who the fuck was texting me from an unknown number?
A bit of research told me Raines Law Room was a speakeasy on 17th Street. I debated ignoring the cryptic invitation, tired from a boring day at work. Figuring someone just forgot to tell me they got a new number—and feeling a need to satisfy my curiosity—I dragged my ass out of the apartment.
Invoking a true undercover 20s vibe, the entry to Raines was through an unassuming door and down a flight of stairs. I rang the doorbell and waited. After a moment or two for good measure, the door creaked open, and a tall server dressed in all black peeked out.
“Name?”
“Uh, Poppy Thomas.”
Without glancing at anything, he nodded and held open the door open for me.
I followed him into the dimly-lit speakeasy with its velvet wallpaper, led candelabras, and gothic curtains.
A lack of ambient conversation was very noticeable.
This time of evening, I figured a place like this would be full.
The server guided me to the furthest corner of the bar, where he graciously held aside the curtain for me.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.
“I was wondering if you were going to show up,” Kay tutted.
What the actual fuck?
She sat on a leather lounger with a real oversized Prada bag beside her. Before I could react, the curtain fluttered down and smacked me in the face.
“Ack!”
Apparently, the server got tired of waiting for me to move and let go.
I flailed around for a moment, retrieving myself from the fabric.
Face on fire, I sat down in a lounger opposite Kay.
Dressed in a tailored red jumpsuit that expertly matched her lipstick, the blonde nursed a colorful, long-stemmed drink.
I gnawed the inside of my cheek, feeling underdressed in my jeans and woefully out of my depth for this confrontation.
“Where are my manners? Would you like a drink, Poppy?”
Listening to her was annoying. Every time she talked, each word came out as over-pitched yelling. I couldn’t imagine that rich white women like her were ever told to quiet down.
I shifted in my seat. “Sure. Preferably something with whiskey in it.”
I needed something strong to steel myself for whatever the fuck she invited me here for. Nodding, she reached behind her, pulling a small gold chain. Almost instantaneously, a server appeared.
“Ma’am?”
“Could you get my friend here something with whiskey in it, please?” She smiled cooly.
The server left us, and she turned her attention back to me.
“There was a time in my life when help didn’t address me like some weathered old thing. Time makes fools of us all.” She shook her head. “…So, how have you been?” she asked, as if we were friends catching up.
My brow furrowed at the pretense.
“You can’t imagine how much it would cost you to rent a place like this out last minute.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or can you?”
“What is this? What do you want?’ I huffed, my patience with this game growing thinner by the moment.
Kay pursed her lips at my curtness. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Did we?”
She nodded. “You have to forgive me. I wasn’t expecting to see a random woman’s whole ass first thing in the morning.”
In that moment of embarrassment, my eyes betrayed me, widening with shock.
She smirked. For all my good sense, I resisted the urge to ask when was the last time she had a good dicking, because it might help her not be such a bitch.
The curtain beside me fluttered as a server placed a rocks glass on the small table beside me.
Crushed ice mounded over the rim of the glass, and garnishes of fresh mint and lemon added a pop of color on top.
Carefully, I grabbed the glass and lifted it to my mouth.
The rich flavor of the whiskey hid a burning bite underneath the subtle sweetness.
Savoring my drink, I momentarily forgot the situation I was in. As I lowered the glass, I met Kay’s amused expression, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I took another sip of my drink. The harshness of the alcohol was heavy all the way to my stomach.
“Whatever do you mean?” I asked sweetly, batting my eyelashes to add a bit of extra flair.
Kay’s eye roll was a thing of practiced, smooth beauty. “What do you want with Summoner?”
“Why is that any of your business?”
She blinked, not expecting any pushback against her prying.
“Because I’m his best friend. I know him better than he knows himself.” A smile spread across her overly plump lips.
“I don’t think you do.”
“Watch your mouth, Poppy. You don’t understand what you’re stepping into here.” Her voice hadn’t reached hysterics, but her already loud tone crept louder.
A laugh fluttered out of my mouth.
“This is funny to you?” She had the nerve to look affronted.
I shrugged. “A little. Menacing doesn’t work for you.”
It was her turn to laugh. “I don’t know how this started. I don’t know what you did, and honestly, I don’t want to know. I called you here to tell you it needs to end.”
This bitch…
I sat my drink on the side table and leaned back into my chair. “You don’t have any control over that. If I remember correctly, you’re his ex-wife. What authority do you have?”
A ridge deepened between her brows at the callout of her status.
“I have much more authority than you think I do. We have a history that you couldn’t even begin to understand.”
“Ex-wife.” I repeated the words slowly, emphasizing each syllable with a matter-of-fact tone.
“You think you’re special, but you’re not. You’re just like any other fucking girl in this city who wants to get ahead by giving up her ass.”
