Chapter Twenty-five #2
So she told them everything. She started at the beginning with getting fired and signing the NDA and taking the payout, driving to Florida, becoming a yoga teacher, and continued through the SEC showing up the day before to question her and ask for her help.
She told them about Harper’s wife and how Harper now blamed her—at least in part—for her wife’s death.
How she now blamed herself for Harper’s wife’s death.
Because she was complicit working for a company that, if she’d done a little digging, she would have known was not a good organization.
“So every sin, everything I’ve done to feel guilty about over the last two decades, is coming back to haunt me now and destroy the little peace I’ve found. ”
Her parents looked at each other briefly before they each took her hands. “Charlie, we love you no matter what,” Dad said.
“Nothing you just told us is going to change that,” her mom said. “No one is an angel, and it wasn’t like you were intentionally hurting people—”
“But I could have done something at any point in my career,” Charlie didn’t want them to rationalize her bad behavior. It made her feel queasy all over again.
“But based on everything you said, doing the right thing here is a no-brainer. You should get a good attorney and talk to the SEC investigator. You can stop being complicit now. It’s never too late to do the right thing,” her mom said.
“What about the NDA? I’m afraid I’m going to go to prison if I violate the terms.”
“I don’t think you will. But to keep your integrity, wouldn’t you be willing to?
” Her mom’s eyes looked so kind as she said it, even though the words themselves cut deep.
Her mom was right. She would be willing to go to prison if it meant putting a stop to all the wrongs she’d already been a part of.
Fuck.
“I need to find an attorney.”
“We would love for you to stay here for as long as you’d like, but talking to an attorney is the right first step,” her dad said.
Charlie lay in bed, staring at the ceiling that night, which had turned into the longest day ever, and mentally went through her Rolodex, trying to remember who she could reach out to about the best attorney for her current situation.
It was hard, though, because she didn’t have anything physical to flip through.
Not even contacts on her phone since she hadn’t been allowed to take anything when she’d been escorted from the building nine months ago.
She could google it, but googling an attorney felt like a last ditch backup plan.
Thoughts of Harper kept popping into her mind, but she tried to push them away. Yet, the harder she tried to focus on an attorney, the more Harper’s smiling face kept popping into her mind.
She wondered if Harper was happy that she’d left. Sad? Relieved? Angry?
She felt guilty that she’d left so abruptly. In the moment, it had seemed like the right decision, but now? Now she wasn’t so sure.
It had felt like Harper was going to break up with her anyway, but running had still been shitty.
Before she could change her mind, she picked up her phone and typed out a text.
She reworded it a few times but eventually landed on: I’m sorry I left without saying good-bye.
I thought it was the right move at three a.m. but now… not so much
She rolled onto her back and tried to focus back on attorneys again, but instead, she stared at her phone as read appeared below her message, and dots started to bounce.
But they bounced and stopped and bounced and stopped, and Charlie tried not to obsess. She tried to think of all of her contacts who might know attorneys that specialized in SEC matters, but she kept looking back at her phone to see if Harper had texted yet.
Harper: It was probably the right choice. You should figure you out, and then we can see where we are.
The words were like a knife. Yet, what did she expect?
That Harper would be happy she’d snuck out in the middle of the night and only left a note?
Of course, Harper was going to be mad. And hurt.
And she had already been pissed at Charlie for good reason.
She typed back the only thing that made sense.
Charlie: Okay
Harper: So you made it to wherever you were going to today?
Charlie: Yeah. I’m at my parents’
Harper: Good. And good luck I guess
Charlie: Thanks. And take care of yourself. Give Franky a kiss from me
Harper: Will do
Charlie had no idea what else she could say to keep the conversation going, to hold on to some connection with Harper.
She dropped her phone on her chest and realized that she was crying.
She hated this. She hated having hurt Harper.
She hated having to leave. She hated the thought of having to go back to New York.
She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow and cried until she fell asleep.
Harper dropped her phone, shocked. What possessed Charlie to think texting her saying she maybe had regrets about leaving in the middle of the night was okay? She didn’t have the right to twist Harper up like this.
And that cold text exchange? Not that Harper could put that all on Charlie.
That was, honestly, probably all Harper.
But she was so fucking frustrated with her.
She was still reeling from Charlie’s past being revealed and finding out about her unethical behavior, yet at the same time, she found it hard to believe that was who Charlie was.
It wasn’t who she’d shown herself to be in their every interaction.
Yet, Harper wouldn’t have the chance to find out because Charlie had snuck out in the night.
Anger, sadness, and hurt all warred within her.
But on top of all that, there was a loneliness too. A deep devastation that Charlie had abandoned her too.
But she also needed to use this time while Charlie was away to figure out what all of those feelings meant for her. She wasn’t sure if she could get over everything Charlie had said.
Could she look at Charlie again and not think about how her company and maybe to some extent—even indirectly—Charlie herself, had played a role in Kelly’s death? It all made her miserable. Maybe this was Kelly finally sending her a sign that she really didn’t want Harper to move on.