Lauren wheeled on him, finally reaching the end of her rope. “Don’t you dare invoke the ‘poor little me’ excuse, I’m sick of it. Were you home bored? Maybe you could’ve spent that time bettering yourself instead of fucking around. You know who Landon also is? My business partner. I just got nearly a million dollars for a company I created in all that spare time you spent with Rose. What do you have to show for all of it?”
She snatched the computer from his lap and shoved it into her backpack. Although she hated to admit it, she relished the disbelief on his face. Even though she knew she wasn’t entirely faultless, she wanted to teach him a little lesson. Letting him recover from that bombshell in silence, she quickly brushed her teeth in the bathroom. Lauren couldn’t meet her eyes in the reflection, not feeling very proud of her recent actions. Still, much of the frustration of the past few months was starting to vent and it felt good. When she returned to the bedroom Nick remained speechless.
“I’m going to go to Ali’s for a few hours so you can clear out. Leave your key on the counter, text me when you’re finished, and I’d appreciate you deleting my number.”
“Wren, let’s just talk,” his voice suddenly filled with compassion. “I know we can’t work this out but maybe we can at least come to a good place.”
For a moment Lauren nearly acquiesced, the feeling that she at least owed him that much tugged at her heart. In the end, she realized nothing good would ever come of it, no matter how long they hashed things out. She looked down at him, wishing she felt more than she did. She’d mourn the end of their relationship later but right now, she had to get out. Ensuring both phones were secured inside the backpack, she slung it over her shoulder and headed for the door.
Nick lunged for her, landing hard on his knees at her side. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight. Lauren stumbled with the impact and lifted her arms, looking down at him with a mixture of shock and aversion. This is insane, she thought as she held her arms up and away from him.
“Please don’t,” he whispered harshly. A tiny bit of panic pulsed through her as she realized how much stronger he was. His actions up to this point had been unpredictable, what more was he capable of? Come on, this is Nick! He’d never do anything like that, she thought. But I never thought he’d cheat either, her mind immediately countered.
“Just let go,” she replied softly. Firmly pushing against his arms, she finally pulled away and walked out of the room. The sob she heard as the door shut threatened to break her heart.
Knowing Ali well enough to plan ahead, Lauren picked up a couple lattes and muffins as she headed over to the apartment. Lauren was just about to ring the buzzer when a couple young kids opened the front door on their way to school. Slipping in behind, she trudged up the four flights to Ali’s apartment and knocked. She smiled as she heard Ali grumbling all the way to the door.
With the chain on, Ali opened the door, her eye poking through the gap. “Oh! Hey, what the hell are you doing here?”
“We broke up. I brought muffins and coffee,” she replied holding them up.
“Oh Wren, I’m so sorry!” she said but made no move to let her in. Something about her body language tipped Lauren off that perhaps she wasn’t alone.
“I can come back, I’m sorry. I should’ve called,” Lauren said backing down the stairs.
“No, wait!” Ali shut the door, pulled the chain off, and stepped into the hallway. It was the first time Lauren noticed she had a bed sheet wrapped around her like something out of a movie. “Just give me a sec, I’ll get rid of him. Are you alright?” She half hugged her with the arm not busy holding the sheet.
“I’m alright. Really, I can go and come back later if it’s easier.”
“Stop. Let me just make room for you. Ugh, I really need this,” she said as she grabbed one of the cups from the tray and disappeared back inside, careful to shut the door quickly behind her.
Lauren set her heavy bag on the floor against the railing and sipped her coffee. Mind still spinning from everything that’d happened, from Landon to Nick, the flight and long journey home. As she waited for Ali to kick out her companion, she resolved that she had to tell her everything. Clearly keeping secrets wasn’t good for any relationship and she couldn’t stand the idea of losing Ali as well. A few minutes later, the door opened and a much older man skulked out looking perturbed. With thinning salt and pepper hair, a pot belly, and glasses that would’ve been outdated in the 1980’s, he certainly didn’t look Ali’s type. He glared at Lauren and turned back to Ali in the doorway.
