Scott #2
“But how could you say anything when I sprung up without warning? No, I get it. Trust me, I’ve been told more than once that my impulsivity is inconvenient to others.”
I leaned back against my desk and tapped my fingers on the surface at my sides. “Not going to lie…”
“Hey, you have no place talking about what inconveniences others. You’re asking a lot of me yourself.”
“You’re right. I am.” I fought hard against the creeping disappointment, sure that what I was asking was too much.
“But I’m going to help you.”
“You are? Why?” It was probably not the best reaction, but it was definitely the most honest.
She let out a half laugh. “Well, because Conscience Connect is getting paid a fuckton of money through this deal.”
That had been one of my demands in the still yet-to-be-signed contract. A payment package that would cover both Tess and Kendra.
“But more importantly because I really care about the DRF too.”
I felt the clock ticking. Felt the seconds that I wasn’t trying to get a hold of Tess slipping away.
Still, I couldn’t stop the urge to ask. “Then why didn’t you ever come to SIC with this before? It’s a perfect fit for us. You have to see that.”
“I do,” she admitted. “And maybe I should have. At first, I worried about... You know what? It’s complicated, and right now it sounds like you should be talking to Tess.”
Yes, yes. That’s what I needed to be doing.
I reached for my cell phone before remembering. “Her phone is broken.”
“You could try calling Teyana,” Kendra said somewhat tentatively.
“Right. Good idea.” I circled around my desk so I could better reach the speaker button on my office phone. “Sadie, get me the number for Teyana Lewis. She’s one of the patients in the DRF documentary, so it should be in the permission statements.”
“Or you could just ask me.” Kendra was already pulling her cell phone from her pocket.
“Never mind, Sadie.” I clicked off the speaker, then picked up my cell phone. “Ready when you are.” I entered the digits and pressed CALL.
One ring. Two. Three. Four. Five.
“It went to voicemail.” I considered redialing. “Maybe she doesn’t answer numbers she doesn’t know.”
Kendra hesitated a moment. “Let me try.” Two seconds later…“I got voicemail too.”
I refrained from cursing out loud, though a string of four-letter words ran through my mind. “Thanks for trying.”
“There’s a good possibility she didn’t answer me on purpose,” Kendra said, tucking her phone away.
Again, I could feel the tug of curiosity, but she prevented me from pursuing it when she stood up and said, “Guess you’ll have to go to her apartment and talk to her in person. Do you still have her address?”
As stressed as I felt, I couldn’t help smiling. “Yes. Thank you. And thank you for helping me. I still don’t fully understand your motives—”
Once again, she cut me off. “But does it matter?”
“Suppose I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Especially not when I had more important things I needed to be doing.
It took more than an hour to clear my schedule. One of my scheduled events I couldn’t get out of—a scandal minimization meeting that my father was also attending. I managed to leave after forty-five minutes and without speaking to him individually, so I called it a win.
By a quarter after two, I was on the road headed to Jersey City. With traffic and parking, it was almost another hour before I was standing in front of Tessa’s apartment door.
She’ll listen to you. She’s going to give you a chance to explain. She loves you, so she’ll want to work this out.
It felt like hours between the time I knocked and when the door opened. When it did, it was only opened a couple of inches, enough for me to see Teyana wearing an expression that said she was not at all pleased with me.
Which meant Tess had told her.
Which meant Tess had come home.
“I can tell I’m not your favorite person right now,” I said, trying to be as charming as I could. “But can I talk to her? Please?”
“As far as I’m concerned, I’d be happy if she never spoke to you again. So what if I lose out on my SIC treatment? Not worth the price of my friend. Oh, and congratulations to you and Kendra. You deserve each other.”
“Teyana, please. No, it’s not...I’m not marrying Kendra.”
“Sure as hell doesn’t sound like you’re not when you announce to a room full of reporters that you are.”
“And no matter what happens, you won’t lose your treatment. Even if the sponsorship gets killed, I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket. I swear.”
She opened the door a little more at that. “Why would it get killed?”
“It won’t.” Not if my father remained convinced about my engagement, it wouldn’t.
“I just meant that none of this has any bearing on your treatment. Even if Tess never speaks to me again, but I really, really hope that’s not the case because I love her, and I am definitely not marrying Kendra Montgomery. ”
She continued to peer at me skeptically.
“I’ve even told Kendra that it’s not happening.”
She opened the door wider. “You did? How did she take that?”
Her concern surprised me, so it took me a second to answer. “Well, actually. Really well.”
“Huh.” Teyana’s expression relaxed slightly. “In that case, I guess it would be okay if you talked to Tess. If she were here.”
“She’s not here?” I threw my head back in exasperation.
“She left about fifteen minutes ago to go get a new phone. That will probably take the rest of the afternoon.”
I was fortunate enough to always have someone deal with issues like that for me, but I’d heard getting a new phone could be a lengthy process. “Mind if I wait?”
“I wouldn’t mind. But it would be silly if you did since she said she was headed straight to your house as soon as she was done.”
Somehow I managed not to snap. “You could have led with that.”
She smiled. “I could have, but I much preferred watching you squirm.”
“I’m sure I deserve it.” Suddenly, I wondered if this was too easy. “She’s really going there? You aren’t trying to just get rid of me?”
“That would be fun, wouldn’t it? But no. For some reason, she thinks you deserve the benefit of the doubt. Or at least a conversation. She’s a nicer person than I am.”
Thank God for that. “Thank you. I appreciate this, and I promise I’m going to make things better.” I flinched as I said it, hoping it was a promise I could keep. “Can I give you my number in case something changes?”
“Sure. Let me get my phone.” She disappeared for a second, then returned to the door. After unlocking her screen, she handed me her cell.
“I already have your number,” I said, entering my number in her device. “But if I call it will likely say RESTRICTED. I tried calling earlier.”
“Ah, that was you. I don’t answer when I don’t know who it is.”
I handed her the phone back. “I thought that was the case, so Kendra called right after.”
“And her name showed up on the screen, which was why I sent her to voicemail right away.”
I studied her. I’d sensed tension between Kendra and Tess, but I hadn’t realized it extended to Teyana. “You really don’t like her, do you? Why is that?”
“Do you want to stand here and talk about my issues with Kendra, or do you want to go get your girl?”
There was only one right answer, only one answer I wanted to give. “I’m going to get my girl.”