Page 53 of Rush
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Don’t you have a home gym in your mansion?”
“You’re hilarious.” She laughed, swatting her hand at me. “I mean, I know Jade said you were some kind of athlete these days, but she didn’t say you trainedhere. I’m looking for a new gym, so I’m here on a trial membership. Maybe you could hook me up with a discount.” She flashed me a wink.
“Jade told you about me?” I asked, frowning.
“Yeah, of course! We’re still best friends, you know.” She flipped her plait over her shoulder and sidled closer.
“Then you know what happened to her and Hunter,” I went on, fishing to see how invested she was in her so-called best friend’s well-being. Jade had given me the distinct impression that Margaret didn’t give two shits and had known weeks before she’d caught Ballinger in the act. Though, after what she pulled the other night, I doubted what parts of her were real.
“I know! What a dog,” Margaret declared, not seeming that outraged.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Have you seen her lately?” she went on. “I haven’t spoken to her since the Saturday before last. She missed our weekly brunch last weekend, and we were worried about her. I tried to call last night, but there wasn’t any answer.”
I shrugged, not wanting to get involved. I’d made it clear to Jade that I was done, and I had to stick to it. Knowing the kind of person Margaret was, I knew she wasn’t here by accident, and it was another kettle of fish I wanted nothing to do with.
“Listen, Margaret,” I said, edging away from her. “I’ve got to go. Take care, okay?”
“Hey!” She grabbed my arm, sinking her nails into my flesh. “If you see Jade, can you let me know? I’m worried about her.”
Sighing, I nodded. She fished around in her gym bag and pulled out a business card. Offering it to me, she smiled.
“Thanks,” I muttered, glancing at the little rectangle.Margaret Anastas, Public Relations, Fortune Publishing.She had a similar job as Jade in the same industry. Interesting.
“You can call me anytime,” she said, a distinctive purr to her voice. She was flirting. “If you want to catch up or anything…”
Glancing down at the wedding ring on her finger, I raised my eyebrows.
“Bye, Margaret,” I said, waving the card at her.
“See you later, Ry.” She winked again, not put off in the slightest.
Turning, I went back to the machine I’d been setting up and fixed the last of the weights into place. That whole encounter screamed ulterior motive. If there was one thing I knew about Margaret Anastas, it was the fact she was a master manipulator, and everything she’d just said was a straight-out fabrication. Something was going on with those women, and it was more sinister than any one-night stand or bucket list.
Whatever it was, I didn’t care. I’d allowed Jade to walk all over me, and there was no way in hell I was being dragged into whatever this was.
Jade was on her own. She’d made sure of that.
19
Jade
The dayafter I’d slept in Hunter’s car, I’d driven over to a consignment shop I knew in Fitzroy.
To the owner’s astonishment, I’d rolled in my suitcase and dumped a pile of designer clothes on the counter and declared, “What’ll you give me for this steaming pile of shit?”
Yeah, that was right. I was now resorting to selling off all my earthly possessions so I could keep a roof over my head until next month’s paycheck went into my brand-new bank account. The same account I’d opened minutes before rocking up to work this morning with a five-dollar note I found in the glove box of Hunter’s car.
Luckily for Hunter, I returned his car, and I went back to staying at a budget hotel until I could get enough money together to get a place of my own. Which would likely be when he returned from Dubai. Canceling my cards…what a knob jockey.
I wanted nothing more than to apologize to Ryan. When I switched off the lights for the night and curled up in an unfamiliar bed, all I could think about was his body next to mine. I imagined his arm lying over my waist and the quilt was his body. I fell asleep hoping and dreaming for a reality where I didn’t fuck everything up.
I wished I could turn back time and take back the things I’d said to him the morning after we’d slept together. I wish I hadn’t been so wrapped up in my own misery, wallowing and pining for something that had always been broken, then maybe I would’ve seen how he felt.
He’d sacrificed a great deal of himself to make me happy. The bucket list had been his idea, and he’d made every single one of my desires explode into reality. Giraffes, butterflies, waterslides, motorcycles, hot air balloons, dancing, and sunrises. He’d made my dreams come true.
A week went by, then another, and I never heard a thing from him. Like I would. I was far too humiliated and ashamed to seek him out. I was still the shallow, selfish bitch I’d always been, but at least, now I knew I was, right? I could do something about it. I could be a better person, and if he saw it,if Ryan saw it, then maybe he would still want me.