“I really don’t appreciate having to leave before—”
Ali hissed and pointed at the stairs. “Go. I’ll call you later.”
“Yeah, well I’m not very satisfied.”
“Now you know how I feel. I’ll call you later.”
After shooting Lauren another nasty look, he stomped down the stairs and out of sight. Lauren looked back at her friend utterly speechless. For the first time in a very long time, Ali actually looked embarrassed.
“If you don’t say anything I won’t shove one of these muffins in your face,” Ali finally said rolling her eyes.
“It’s a deal,” Lauren said entering the apartment. “I’m just a little afraid how often I seem to be catching people having sex.”
Ali closed the door and looked wide-eyed at her. “Are you fucking serious? You caught him?”
“It was like every horrible romance movie you’ve ever seen. It was so surreal.” She slumped in the round, padded chair, feeling simultaneously wired and exhausted. The few hours of sleep she’d managed to grab before Nick came bursting in had hardly been enough to recover from her weekend. Oh man, Landon...I still have to call him. At least it’s still really early out there.
“I can’t believe Nick did that. I honestly thought he was gonna come clean after the ultimatum you gave him. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine. I’ll feel better once I get this all off my chest though. Sweetie, I have to come clean too. I haven’t been completely honest with you and I feel like such a shit. Please just listen before you freak out.”
Taking a deep breath, she started with the phone call she’d received from Landon a week after they’d gotten back from California. She told her all about the My Best Friend’s Closet offices where she’d been staying, why she’d had to keep everything such a strict secret from everyone. Lauren finished by confessing that while her trip out to California had been business related, she had been staying with Landon. The whole thing took less than ten minutes to explain.
Since Lauren had never been the type of person to lie and carry on such elaborate deceptions, she’d never fully felt the relief that comes from unburdening until now. Confessing everything felt good. She was relieved there was at least one person with whom she didn’t have to remember a long list of lies. Putting it all out there made her realize that while easier, lying by omission could be more damaging to their close friendship than she originally thought. All their conversations from the past two months were tainted, Ali just having to scan through her memory to pinpoint places where Lauren chose to sidestep the truth. The fact that Ali sat on her bed, nearly expressionless drinking her coffee, made Lauren queasy. What if I lose my best friend and my boyfriend all in one day? Can I handle my world being ripped apart like that?
“I had to drive home from the airport. I got in late, like three in the morning, and heard them going at it in the bedroom. I didn’t shout, I didn’t flip out. I just told her to leave and Nick to sleep on the sofa. Then, get this, he wakes me up this morning all pissed off because he went through my laptop and found an email from Landon. We had a huge fight, again. I just said that I was coming over here and that he should text me when he was done moving all his stuff out.
“So that’s it. That’s everything.” Lauren stopped herself from continuing on. Ali’s silence was making her even more nervous and she was trying to fill the void. She needed to hear her response.
Ali considered her for a moment, her face completely void of emotion. “Hmmmmm,” she finally said. “So you decided you’d hightail it over here and get to me before he did? Get me on your side?”
“What? No! I needed to talk to you. Ali, my whole world has completely flipped upside down and I needed my best friend.”
“Oh, you need me now? You haven’t needed me for the last couple months though, have you?”
“Ali, please...I didn’t want to keep any of this from you. It killed me not being able to talk about any of it.” An entire weekend’s worth of emotions came racing forward. Her voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears. As she struggled to find the right words to say, she was sure she’d managed to screw everything up.
“Oh don’t cry. I’m incredibly happy for you, sorry that you and Nick had a horrible break up, and glad that you and Landon are apparently a thing but I’m still pissed off. I’m just making you suffer a little bit. By the time I finish this muffin I’ll be over it, okay?” Ali said holding up the huge blueberry muffin.
“Alright, that’s fair,” Lauren said with a sniffle.
