Chapter 28
This party is fucking lit. There are only ten of us, but it feels like way more.
Tammy came with her sister, who’s visiting, and I love that I got to meet her after hearing so much about her.
Because the evening is happening here instead of some bar, Dakota and her wife came.
It’s their first night out since the birth of their son, Helios.
The six-week-old chubby chunk of adorableness is sleeping in a guest room, next to a baby monitor.
Because she pumped beforehand, Dakota brought milk that sits in the fridge, and has been having a few margaritas.
Mouly and a few other girls from the usual girls’ nights are here, too.
As I suspected, Kate and Mason have really clicked, and I adore seeing it.
I ordered us all soft pink pajama sets—a button-down shirt and matching relaxed shorts—and we’re all wearing them.
This isn’t the standard girls’ night, but rather a grown-up pajama party.
And none of them is complaining. On the contrary, they all love getting an evening to pamper themselves and relax like we used to before adulthood hit us in the face with responsibilities and work.
Lex has mastered the art of the frozen margarita, and the blender he usually uses for protein shakes has finally found its purpose in life.
When we’re out, I go fetch him wherever he’s hiding—usually his home office—and he kindly comes to refuel us.
I’ve lost count of how many pitchers he made, but we’re drunk as hell.
All but him. Per usual, he maintains his fervent control over himself, and maybe that’s for the best. We need him to stay clear-minded, so he can keep the drinks flowing.
At some point, he must get tired of having to come back all the time, so he prepares the whole pitcher and leaves it in the freezer, ready for us anytime we need it.
In our defense, Mason came with a drinking card game, and things got out of control really fast. But at least we’re having fun, laughing, joking, and playing.
And the whole time, we’re also doing face masks, and Mouly gave us a Gua Sha lesson, which we all put into practice.
Tammy, who wanted to show off her braiding skills, is working on cornrows on Kate.
It started off pretty good, but with every margarita she drank, it got sloppier.
Now, I doubt she’ll finish Kate’s head. But that’s okay because Kate isn’t keeping them on, anyway.
I’m not sure how, but things eventually slowed down, and we’re now watching The Princess Diaries while doing our nails. That’s how Lex walks in on us: faces green with our masks, hair up with a cotton band, eyes absorbed by our childhood classic unfolding on the screen.
“Baby,” I greet him, dragging the word for way too long.
“Are you enjoying yourselves?”
“Yes, but you’re so far away.”
“I agree,” Mason concurs.
“I’m working in my office thirty feet away. It’s not that far.”
“Who works on a Saturday night?” Mace protests.
“My usual Saturday night activity is busy with her friends.”
Everyone reacts to that, the girls sending me entertained or envious side looks.
“I’m an every-night activity,” I correct, beaming with pride. Yes, my man’s obsessed with me. And me with him. I turn to Lex again and extend my hand. “Stay with us a little.”
“This isn’t really my speed,” he says, eyeing the screen where Anne Hathaway is stumbling across the forbidden lawn.
“Excuse me, sir,” Mason interrupts theatrically. “You have hands that can be manicured, and as perfect as your face might be, no one is above skincare. So no excuses, boss babe, you’re participating.”
To my surprise, Lex looks down at his nails and says, “I guess I can get my hands done.”
“I’ll paint your nails, baby.” I offer. “Like in the good old days.”
“And give him a facial, too,” Mace insists.
“Ooh, we’re switching it up for once,” I excitedly say.
Lex’s eyes go round with surprise as Mason chokes on air and a few of the girls gasp while Kate snorts. Oh, wow … Good thing we’re slowing down on the margs.
In a rush to backpedal, I hurriedly say, “We’re both way more into creampies, actually.”
“Andrea,” Lex mutters through gritted teeth.
“I meant you don’t give me that many facials.”
“Stop talking.”
Our guests are now giggling while Mace fans himself with his hand. Yeah, I’m done drinking for the night.
“Sorry,” I say to Lex with a wince.
He shakes his head, eyes on the ceiling, and comes to join us once everyone’s focused on the movie again.
“I really am sorry,” I whisper to him as he sits on the floor next to me. He doesn’t answer, offering me his hand to work on instead. “I’ll do your face mask first. That way it can dry.”
Once I’m done cleansing his face and applying the mask everywhere except his beard, I let him pick a nail polish color. He settles on dark navy blue, and I get to work.
