Chapter 37
“Scarlett,” Viv hissed behind me. “What the hell are you doing?”
I kept striding toward the revolving doors that led into the building. “Act like you belong.”
“We’re in… all black. They’ll spot us,” she whined but continued to follow me. Kalani went in front, acting as a human shield as we walked toward the security desk.
I pulled my black visor lower. “Shut up and keep quiet.”
Just as we thought we were going to make it to the elevator bank, Joe, the old security guard, called out, “Excuse me, miss,” to Kalani.
Kalani froze, and I tried to Airdrop the explanation we’d rehearsed in the car to her head. Joe came around the desk, and I dropped my head.
“Y-Yes,” Kalani stammered.
“Are these your visitors?” He put his hands on his belt, complete with taser.
Our decision to wear all black in the middle of a heatwave was definitely the worst decision of this whole escapade. Sweat pooled in places it shouldn’t.
“Yes, they’re our interior decorators. We’re shifting the offices around, as we’ve taken on a new partner,” she recited in a monotone voice.
Good girl.
“They need to sign in—that okay?” he instructed Kalani.
“Of course.” I lowered my voice and kept my visor down as he handed me a pen.
I signed the guest book “L. Gaga.” Viv signed “V. Beckham” with a flourish.
“Thanks,” Joe told us and took back his pen.
“Victoria Beckham?” I cried when we were in the elevator.
“Lady Gaga?” she retorted. “Now take that hat off and fix your hair. You don’t want your man seeing you with helmet hair.”
In thirty more floors I’d be seeing Jack for the first time in three days. That felt longer than a billion eternities.
“Fix me,” I commanded Viv.
* * *
Silence enveloped the office when we entered. Kalani had switched the phones off when she’d come out to us, and she ran around the reception desk now to turn them back on.
Some of my old colleagues—who hadn’t bothered to call or text since everything had gone down—were at their desks, and their conversations stopped dead as I barged toward Lacey’s office.
Not bothering to knock, I swung the door open, and it bashed against the wall. Today, Clarissa had taken her outfit inspiration from Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, sitting in a white dress with uncrossed legs in front of Jack.
Jack looked relieved but shocked at my entrance, a notepad on his lap. At least he didn’t have her over the desk.
Clarissa jumped up on her white gloss heels. “You are not allowed in this office. Aria, call security,” she demanded through the open door.
Viv moved to Aria’s desk and put her hand over the phone. “Why don’t you give them a minute?”
“Who the hell do you think you are, firing Viv? She had a deal with Lacey,” I screamed.
She slinked toward me. “Doesn’t matter. Lacey’s put me at the helm, so I’m in charge while she’s not here. I warned you, remember? You could have walked away and kept a little bit of dignity.”
“What does she mean she warned you?” Viv addressed me.
“The day Lacey pitted us against each other for the partnership, she threatened to fire me and you if she got it,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
Jack didn’t speak. I could see his brain trying to understand the soap opera occurring in front of him. He’d never dealt with an all-female firm.
Clarissa fake pouted. “Poor Scarlett. Can’t keep a hold of anything, can you? A job, your boyfriend.” She giggled.
“I reckon I could keep a pretty good hold of your neck,” I growled. “But I’m not here for you.”
I turned to Jack. “I’m here for you.”
He pointed to himself. “Me?”
Deep breath. “Yes, you. I’ve spent my entire life terrified of letting someone in. Built a wall so high Trump would be jealous. But then I met you. The guy who’s pushed me to the limit and never backed down. Who’s seen who I am inside and hasn’t tried to change me into something else. Because of you, I dangled over the edge of a fucking skyscraper.” I half laughed, half cried.
“You could’ve done it without me,” he breathed.
I took a step closer. “No I couldn’t. I didn’t know it at the time, but I needed you to keep me from falling. Because I’m tired of doing this by myself. I don’t give a fuck about the job or the money, because all it’s done is come between us. And I never want kids or to be a replacement mom to your niece, but I’m happy to be an auntie when the situation arises.”
Behind me, Viv stifled a sob.
Clarissa burst into laughter. “This is a joke.”
I didn’t let her break my concentration, keeping my eyes trained on Jack in our little bubble. “I’ll understand if you want kids, but as much as it’ll break me to lose you, I can’t be the person to give them to you. But I needed to let you know that as irritating as you are, I love you, I trust you, and I fucking need you. You are my emergency contact.”
I stopped for a breath and waited. Jack didn’t move. He didn’t even blink.
Say you miss me, I pleaded in my mind. Tell me we can fix this.
Clarissa started a slow clap. “Bravo, Scarlett. What a performance. Riveting. But we have work to get on with, and Jack could do a lot better than some wannabe orphan from Jersey.”
“Better to be an orphan than a person without integrity. I know you’re the one that planted that article,” I accused.
She huffed. “This again? You need to move on?—”
I barreled on. “The reporter confirmed it. So did the call logs from the office and the message she left you.”