“Ready?” Ali dramatically peeled the wrapper from the bottom, opened her mouth wide, and shoved the entire muffin inside. Lauren couldn’t help but laugh as she watched her force it all in with her fingers, crumbs pouring out everywhere. Once she reached a modicum of success she garbled, “Heee? Ayye ober uut.”
As Ali struggled to chew and swallow the muffin, Lauren sighed. “The worst part with all this shit with Nick is that I don’t feel all that bad. I feel like I should feel worse, you know? Maybe I’m just in shock and it’ll hit me later. I mean, I just caught my boyfriend of nearly four years screwing someone in our bed and I’m just sitting here drinking my latte like, whatever. It’s weird.”
After choking the muffin down, Ali replied. “It’s not like you guys were living some blissful life and this came out of nowhere. I didn’t expect him to actually be cheating, just flirting and generally acting like an ass. Regardless of what happens with Landon, I’d say you’re better off having all this Nick drama out of your life. You obviously have more important things to be working on, like...wait, what’s the name of your business?”
“It doesn’t have an official name yet but I’ve been calling it My Best Friend’s Closet.”
“Right. So, obviously you’ve got a lot going on with Ali’s Closet and you don’t need some jackass pulling you down. You’re better off.”
Lauren jumped up from the chair and hugged her. “I love that you just called it that,” she laughed. “Thank you for always being there. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well apparently you’d do quite well without me,” Ali joked. Lauren’s smile wavered for a moment so she quickly said, “You’re welcome and I’m sorry for being so snarky this morning. I’ve been having a rough weekend too.”
Lauren pushed back against the wall and scrunched up her face. “Yeah, do you wanna tell me about that guy who just left? What’s going on with that?”
“I really, really don’t want to talk about it. I’ve just had kind of a shitty weekend and I’m glad it’s over. Mostly...wait, aren’t you going into work today?”
“No, I called in sick at StyleSpur. I’ve been so flaky with them I’m surprised no one has said anything. I bet Parker is gonna throw a fit. I’ll probably head over to the MyBFC office from here—oh! Do you want to come with me? I can show you everything!” She was suddenly excited that she could share this with someone finally.
“I don’t see why not. Let me take a shower and get dressed and you can show me your deep, dark secret.”
12.
“Holy shit, this is all yours?” Ali gaped as they stepped out of the elevator.
“Pretty much. Landon set it up for us, isn’t it huge? There are bedrooms in the back, a big kitchen over there. So far we just have three guys working on it but they’re kind of night owls, hence the empty desks. Lemme show you everything.”
As Lauren and Ali chatted in the kitchen, Lev shuffled in, groaning and barely awake. His brown hair looked like he’d slept on it wet. He barely acknowledged the girls as he entered, nodding briefly and grabbing a bowl of cereal before stumbling over to his computer. They stood with suppressed laughter as he shambled about, finally losing it when he collapsed in his computer chair with a grunt. Lauren stuck her head around the corner to look down the hall and noticed Dennis’ door was open.
She called out to the open area. “Hey Lev, do you know where Dennis is? I wanted to ask him something.”
“He runs every morning, fucking nutcase,” he muttered in his thick Israeli accent.
She grabbed a couple waters from the fridge and led Ali back into the main room, settling down on one of the plush sofas in the corner.
“So what’s the plan with all this then? Clearly world domination, but before that,” Ali asked gesturing around the room.
“It’s complicated. We’ve had to keep this a secret because I’m still working for StyleSpur and we’d be a direct competitor, right? Obviously Parker would have a shit fit if he found out, not to mention his lawyers. So Landon has been keeping him busy, making him think that he’s interested in investing. Oh! He even got that girl Sahra involved, remember from the restaurant? Yeah, she’s here now basically distracting him so we can get all this up and running.
“Then, after I leave, it’s apparently a matter of launching. The biggest problem is doing it so Parker can’t turn around and sue us for any reason which is why I might have to move to California.” Lauren said the last part of the sentence quickly, half hoping Ali wouldn’t hear.
