Page 56 of One More Chance
CHARLOTTE SLIPPED THEhostess two hundred bucks to bypass the line that snaked out the door of the restaurant. The popular spot buzzed with the sound of the weekend brunch crowd as the bridal party was whisked to their table.
Mimosas were delivered as soon as they sat down. Charlotte gulped hers back, tapped on the glass, and the server immediately poured her another. She was shaking like a leaf, every part of her body vibrating with adrenaline and anger. Not even anger, fury. The past had come knocking on the door, ‘surprise, you know that terrible thing that happened to you fifteen years ago? Thought you might want to go through the exact same thing again.’
The women sat around the table staring at each other. A toast didn’t seem appropriate, given the circumstances, but Charlotte raised her glass. “To Megan and Josh,” her voice quivered. They clinked glasses and as they sipped their mimosas, looked to each other with wide eyes. Charlotte cleared her throat, “Come on you gloomy Gus’s, let’s not let that little snafu ruin the day.” Her positive words were betrayed by her throat as it constricted stifling a sob.
Megan wrapped her arms around Charlotte and held her tightly, but Charlotte resisted. “No, I’m not falling apart over this. I guess it’s true what they say, ‘people don’t change.’” She wiped her tears away with the linen napkin. “Today is about you and Josh. Not me and that bastard.” She plastered on a smile.
“That’s not true, you’ve changed.”
Charlotte thought that she had changed but wondered if she was still the same insecure girl from Chance Rapids, just disguised with better outfits and fancy cars. “Did you know?” she asked.
“Hell, no,” Megan replied. “I can’t believe it actually. I thought that Logan was such a good guy and I’m pretty sure that Josh would’ve told me if he had known. I knew that he dated models in the past, but I thought it was just that, you know, the past.”
“Did you see the look on her face?” Melissa leaned in and smiled. “I mean, that was practically a full bottle.”
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Charlotte said.
Megan looked up from her menu, “Char, if you hadn’t, I would have,” Megan grinned. “I probably would’ve gone with the sparkling apple juice though and not the three-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne.”
“You wouldn’t have done that,” Charlotte smiled. Megan was proper and reserved.
“You’re right, but I would’ve thought about it,” Megan replied.
“You’re my hero right now,” Ariel grinned.
The waiter returned with a bottle of champagne, “I owe you ladies a bottle – a full one,” she laughed. The dark cloud that hung over the table lifted slightly. Laughing helped. Charlotte decided. Just like work, she would compartmentalize. Today was about being with friends and spoiling Megan. Dealing with Logan, that piece of shit, well, that was going to have to wait. She was an expert at bottling her feelings, and this was something she was going to bury deep down inside.
Charlotte tried to put the morning’s escapade aside and enjoy her eggs Florentine, but all she could hear was Serena Cruise’s voice on repeat, do you think Logan Brush will like this? Do you think Logan Brush will like this? Doyouthinkloganbrushwilllikethis? Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut to try and make the valley girl voice disappear, and when she opened them, the din of the restaurant came back, along with the laughter from the bridal party.
After their lunch check was settled, Charlotte pulled out her phone to check on her daily report from her assistant. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the subject line: nothing urgent to report. She locked her phone and slipped it back into her purse.
“Ladies, some urgent business has just come up,” she lied.
“Ohh,” the women chorused.
“But you’re going to miss the manicures,” Ariel said, her eyes wide with concern.
Charlotte draped her cashmere jacket over her arm and picked up her handbag. “I’m sorry to miss out on that, but you ladies have fun today. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she made an elaborate display of winking. The irony of the statement not lost on her after this morning’s extreme lapse in judgment.
Megan stood up and held her arms out wide. Charlotte allowed Megan to hug her tightly and wasn’t surprised when she asked, “Are you going to be okay?” quietly in her ear. She pulled back and held onto her best friend’s arms.
“I’ll always be okay.” Then she said to the rest of the group, “The town car will take you all back to Chance Rapids. I have to stay in the city to deal with a high maintenance client.”
Charlotte waved goodbye and held her head high as she strode out of the restaurant. She smiled; she was telling the truth. She was always okay.
Fuck Logan Brush and fuck Chance Rapids. She didn’t need a washed-up retired hockey player or that shithole town for that matter. Her business was her life, and she was happy to be getting back to her true love – work.