Since we’re at the end of the coffee table, a little isolated from the rest, I feel free to speak and say, “Do you remember that time I painted your nails fuchsia while we were doing overtime?”
“Of course.”
“That’s when I started actually liking you. That day with you brought me an entirely new perspective on who you were. You told me about your family, and you opened up, showing me a vulnerability I hadn’t seen until then.”
“We’d already had sex by then.”
“I didn’t like you when that happened. I wanted you, respected you, even appreciated you in a way, but I didn’t like-like you.”
“For the record, I liked-liked you by the time we first had sex.”
“What can I say? You’re the smart one, and I’m the likable one.”
Lex sits through both coats of nail polish, somewhat watching our silly little movie. I’m a little too drunk to do it well, but I don’t think he cares. By the time I’m done, his mask is ready to be peeled, so I do it for him, slowly enough not to hurt him.
Once I’ve unveiled the tanned and clean skin underneath, I say, “There, all perfect.”
“I would offer to do your nails in return, but I’m worried the outcome wouldn’t be very good.”
“How about you nail me later instead?” His breathy laugh delights me, and I gently peck him.
“Maybe I’ll give you a facial in return,” he jokes, so quietly no one else could have heard.
It’s my turn to giggle. “I’d love that. Some of the girls are sleeping over, though. We’ll have to be discreet.”
“I’ll gag you, don’t worry.”
And just like that, I’m not really interested in watching the rest of the movie.
But I stay strong, and when Lex discreetly makes his exit, I don’t follow him.
I stay with my friends instead, and we finish the movie before starting the sequel.
One does not simply pass up an opportunity to stare at young Chris Pine.
Halfway into the movie, Mouly returns from the kitchen saying, “We’re out of margaritas, guys.”
“Where’s the margarita man?” Mason shouts, hoping to catch Lex’s attention from his office.
When there’s no reaction and the door doesn’t open, I clumsily stand up. “I’ll handle it,” I offer.
Everything is still out, so I have a batch ready in no time. I go refill my friends’ glasses, pour mine halfway through, and when there’s still enough left for one more glass, I fill up a clean one and bring it to Lex’s office.
As expected, I find him on his computer, adamantly focused on what’s on his screen. What I didn’t expect was the pair of headphones he has on. When he notices me, he presses pause on whatever he’s watching and pulls the headphones back. “Are you watching a movie all by yourself?”
“Not exactly,” he counters, nodding at his screen.
I come around the desk to see what he’s talking about and hand him his drink once I’m by his side. On his monitor, there’s a video of Becker’s security playing. Two people are coming in, one of whom is the asshole himself, and the other is a woman, blonde, slender, and young.
“Is this live?” I ask.
“No, I’ve been going over the backup footage. This was about ten days ago.”
“This isn’t his wife.”
“No, it’s not. His wife was on a luxurious vacation in Hawaii at that time.”
“Is there more?”
“Yes. He leads her upstairs to a room without cameras, and she comes out about three hours later.”
Lex opens another file and skips through the video until the blonde woman appears in a hallway, looking disheveled and ruffled. Jesus, she’s limping so much, she can barely walk. Still, it looks like she’s in a hurry to leave, distraught and upset. “Have you found out who she is?”
“No, not yet. I’ve extracted screenshots of her face, but I’ll have to access the Lexcave to start the research process.”
“I love how you call it that, too. What did you refer to it as before? The secret room? The panic office?”
“I didn’t refer to it, since no one but me knew it existed.”
“Ah, makes sense …” I look at the screen where the shot with the woman is paused. “Do you think this might be enough?”
“If it’s just an affair, no. It’ll only piss him off, and his wife might know. But if we find out why she’s so upset, it could help. And I found something else.”
“What?”
“There’s an entire night missing from earlier this month.”
“Missing?”
“There was no footage. I looked into it, and the security logs show the cameras were turned off.”
“For the whole night?”
“Yes. From 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. He didn’t bother turning them off for the blonde woman, but he did for whatever happened during that night. And it looks like it’s a recurring thing. Every month or so, the cameras are disabled for twelve hours.”
“There’s definitely something fishy going on.”
He nods and stares at the frozen frame again. “I’ll look into this as soon as everyone’s gone.”
“Great. I’ll help you.”
Lex’s attention returns to me, and he gives my hip a graze. “You should go back. You’re missing the movie.”
“It’s okay. I’ve seen it many times. I kind of miss you. I’m so used to being with you all the time, it’s weird when we’re apart.”