Ali clutched at her chest as if she were having a heart attack. She started gasping for breath, pulling at the neck of her shirt for more air. “It’s...too much...you’re killing me.” She lurched forward and slumped over her legs, arms dangling lifelessly.
“She’s funny,” Lev called out matter-of-factly.
“No I’m not, I’m dead,” Ali mumbled from between her knees.
“Oh stop, I only just found that out yesterday. I haven’t even decided I’m going so you can live again.” Lauren rubbed her back, patting a couple times as if she were choking. “Plus, if I live out there, it gives you a good excuse to come out and see Dane.” Ali perked up, her face a ray of sunshine. “Oh there she is! Glad you’re back with us!”
“Must’ve been something I ate,” she said fanning herself.
The elevator dinged, the metal gate clattered open, and out walked Dennis dripping with sweat. He’d taken off his shirt and was using it to mop himself. Other than the perspiration and deep breathing, he looked like he was ready for another ten miles. He didn’t notice them at first but when he caught sight of the two women sitting on the far side of the room, he slowed, eyes narrowing on Ali. Lauren half noticed her tense on the sofa beside her but chalked it up to the effects of a sweaty, fit man walking into the room. It was like catnip for Ali.
“Hey Dennis, good run?”
“Pretty good, I’m still not used to the humidity out here,” he replied wiping the sweat from his face. He strolled over to the girls, eyes still darting to Ali.
“Oh, this is my friend Ali. I’ve had kind of a hellish morning and accidentally spilled the beans about what we’re doing here. Hope you don’t mind I brought her over.”
“No, not at all. Sorry, I’d offer my hand but it’s all...” He squinted at her and cocked his head to the side. “Do we know each other? I swear, you look so familiar.”
“Nope! Definitely don’t know each other at all,” Ali quickly replied. Lauren glanced at her but she was earnestly looking at Dennis. “I look like lots of girls.”
“I wouldn’t say that...did you go to Washington State?”
“Not the girl you’re thinking of,” she said firmly. “Must be someone else. Anyway, Lauren you wanted to ask Devon here, sorry, Dennis, a question, right?”
Ali nodded at her, eyes wide and insistent. Lauren had had enough we
irdness for one morning and decided to let the odd behavior slide. The world is literally going upside down today, I swear it.
“Um, yeah...actually, I did. I wanted to find out if the suits had come in yet? I know Landon arranged for them to be delivered this weekend.”
Dennis’ eyes lit up. “Yes! Let me go get them. I’ll show you!” He jogged out of the room. While he was gone Lauren turned to Ali and opened her mouth but before she could speak, Dennis jogged back in with two cream colored Lycra suits in his hands. He proudly held one up by the shoulders so the girls could see and Lauren jumped up to grab it, excited to see the prototype in person.
Across the full body suit spanned a series of thin, horizontal black lines about half an inch apart. Starting from the neck and radiating down the arms and legs, the stripes were accented by colorful, strategically placed dots. It looked bizarre, verging on hideous, but it was one of the most beautiful things Lauren had ever seen.
“You have a funny sense of fashion, darling,” Ali said with a sneer.
“It’s actually quite ingenious. It was Lauren’s concept and works brilliantly.”
“You’ve tested it?” Lauren asked, her voice squeaking a little at the end.
Lev laughed. “We put it on Brian last night. It was fucking hilarious. Apparently he has the legs for miniskirts.”
“Wait, what? What exactly does all of this do?”
“Come on, let’s go put these on and I can show you. Oh, I’m so happy you’re here with me! My day just got a thousand times better.” Lauren grabbed the two suits and dragged Ali back to her bedroom to get changed. As Lauren slipped into the suit, pulling it up over her hips, Ali still stood looking at it dubiously.
“What?”
“It’s a little form fitting, don’t you think?”
“Like you have a thing to worry about. That’s the idea though. If it wasn’t form fitting, the cameras wouldn’t get a good image.”
Playing with Power - Book 4: New Adult Office Romance Page 8
