Page 23 of The Reality of Us
He began to sing again as he crossed the street and headed towards her apartment. A crowd was forming behind him, sunlight hitting the phone screens held aloft.
Alice stood her ground until he disappeared. She’d heard all the excuses before. Her mind whirred as she tried to remember how many times she’d confronted Phoenix about the drugs at his afterparties. How every time he’d told her they weren’t his, that he didn’t do that stuff. She never should have believed him, but it was easier to think he was telling the truth rather than blow up their life and admit how foolish she’d been.
She was pulling the curtains closed when the front door burst open. Alice’s hands flew to her chest. She’d locked that, hadn’t she?
“Hey,” Owen said. He wasn’t wearing his jacket; his sleeves were rolled to his elbows. How was it possible for forearms to be so muscular? “I’ve been calling,” he said.
“Hi.” She walked into the kitchen, yanked the fridge open and pulled out one of Teddy’s soft drinks. She’d replace it later, but right now, she needed a drink and that was all they had.
Owen stayed in the doorway, hands stuffed into his charcoal suit pants. “Ah, so, Phoenix …”
“Yep.” She downed half the can in one go, the bubbles fizzing in her throat. Covering her mouth with one hand, she swallowed a burp, feeling the burn behind her nostrils.
“I wanted to make sure you knew he was here.”
“Pretty hard to miss that.”
“Yeah.” Owen grimaced. “But I have some good news. I finally heard from his lawyer, and they want to move forward with mediation. Next week. Chris has been calling too.”
Alice breathed deeply, an attempt to release some of the tension simmering in her body. This impromptu concert was all for show. Nothing more than Phoenix trying to repair his reputation and paint her as the villain. The unforgiving wife who wouldn’t talk to him. Chris probably put him up to it, sick of her ignoring his calls.
“Listen, there’s something you should know about Phoenix’s lawyer—”
She crossed her arms. “Can you draw up paperwork to terminate my agreement with Chris?”
Owen leant against the door. “Sure.”
She’d found two new contracts in the last week, and it pissed her off knowing she’d be forking over a percentage of her earnings when Chris had nothing to do with the deal. She tossed the empty can into the tub they used for recycling. “What was the other thing you had to tell me?”
“Phoenix has hired Malus, Mendax and Associates to represent him.”
The name was vaguely familiar.
“I used to work for them. I didn’t leave on good terms.”
Alice slid onto one of the fake leather barstools at the counter. “What’s that mean for me?”
Owen frowned. “Nothing changes. We keep going. This is all white noise.”
She pointed towards the park. “This is murdering cats. Calling it anything else isn’t fair.”
Owen laughed softly, and the sound was so unusual; she paused. His face was softer, less guarded. She had a vision of what he must’ve looked like as a boy. She’d bet he was everyone’s friend, the one who stood up to all the bullies.
“If you’re okay, I’d better get back to work,” Owen said.
“Thanks for checking in, Boy Scout.”
Another gentle laugh from Owen lit up her insides.
“You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”
She smiled, something she would’ve thought was impossible even five minutes ago. “It’s unlikely. Besides, you said you were proud.”
Owen’s business shirt pulled tight across his chest as he crossed his arms. “It’s a quiet type of pride.”
Then she remembered the woman from the other night. The one who’d thrown her past relationship with Owen in Alice’s face.
She dragged her foot across the linoleum, through the dirt and mud she’d tracked in after her morning run. “Your friend seemed to have a strong opinion about it.”
