Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
M illie swiped her eyes with the back of her hand. What a jerk! Ace was right about one thing. She had been na?ve to think he would understand. She knew how bad this looked, but if he would have just listened to her for one damn second.
Whatever.
Gut wrenching pain and anger filled her as she grabbed her purse and headed out the front to tell Kelley she was leaving. The night had slowed down. Good thing or she’d feel bad about leaving everyone in the lurch. Wasn’t her coworkers’ fault Ace had a stick up his butt the size of a redwood pine.
Just before she made it through the swinging door, Trisha came through it. She stopped in her tracks, eyes going wide. Millie didn’t even want to know what she looked like right now with her teary eyes and most likely streaked makeup. Terrible, she’d guess judging by Trisha’s expression.
“Millie, what’s wrong?”
A lump of emotion clogged her throat. She couldn’t do this. Say goodbye to all the new friends she made when she was still riding the emotional rollercoaster of misery and rage. Shaking her head, she reached down deep for her voice. It was scratchy and wobbly, but she found it.
“I’m leaving. Can you tell everyone for me? I was going to say goodbye but…I can’t.”
Turning on her heels she started to head to the back exit.
“Wait,” Trisha called, running after her. “What happened?”
Stopping, she turned back, eyes darting off in the direction of Ace’s office. The door was still closed. No sound coming from behind it. Coward was hiding out until she left, she’d bet.
“Ace found the envelope.” The deadpan of her voice did not match the tornado of energy going on inside her. How odd. Usually, she wore her emotions on her sleeve, but right now all she could manage was a defeated numb.
Trisha gasped, hands covering her mouth. She dropped them, placing her palms against her chest as her eyes darted nervously to Ace and BJ’s office. “Did you tell him about…”
“No.” Millie shook her head. “I didn’t. But you promised you would, and I suggest you do it sooner rather than later. He’s just going to stew over whoever it is until he finds you out. And the longer he’s searching the madder he’ll get.”
Trisha twisted her fingers together, teeth worrying her bottom lip. “Did…did he fire you because he thinks you did it? I’m so sorry, Millie I never meant for you to get in trouble. I really need this job and—”
“Stop,” she held up a hand, “He didn’t think I did it. In fact, I’ve been helping him look for the thief, so you should be pissed at me for lying.”
Trisha blinked, surprise dropping her jaw wide.
“And he didn’t fire me. I quit.”
Silence filled the space as her confession landed. It felt good. She hated lying to anyone, but especially to people she considered friends. It felt like a weight being lifted off her shoulders to confess to Trisha. Now if only she could get the other woman to do the same maybe things could go back to the way they were.
No.
It could never be like it was again. Shame crawled up her throat at the awful things she’d said to Ace. It had been a heat of the moment type thing, but she’d still let the ugly accusations past her lips. How could she have said that to him?
“You were spying on us?”
She nodded. “A few weeks after I started, Ace noticed the missing money. He asked me to covertly snoop around. He knew it couldn’t have been me, and he promised to…doesn’t matter. I spied on all of you for him and that was wrong. I understand if you hate me and never want to talk to me again, but I want you to know I do consider you my friend. Everyone here is. And I’m sorry for not being honest with you.”
Trisha huffed out a half laugh half sob, reaching out to grab Millie in a fierce hug.
“You’re sorry? I’m the one that started this whole mess. Well,” she pulled back. “Technically it was my dick ex, but I should have been honest from the start instead of trying to sweep everything under the rug. I’m so sorry Millie. You are my friend. We all love you. And I’m sorry I put you in this impossible situation. I’ll go talk to Ace and sort this out.”
Trisha started to leave, but Millie pulled her back. She eyed the office, noting BJ heading inside. He spared them a questioning glance, but she shook her head, and he disappeared into the office.
“Don’t worry about me,” she told Trisha. “I’ll be fine. I’m opening my studio soon anyway, remember?”
Trisha nodded, tears running down her cheek.
“But I do think you should go in and tell Ace about your ex. I promise he’ll be more understanding than you think.”
Especially since BJ was in there with him right now. The twins did a good job at balancing each other out. She’d been wrong to say those horrible things to Ace. He just made her so mad with his stubbornness.
“Come by the studio when we open. First class is free.”
Trisha smiled. “Yeah, but think of the hospital bill when I fall out of that hoop thingy and break my leg.”
She laughed, placing a quick kiss on Trisha’s cheek. “That’s why we have mats. Bye Trisha.”
“Bye, Millie.”
Giving her friend one last squeeze, she rushed to the back exit. Eyes down as she passed Ace’s office. Temptation pulled at her to go apologize, see if they could work things out, but she ignored it. They were both still too heated. Besides, she couldn’t do anything to repair what they had if he refused to move an inch.
The darkness of the late night consumed her as she stepped outside. The back light had burned out. She’d have to remember to tell Del about that tomorrow—
“Shit,” she muttered softly into the still night air.
She wouldn’t be telling Del tomorrow because she wouldn’t see him. Or Charlie or BJ. Dammit. It felt like a piece of her had been ripped away. So odd. She was used to moving a lot due to her circus life. It was always sad to lose friends, but it never felt like this. Maybe because this time she wasn’t leaving on good terms. This was ugly and painful.
She got into her car and made her way back home. She tossed her keys on the kitchen counter, making her way over to Franklin’s cage. The gecko was up and about. He lifted his head as she came near, tongue poking in the air as if to ask what was wrong.
“So many things, Franklin.”
She moved over to the fridge and pulled out the bin of sliced strawberries. Sitting back down at the counter, she popped one in her mouth. The normally delicious and sweet fruit tasted like mulch thanks to her mood. Franklin tilted his head, tongue sneaking out again.
“Okay,” she said, grabbing a slice and dropping it into his food bowl. “But just because I’m sad and we both deserve a treat.”
Her sweet baby deserved all the love. Maybe she’d buy him a waxworm this week. Cheering up others always pulled her out of a funk.
Sadly, she didn’t think any amount of spoiling her gecko would fix the vacuous hole in her heart. How could she have been so wrong about Ace? She thought they had a real connection. It started out as fun, but over the past month she swore they’d become something more. Or maybe she was just projecting her own feelings on the situation. There was no way he could have said the things he did to her if he cared as deeply as she did.
Or maybe her betrayal hurt too much for him to overlook.
Shame filled her at the realization. She had betrayed him. Ace counted on her to find the person responsible for putting his business at risk. Wouldn’t she react the same way if the situation was reversed? Plus, he had his siblings to think about. She had to remember Ace had more than just himself to look after. Even if Charlie, Del, and BJ were all grown, she knew Ace considered them his responsibility. No wonder he was so angry.
“Mommy messed up big time, buddy.”
She sighed, popping another strawberry slice in her mouth. This whole mess was too much for her weary brain right now. What she needed to do was go to bed. Maybe things would look better in the morning. She could only hope a solution would come to her in her dreams. If not, at least she could hope for a peaceful slumber.
“Night, Franklin,” she said, putting the strawberries away and heading to her bedroom.
But she knew no sleep would come. Because in the dark of night was when every ugly thing said in that room came back to haunt her. Taunting her with her mistakes, his stubbornness, and the loss of a dream that would never be.