My scrolling is interrupted by a call coming again, and my stomach drops when I see that it’s Patricia. This is one outcome I knew was coming, but even if Patricia and I haven’t been close in months, I still hate knowing I’ve hurt her. Even if she is greedy.
“You bitch!” she yells as soon as I pick up. “I tell you one single private thing and you shout it all over town the first moment that you have! I can’t believe you’d do this to me!”
I hold the phone slightly away from my ear, shrinking at the sound of her voice. “I don’t have any excuse, except to say that your choice to choose money over the truth has cost my family and my company greatly, and there was no other way for me to rectify those problems in any way I could.”
“I didn’t lie!” she says, becoming quieter. “It all happened, Elise. Karl took my virginity, and even if I liked him enough to sleep with him sober, we’ll never know the truth because he got me drunk and took the choice away from me.” She laughs, but it sounds sad. “The stupid thing is I probably would have slept with him anyway, that night or another, just because he was so sweet and charming, but he had to pour booze in me to seal the deal.”
It feels like a slap in the face to hear the details of what happened to Patricia again. Things have gotten so mixed up between everyone and all the confusion that somehow I forgot that my friend… or ex-friend, did lose her virginity in a way that wasn’t completely in her control.
“This is all so fucked up,” I tell her.
“Yeah, it is, and now you’ve put me in the fucking newsagainand this time I’m not the victim, but a lying, conniving whore apparently. According to the comments online at least.”
“Patricia–”
“No. Our friendship is over. Just for the record, it isn’t my fault your brother was desperate enough to get back at Karl that he’d pay me as much as he did. That’s all on Andries. You and I could have remained friends, but you just can’t keep your nose out of anything, can you?” Despite her question, I keep myself silent. There’s nothing else for me to say. She hangs up.
The phone call sets the tone for my meeting with my brother, as does the weather itself. It’s gray outside, the clouds hanging low and fog gathering on the tops of lakes. There’s a misty quality to the air that chills me, and I belatedly wish I would have brought a jacket.
Andries is waiting on the concourse, which is blessedly empty because of the weather, his hands shoved in his pockets and his face hard. I approach him, resisting the urge to appearas meek as I feel. He barely acknowledges me, only saying, “So, what do you want?”
“I just wanted to say that I didn’t have a choice in what happened,” I tell him immediately, putting on my sweetest and most innocent tone possible. “I was trapped, and it was the only way out. You have to understand that I have to display some sort of self-preservation sometimes. But I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Well, you did, and now I’m once again the laughingstock on campus. Do you know the story everyone is weaving about this?”
I frown in confusion. “What?”
“That I fucked over Karl not because he took advantage of Patricia, but because he is Roxanne’s ex. So everyone thinks I am losing my cool over my fiancée for what, the third time in the last year? When in reality, I was just trying to help someone that needed it. It’s all blown up in my face now, and you lit the match.”
His voice is hard like diamonds, and his posture is too. “Take the time to cool off,” I say, keeping my tone even. “I understand that you’re mad at me, but don’t let this ruin our relationship. I want to be part of your life.”
He laughs cruelly, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Don’t show your face at my engagement party, either. Consider this being me officially rescinding your invitation.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat, blinking the tears out of my eyes while nodding. “Fine. I get it. But I did what I had to do and there’s no way around it. You, on the other hand, are really blowing this thing out of proportion, you know?”
He turns his back on me. But before he’s out of earshot, he calls behind his shoulder, “Keep telling yourself that Elise if it helps you sleep better at night.”
I do basically nothing at work for the rest of the day, just answering emails about my interview and revelations at the shareholder meeting, and talking to everyone else in the office who keeps finding reasons to stop by my desk and chit chat. As expected, all those conversations eventually lead back to everything to do with my brother and Karl, at which point I just send them on the way. I’m sick to death of it.
I could almost cry in relief when the workday is over, but before I can pack up, one more figure appears in my eye-view. The one and only Karl Townsend.
“Don’t worry,” he starts, his demeanor friendly and approachable. “I don’t want to bring it all up for the millionth time. Just wanted to say thank you and invite you out to drinks with a few clients after we leave here. You really impressed a lot of people last night and this morning.”
I hesitate, thinking about Dan’s warning to not be alone with Karl, but this wouldn’t really be “alone” would it? Plus, I could really use a drink at this moment in time, and it will no doubt be even sweeter if I’m meeting important clients of the company.
“Fine,” I tell him, draping my bag over my shoulder. “But I can’t stay long.”
The entire way to the bar, Karl tries to talk to me, but I keep checking my phone for messages from Dan. I’m still holding onto hope that he just hasn’t had time to talk to my brother yet, and there is still a chance things could be repaired. My inbox remains empty, though. I’m starting to fear that he’s changed his mind and that he might hate me just as much as my brother does, if his impassioned plea for me to not speak last night wasanything to go by. The idea of Dan hating me makes my chest hurt, so I push the thought away.
Karl takes us to a low-key wine bar, where a table of older men are waiting, greeting him jovially as we enter. He introduces me with pride, and I shake hands with everyone, taking all the compliments as gracefully as I can before taking a seat.
It’s impossible to forget the day I’ve had, but the sweet white wine and the deluge of positive feedback do bolster my confidence just a little. These are all strangers, and it isn’t their approval I want, but I guess it’s better than nothing.
“If you ever get bored at Van den Bosch industries, give me a call,” a small, shrewd white-haired man tells me, sliding me a business card. “We always need bold talent like yours in an equity firm.”
Not to be outdone, the other clients tell me what a stellar addition I’d make to their companies, too. I feel a bit like the shiny new toy on the scene, but everyone around the table insists it’s because of how far I was willing to go to help my company.
Hearing it out loud like that doesn’t make me proud, it makes me feel stupid. Did I really put a company over people that I love and care about?