I swallowed Kay’s little barbs. Although untrue, they still found a way to sting.
“You don’t fucking know me,” I spat.
“You don’t know me,” she spat back.
“Don’t want to,” I countered.
Ignoring that, she leaned forward. “What do you want, Poppy?”
I shook my head. My intentions, my reasons, were mine and mine alone. She had no right to them.
“You want to play it like that, then fine.” She reached into her purse, pulled out an envelope, and held it towards me.
“Let’s cut straight to things, then.”
Confused, I grabbed the envelope. She motioned for me to open it. I ripped open the paper and went slack-jawed at the contents.
Kay’s laughter pierced my ears. “There it is!”
I squinted.
What the actual fuck?!
I held in my hands a check for a hundred thousand dollars.
“Money’s the root of everything, isn’t it?”
I glanced up at Kay. A smile curled her inflated lips as if she had just solved world hunger.
“Come on, a girl like you doesn’t want some crotchety old man who has trouble leaving his apartment. I understand, Poppy. I really do. I lived that life once. It’s not good for anyone.”
The envelope crinkled in my suddenly-damp fingers.
This was enough money to solve every problem in my life.
With some kind of antagonistic ex-wife foresight, she saw into my life and knew what button to press.
This was a life-changing amount of money.
I could pay off my student loans. I wouldn’t need any support from Dad.
He could get better. We both could be better.
“Does…oes he know?” I whispered, my voice barely a breath as I felt my confidence shatter and the weight of my words gather at my feet.
“Of course not. He likes you. For whatever you think of me, I’m not trying to hurt him.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Summoner’s been a part of my life for decades. He’s been my lover, my best friend, my husband, my life partner, the father of my children. He means everything to me.”
The way she listed their various relationship titles like a resume made the booze in my stomach sour.
She’s right.
My lips twisted together at the realization. The two had history. A deeper connection that stretched fucking decades. More than anything I could hope to have.
“I want to do what’s best for everyone. This doesn’t have to be some big messy thing. Everyone has flings. Let this be that. Leave him alone. Go off quietly. Find someone appropriate. Someone you actually love.”
I love him!
I fidgeted in my seat, feeling increasingly uneasy.
The urge to jump up and scream that in her smug fucking face was overwhelming, but my scattered, overwhelmed thoughts kept me paralyzed.
My mouth dried as I felt pulled between two points: an incomplete picture of my future where I had the freedom to build a life I wanted, and loving Summoner.
What do I want?
A love that seemed predestined to fail or the ability to shape my own destiny? Falling in love with him was fucking foolish. And I was the fool. I glanced at the check again, noticing that it wasn’t endorsed.
“…How would this work?” Every word seemed unsteady as they clumsily spilled out of my mouth.
“If you don’t drag this out and leave without a fuss, I’ll cut you the check or wire it directly into any account you choose. This isn’t a big deal for me, but I know it is for you.”
The rich woman swooping in to make all the problems (me) go away with the flashing of cold, hard cash. How very noble of her.
“What about him?”
Kay blinked. “Summoner?”
My eyes narrowed. “Yes, Summoner.”
She dismissed my concerns with a wave of her hand. “He’ll be fine.”
How does she know that?
“Can you just promise me…I just want him to be okay.”
Kay’s head tilted to the side as she regarded me for a moment. “…I promise.”
The conviction in her voice made it impossible for me not to believe her.
A man who was forever out of reach had captured my heart.
For all my chasing, he would be forever just outside my reach.
It was a thought I had several times before.
Love didn’t automatically make things work.
Our ages would keep us apart. Kay’s foresight allowed her to see past my delusions, no matter how convincing they seemed to me.
“Poppy, we’re not so different, you and I.”
I looked at the manicured and polished woman in front of me and couldn’t agree with that assessment.
“Everything you think you know, I’ve already learned and lived twenty times over. You aren’t going to win here. You can’t. You’re out of your depth. So, cut your losses. Get out while the going’s good and let me take care of this.”
This woman, propelled by the authority of common sense and practicality, was ripping my heart from my body. A wave of dizziness washed over me. I had to admit to myself that Kay was right. This foolish endeavor needed an end date.
We would never work.
Love isn’t enough.
“I’ll give you a couple of weeks. A month at most, to end things. Summoner is an amazing man. Enjoy your time with him, and once things are quietly over, reach out. You have my contact information now. Let me take care of Summoner—like I’ve already been doing for nearly 40 years.”
I nodded, unable to speak for fear of spilling a flood of unshed tears.
“Keep the check. A reminder of our arrangement.”
Kay reached behind her, pulling the gold chain. After a beat, a server appeared.
“Could you walk my friend out?” she asked.