Clarissa’s chin shook. “You can’t prove a thing.”
I pulled the call log and message slip from the back of my jeans. “Oh, look at that. Proof! You blackmailed the reporter to write the article. She told us everything.”
“Is this true?” Jack looked at Clarissa.
Clarissa shook her head. “Of course it’s not, and whatever you did to get that call log will be illegal, and whoever gave it to you is fired. That’s company property.”
Kalani piped up from the door, “I gave it to Scarlett, and I would do it again. Because what she’s accusing you of is true.”
Jack rounded on Clarissa. “I can’t believe you would try to destroy someone’s life over a… a job. What the fuck happened to you? You used to have a soul.”
“Jack, don’t listen—” Clarissa sputtered, sweat beginning to show at the armpits of her sheer white dress.
“To what? The truth? Because of you, I’ve avoided being in a relationship. You broke my heart so badly I thought all women were the same,” he rasped. “And then I met this captivating, stubborn, gorgeous woman who made me feel like I was in the middle of a lightning storm. She made me feel again.”
“Her?” Clarissa pointed a claw at me.
Jack stepped toward me. “Yep. Scarlett Munroe, do you forgive me for being a complete dick?”
I nodded. “Do you forgive me for being a closed-off bitch?”
“I do, and with the power vested in me, I say we get out of here and go for Chinese.”
“Jack, we had a meeting,” Clarissa wailed. “You can’t leave.”
Jack narrowed his eyes at her. “Screw your meeting. I hate liars.”
She stamped her foot. “I’m not lying. I didn’t do it.”
An unfamiliar voice said, “Yes you did.”
We all turned to find a petite brunette in a burgundy tracksuit standing beside Viv, holding her hand.
“Jamie?” Jack murmured to himself.
“What are you doing here?” Clarissa addressed the brunette.
Everyone in the room seemed familiar with her except me. “Sorry, who are you?”
Jack gripped my hand. “Jamie was my best friend until Clarissa cheated on me with her.”
“Ugh, get over it.” Clarissa flapped her hand at him. “And get off my girlfriend, you leech.”
“Ex-girlfriend,” Jamie corrected.
Clarissa’s bisexual? Wait, does that mean?—
“Is Jamie the woman you’ve been seeing?” I asked Viv.
Viv’s eyes shone with admiration. “She is.”
“You’re dating this… rat?” Clarissa screamed.
“Of all people, you don’t get to claim the moral high ground,” I told her.
Jamie gave Viv a light kiss on the lips. “I’m here because Viv asked me to come. Because I know. I heard you bragging to your friend this morning about what you did to Scarlett when you thought I’d left the apartment. You’ve turned into a vindictive, power-hungry sociopath, and I’m sorry I didn’t break things off sooner.”
“Going to admit it now?” I leaned into Jack’s arm.
Clarissa exploded, and the mask slipped. “There is no way in hell you’re dumping me for this little cucaracha whore.”
A buzzing sound emitted from somewhere in the corner of the ceiling. “Anyone mind if I interrupt? Seeing as how you’re all in my office?”
“Lacey?” I looked around but couldn’t find where the voice had come from. Had she died and come back to haunt us?
This time her voice rang out clearer. “Yes. I had a camera installed during the remodel last year, for security. I expected I’d catch criminals, not a telenovela scene.”
Clarissa pleaded to the ceiling, “Lacey, this is a big misunderstanding. I can explain.”
The booming voice cut her off. “Explain that you sabotaged a co-worker’s reputation, which could have damaged the agency and my reputation? Or that racist remark you made against a colleague, who you fired without my approval? I’m afraid I’m letting you go, Clarissa. Kalani, please call building security and have her escorted out.”
Kalani skipped off to follow Lacey’s orders.
What goes around comes around.
Clarissa swiped everything off Lacey’s desk with dramatic flair. “You can’t fire me. Do you know who I am?”
“Yes, I know who you are. And since my name is on the door, I can do whatever I want. Which includes sending you the invoice for that four-thousand-dollar vase you just smashed.”
Clarissa continued to rant and rave like a caffeinated lunatic until Joe and a fresh faced security guard walked in.
She shrugged their hands off when they reached for her. “Jamie, you backstabbing bitch.” They attempted to move her again. “Get off of me.” She kicked a foot out at Joe, but the younger guy restrained her.
“I will sue the shit out of you,” she yelled at them as they pulled her out the door. “This is assault. Aria, don’t stand there like fuckin’ Miss America. Do something.”
Aria clutched her chest. “Aw, bless your heart, but no thank you.”
My ribs hurt from laughing at Clarissa’s face. “That was entertaining.”
“I wish I’d filmed it,” Jack sighed.
“I did,” Viv admitted. “What’ll it be, Instagram or TikTok?”
“Both,” we all agreed.
He pulled me into him. “Can we go for that Chinese now?”
“If you promise to take me home after,” I whispered against his lips.
His hands cupped my face. “Now that is the best deal I’ve made all year.”