Page 82 of Caleb
Our last Monday run.
Our run was great. Fun. Red seemed relaxed, and I like that. But just knowing I’ll disturb her happiness in a few days makes me cringe. I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone this much before I met her father. I hate how he manipulates the truth with the stupid excuse of it being “what’s best for his daughter.” If he really cared about her, he would tell her everything about her mother, the real reason he’s letting her live on her own, and why he’s firing me. I’m sure there’s an endless list of items he’s kept hidden from her throughout the years. But the truth always comes out. And she deserves nothing less than all of it.
We’re officially done for the day, so I plan to take a shower and maybe find an excuse to text Red. You never know how she’ll take the news of me not coming to New York. She might want to stop talking to me altogether, so it’s best to seize what’s left of the little time we’ve got left.
Just as I’m jumping out of the shower, there’s a knock on my door. Annette’s knock. So I quickly wrap a towel around my waist and rush to get it.
“Hey.” I slide the door open, and she steps in, shutting it behind her. The look on her face is almost paranoid.
She curses softly under her breath in French at the sight of me. “Put on a shirt or something.” Her accent is thicker than usual. That happens when she’s upset, and she clearly is. She looks away and heads for the bed. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and I already know shit must’ve hit the fan. “Please,” she begs. Annette takes a seat on the edge of the bed and places her shaky hands beside her hips, letting her head hang with a sigh.
Grabbing a change of clothes, I head for the bathroom to change. When I walk out, I see Annette staring absentmindedly at the wall.
“What’s wrong?” I sit next to her.
“He wouldneversee the same woman twice,” she says, her gaze lost as she keeps staring into nothing. “Ever.” Her lower lip trembles. “But he’s been seeing the same woman for the last month, so I’m afraid he’s become attached to this one.”
I run a hand across my forehead with exasperation. It’s the never-ending story with this man. Obviously, his extracurricular activities aren’t going to stop anytime soon. They’ll probably get worse once they’re in New York and he’s no longer in the spotlight as he is now. But I can’t tell her any of those things. I have tried to make her come to her senses in the past, and I’ve gotten nowhere.
“I’m so sorry,” I say instead. “That fucking sucks.”
“Why ask me to come to New York then?” I’m hoping it’s rhetorical because I don’t have the answer to that question. “I’m sure it’s very convenient for him to bring someone he can trust with his personal and business affairs and fuck her on the side. Because I’m sure I would end up doing some kind of work for him. I don’t know how to exist without working. I’d go crazy just thinking about where he is, what he’s doing, and who he’s with.”
“Wait,” I say with a grimace. “You’re not seriously considering going to New York after this, are you?”
“What if it’s not true?” she muses, her face dropping to her hands, seeking shelter behind them.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I’m sure she’s embarrassed to admit she still wants to go to New York. And if she does, then I don’t see why we’re having this conversation. She knows that bringing up the subject with me means trashing Ambassador Murphy. There’s no alternate timeline or universe in which I would support her in going with him after all the emotional damage he’s inflicted on her. But I’ll be a good friend and help her sort her feelings out and put her thoughts in line so she can make a smart decision.
Hopefully.
“Who told you about this woman he’s allegedly been seeing?”
“Scott,” she says, finally leveling her gaze with mine. I can’t deal when she’s in robot mode. It hurts to see there’s no end to her suffering when it comes to that man. “I think he’s trying to gossip his way into my pants. And I’ve entertained this silliness because the things he tells me usually help me do my job better. He doesn’t just tell me stuff about James.”
“Scott’s an asshole,” I say through my teeth, remembering the things he said about Red when she stepped out of her room looking like a goddess. I don’t blame him, but he’s an idiot to think I would allow him to say those things in front of me. And who knows, but maybe he’s also been feeding information to Ambassador Murphy about my interactions with his daughter.
“Well, he gives me information I need and then feels like he’s saved the day. So I let him think that,” she says. “It’s a ‘win-win’ situation.”
“Information that helps you do your job better?” I stand and fetch my cigarettes from my nightstand. “Or information that makes you miserable?” She knows she’s just using Scott to spy on the bastard, and it’s destroying her. She needs to stop.
She needs to end things with him once and for all and not follow him to New York.
Annette presses her lips together and looks away for a few beats. I know that was a low blow, but at the same time, she’s my friend, and I need to remind her about the true nature of the man she’s so headstrong about sharing her bed with. The bastard isnotgoing to change. And she knows it.
“You shouldn’t be smoking in here,” she offers as a reply, standing up and joining me, leaning against the wall adjacent to the window. I take a deep breath and shut my eyes as I push the window open. I light one up.
I know.
“Do you trust Scott’s telling you the truth then?”
“Everything he’s told me has checked out in the past.” She swallows hard. “But there’s no way to confirm any of the things he claims about James. I can’t walk up to him and ask him directly because I’d be risking Scott’s job.”
“Well, maybe he doesn’t deserve to work here if he’s a fucking snitch.”
“I can’t just throw him under the bus!” she shouts with exasperation. “I’ve only been able to confront James a few times, and that’s only because I lied to him about how I found out.”
