“And I’m just now finding out about this!?” she exclaimed again.
“I’m going to need to apologize a lot, aren’t I?” I asked.
“Not if you fill me in on every little detail.”
“Well, for starters, he’s staying at the Marriott downtown. You know, the one connected to Ruth Chris’s.”
“How long is he in town for? What the hell is he doing here anyway?”
I sighed. “He says he’s going to be around for a while because he wants to be part of my life.”
“Oh, bullshit. He’s here for another reason. Come on.”
“My thoughts exactly. I just haven’t figured out what or why yet. But he did tell me why he left. And my mother backed up his story.”
“Why did he leave?” she asked.
“Apparently, he was a pill addict. The day he left, he was actually leaving for rehab—one of three times he had to do rehab before his sobriety supposedly stuck.”
“Holy shit.”
“That’s one way to respond.”
“Then, why didn’t he come back after he got sober and cleaned up?” she asked.
“He thought we all seemed better off without him. He said he tried to send Mom money, but eventually she started sending it back to him. According to her, that’s when she cut communication with him, and we’ve been without him ever since.”
“So, your mom kind of has something to do with this.”
“Not her fault he loved pills over his family,” I said.
“But she’s a little responsible.”
“You sound like Brett,” I murmured.
“Wait a second—Brett knows?”
“Yeah. He was there for me when I first found out about my dad.”
“What?”
It was the sound of her voice that made me look over at her. And when I did, I saw tears rising in my best friend’s eyes. She looked sad. Downtrodden. A little pissed off.
“Brett knew before I did?” she asked.
“Katie, it isn’t like that. You were working Sunday,” I said.
“You still could have called. Could have reached out somehow.”
“What good would it have done me? You were busy, Katie. I needed someone to help me bring my head out of the clouds and think about all of this logically.”
“And you chose Brett for that job?”
“He actually did a pretty good job, believe it or not,” I said.
“So, he knew before I did.”
“Are we really playing this game?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think we’d have to play it since college. Since you first got your priorities out of whack. How in the world did you go from not speaking to him since you had started your job to crying on his shoulder about your dad?”
“I wasn’t crying on his shoulder. And… things between Brett and I sort of just… took a natural path.”
“Define ‘natural,’” she said flatly.
“You know what, I won’t. Because I know the only thing you’re going to do is judge me for it.”
“You’ve slept with him.”
“So what if I have?” I asked.
“Holy shit, Olivia. Come on. He’s your boss, first off. You think you’re going to keep your job if someone catches wind of the fact that Brett’s fucking you? If it gets out to the media and his reputation takes a hit? You think you’re going to keep your job then?”
“No one in the media is going to care about—”
“The announcement to take his company global is plastered all over the news. You think they’re not interested in the latest scoop on Brett Greyson? The youngest billionaire on this planet?” she asked.
I took a long pull of my wine. “Well, right now all we’re doing is going to some Halloween party together. He’s throwing it for his company, and if he isn’t weird about taking me as his date, then I’m not weird when it comes to being his date.”
“Got any plans after this party of yours?”
I shrugged. “He wants me to stay with him after the party and go to a lunch with his parents the next day.”
“That sounds serious. Meeting the parents.”
“I already know his parents, Katie.”
“Doesn’t matter. You haven’t seen them in years. You’re a different girl. Brett’s a different guy. Maybe.”
“Very much so different.”
“All I’m saying is that it sounds like more than a casual thing. Brett never half-assed anything, and that includes cheating on you,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “Are we really going to harp on this again?”
“Yes, we are. Because I think you’re forgetting the fact that he did.”
“I never saw it with my own two eyes, and there was never anything in his actions to indicate the fact that he was cheating. Only the fact that you got jealous because I had a boyfriend and you felt like your territory was being encroached upon. Like your jealous streak now.”
“I’m not jealous, Olivia. I’m worried about you.”
“Well, your worry sounds more jealous than anything else,” I said.
“You were blindsided by puppy love in college, and I was there when your relationship with him exploded. I was there to pick up the pieces. I was there to wipe your tears away while he galivanted off and built his company and didn’t give a damn about coming back to you like you wanted him to. Now, I see you making the same mistake. Falling for a cheating, heartbreaking man for a second time. You don’t think I’m going to get a little possessive of my best friend regarding that?” she asked.