Page 52 of The Vegas Rerun
I can’t say I like the idea of Molly bragging about her job to the point it pisses off other employees, but it’s hardly something embarrassing that Sarah needs to come running to me with. And none of this is explaining why she’s bleeding.
She shakes her head.
“Not exactly, no. She’s bragging to everyone that she is sleeping with you, and about how she has you wrapped around her little finger now. She keeps saying that you’ll do whatever she wants because she’s got you exactly where she wants you and that kind of thing,” Sarah says. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but well, I think someone had to.”
A cold, sceptical anger coils inside of me. It’s almost impressive, how smoothly Sarah spins the lie. Almost. But not quite.
Molly has spent the past few weeks doing everything in her power to keep us a secret. This is her entire reasoning for us not being able to be together. She’s pushed me away at every turn, terrified of what people might think if they found out we had sex. The idea that she would suddenly start running her mouth about it? It’s not only unbelievable, but it really is laughable.
Still, I don’t react. I don’t want to let Sarah know that I know she’s lying. Instead, I’m going to let Sarah continue to talk because I want to see where this is going and what Sarah hopesto achieve from it. And yes, I still want to know why she’s sitting in my office bleeding.
CHAPTER 36
JOSHUA
I keepmy mouth shut for a moment, because I’m afraid that I will say something stupid and give away that I don’t believe Sarah until I take a moment to get my head around all of this. Sarah doesn’t give me a chance to ask another question. For the first time since I asked her what happened to her face, she is forth coming with information without me having to press her.
“She said she had been playing the long game with you,” Sarah continues, shifting forward in her seat like she’s confiding in me.
Wow, she really is a bitch.
I don’t mind someone ruthless – sometimes you have to be ruthless in business, but there’s a difference between being ruthless and just out right lying. I can see now why pretty much every other secretary Sarah has ever worked with has complained about her attitude at one time or another. Various members of HR have spoken to her about it, but being unpopular isn’t a sackable, or even a punishable offense.
Funnily enough, the only recent person who has worked with Sarah who hasn’t complained about her is Molly. I bet she soon will be though when she hears about this.
“The long game huh?” I say in a way I hope makes Sarah think I’m taking all this in. It seems to work, because she nods her head enthusiastically and carries on. The nodding causes a tiny runner of blood to come from her right nostril. Sarah reaches up and wipes it away like it’s nothing more than an irritant. She doesn’t bother trying to get my sympathy this time, because she figures what she’s telling me is more likely to get me on her side.
“She said that she knew if she kept you interested in her for long enough, you’d give her whatever she wanted. And now that she has the promotion. Well …” She gestures vaguely, letting the implication hang in the air. And then, just in case I didn’t catch it, she goes on. “People talk, that’s all. I don’t think people should be questioning your judgement because Molly has a big mouth.”
I let out a slow breath, watching her. She thinks she’s playing me. That I’ll be angry, humiliated, that I’ll turn on Molly. But I’m not stupid. I’m not going to do that. Aside from Molly not wanting to have an office romance for this very reason so her not being one to talk like this is clear to me, why on earth would she have been saying shit like this before her promotion, because we had barely even spoken to each other at that point, let alone started having sex.
Sarah has fallen into two of the classic traps to catch a liar. Firstly, she couldn’t handle the silence when I was composing myself and she kept talking when she shouldn’t have, and secondly, she gave too many details, obviously fearing that if she didn’t then her story wouldn’t be believed. It’s actually the other way around. People telling the truth don’t feel the need toinclude every tiny detail, where liars do. And one of those made-up tiny details has come back to bite her on the ass.
At this point, the main things I’m wondering about are, one, why Sarah is sitting in my office instead of Molly. Two, why Molly’s desk is empty – where the hell is she? She’s had ample time to use the bathroom or make a drink. She should be back by now. Three, why Sarah looks so damn pleased with herself despite the blood on her face. And mostly, number four. What the hell happened to Sarah’s face? The question I have wanted answered since first seeing the blood on her.
I fold my hands together on top of my desk, and I purposely keep my expression unreadable.
“You still haven’t told me what happened to you. Now, how exactly did you end up bleeding all over yourself?” I ask.
Sarah hesitates for the briefest second. It’s subtle, but I catch it. I guess that means another answer that’s going to be a lie is coming then.
She recovers quickly from her little slip up though, pressing a hand to her ribs as if the very memory pains her.
“I confronted her,” she says. “I told her it wasn’t right to treat you like that. Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken to her about it. Maybe I should have just minded my own business. But it didn’t seem right that she was trying to destroy your reputation and make you look weak like that. “
“At the same time, I thought maybe she wasn’t thinking of it that way, that she was just getting carried away and talking as people do. So yeah. I told her to stop talking shit about you. I thought she might be annoyed, might yell at me, tell me to mind my own business, whatever. But I didn’t think she would become violent. But that’s what happened. She … she just snapped. She completely lost it. She hit me in the nose twice. And I know this might sound far-fetched, but you’d understand if you had seenthe look in her eyes as she hit me. I felt lucky to have only been punched. I was afraid for my life for a moment there.”
A muscle in my jaw ticks. She really is laying this on thick. Afraid for her life? Jesus, there’s no way Molly would murder her, although I wonder if she wouldn’t deserve it at this point.
“Molly hit you,” I say, just to see how thick she will lay it on. And it won’t hurt to have her think she’s suckering me in at this point.
Sarah glances down at her bloodied blouse, then she looks back up at me with wide, seemingly innocent eyes.
“Yes. She hit me,” she said.
“And where is she now? Did you go to HR? Have her immediately fired?” I ask.
I know that wouldn’t have happened. Maybe an HR rep would have had to suspend Molly while they investigated the claims, which would also explain where she is, but they wouldn’t just fire her on the spot. There would have to be evidence that Sarah’s story is true. Evidence more than her bleeding. That only proves she bled – it doesn’t prove who caused the bleeding.
