Chapter 25 Kit
The happy hour wasn’t terrible, but this was nothing like playing pool after work in Creekstone.
Everyone wanted to talk to William. Various people approached us and pressed their palm into William’s as they gave congratulations and playful jabs about his new role.
William was in good spirits and worked the room well.
Mr. Braithway had taken William to meet someone across the room.
William crossed his arms, nodding as he listened intently.
I knew that look. William was in the work zone.
The drink I had ordered arrived. I leaned against the stool and watched William as he examined something on the man’s cell phone.
That’s when I heard it. Someone said my name. I turned and looked over my shoulder to see who was talking about me.
A woman was laughing. “I think her name is Kit. How provincial is that?”
A group of three women were standing clustered together around the bar. I took a step closer to the woman talking but turned my back so I could hear without them seeing my face.
“Alissa, tell Jenna what you just told me,” one of the women said.
The second woman immediately obliged. “I heard Braithway would only give William this job if he could get a land deal done in north Georgia, and there was this one holdout—a woman.”
“Of course, she has some choice riverfront property that Braithway wanted,” the second woman chimed in. “Braithway said if he didn’t close the deal, then he wouldn’t get the promotion.”
“Right.” The first woman chortled. “The woman refused to sell, so William used his secret weapon. He started dating her, fucked her, and had her totally under his spell. She agreed to sell her riverfront property to Braithway & Randall.”
The second woman said, hooting, “And get this. Her name is Kit or Cat or something basic like that.”
The third woman said, “Oh my God! Where did you hear that?”
“Charles, of course, he was running his mouth,” the first woman said.
She put her hand on her hip. “But can you believe that? William convinced some poor country mouse he’s interested in her to trick her into selling that land.
And I’m sure after that once the deal’s done, he’ll dump her.
You know William. He can’t stay with one woman for too long. ”
“Unfortunately, I do,” the second woman said with a scoff.
“Can you imagine William with someone like that?” The third woman shook her head.
The sound of the women laughing felt deafening. My cheeks burned. I instantly felt sick. I ran toward the bathroom.
Once in the bathroom I hid in a stall. I fished my phone out of the tiny purse I was carrying and texted Veronica a two-paragraph summary of what had just happened.
She immediately texted back. What the fuck? What are you going to do?
I sat my phone in my lap. My eyes blurred with tears.
Could that be true? Could William be so calculating that he’d work me like some kind of real estate mark?
The thought made me feel sick, but then why would he go to such lengths to make me think he wanted me to move to Atlanta with him? How cruel was he?
“Kit,” said a familiar voice. “Kit, is that you in the last stall?”
I sniffled as I saw expensive heels approach my stall. It was Addison. “Will you unlock the door? What happened?”
“I can’t.” As soon as I spoke a sob escaped my lips.
“Oh, Kit.” Addison’s voice sounded sincere. “What happened? I’m not going to leave until you at least tell me you’re okay.”
I contemplated how long I could stay in the bathroom. I wished I could just disappear.
I heard Addison jiggling the door handle, then she said, “Kit, it’s unlocked. Is it ok if I open the door?”
“Yes,” I murmured.
Addison joined me in the stall. She shut the door behind her. Addison squatted in front of me. “What happened?”
We both heard voices come into the bathroom. I was silent letting tears roll down my face. Addison waited until they left the bathroom, and she said, “Did someone say something to you?”
“I overheard some women talking about William.”
“Uh-oh,” Addison said. “What did they say?”
I wiped my face with the back of my hand. Addison handed me a bundle of toilet paper to blow my nose.
I straightened up and sighed. “It doesn’t matter what they said.”
Addison said gently, handing me another wad of toilet paper, “Well, you seem upset. Is there something I can do to help?”
“Did you know that a condition of William’s promotion was me selling my family’s land?” I blurted out.
Addison’s eyes grew wide, her head drew back, and her back straightened. She didn’t have to say anything. Her expression told me it was true.
I shook my head. “I thought this was real, but he was just after the land. I’m such an idiot.”
I stood up and Addison shook her head rising from her squatting position with me. “No, I don’t think it was that simple, Kit. I think there is a lot more to it than that.”
“It’s okay, Addison. You don’t have to sugarcoat this for me. I overheard three women talking about it. Said they’d heard it all from Charles, and you just confirmed it.”
I straightened my dress. “It’s better that I find out like this.”
“No, Kit. I think you might be misunderstanding the situation.” Addison looked panicked. “You really should talk to William about this later. I’m sure he can clear things up.”
I scoffed. “I’m sure he can.”
I gave Addison a weak smile and marched past her, back out into the brightly lit bathroom. I checked my makeup in the mirror and straightened my dress.
Addison crossed her arms in front of her chest with a worried look and asked, “What are you going to do, Kit?”
I sighed. “I don’t know yet.” I turned to Addison. “I’m not interested in a lot of drama, but I’ve got to get out of here.”