“Is she being bullied because of your…previous job?”
I pause for a moment. I’ve never thought of that. I just assumed she was embarrassed, but maybe other kids in school are teasing her. Even though she seemed to have gotten some cool points for being related to Ryder Reed—distantly, through marriage—kids can turn on one another so fast. Lord of the Flies isn’t a classic for nothing.
“I don’t know,?
? I finally answer.
Traci sighs. “You might want to find out. See if you can do some damage control.” She taps the rim of her glass. “But I think that the biggest thing that can fix the situation—if she’s being bullied or something—is for you and Elliot to make up and put on a good public show as a loving couple. Maybe, I don’t know, go to some kind of Hollywood party together or something? Once people see that you guys aren’t bothered by your past, maybe the kids in her school will leave Nonny alone too. It’s not any fun to pick at a wound that doesn’t exist.”
I frown. “You’re right.” Except…Elliot and I don’t have any special event we can attend together while looking like we’re in love. Even if there were one, given his reaction in the bathroom this morning, I don’t know if he’d go for it.
“I just want you to make up with him and be happy. And take better care of yourself.”
I force a smile. “I am taking care of myself.”
She gives me a pitying look. “Come on. I’ve seen zombies with more pep.”
“I…”
“Don’t worry. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but who am I? Traci, your best friend since kindergarten, that’s who. And I can tell.”
I swallow and nod.
“Seriously. Multivitamins.” She gives me a small smile and squeezes my hand. “Feel better now that we’ve talked?”
“Yes.”
“Like I said, I’m always here for you if you need somebody.”
“Thanks.”
We finish our lunch while chatting about her job. I’m not interested in what’s going on at OWM simply for altruistic “I’m being a good friend” reasons—although I am curious about how she’s doing under a boss who seems as demanding as Gavin Lloyd. I want to know what’s going on there because of my ex-boyfriend, Dennis, who seems convinced that one, my husband is out to get him, and two, I’m the only one who can stop him. I swear he’s gone paranoid. There were signs when we were living in Lincoln City, but he was never this bad. Is this recent worsening somehow the result of what his father did? Jack Smith joined my dad in the Ponzi scheme, and when it fell apart, he gunned down my parents and then blew his own brains out with the last bullet. And Dennis’s been very careful to hide his true parentage from everyone.
Of course, steering the conversation the way I want it to go isn’t easy. Traci is somewhat stuck on her immediate supervisor Hilary, and Gavin.
“It’s like he can’t live without her. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they were lovers or something. But they have zero chemistry that way. Besides, they’re both too happily married.”
I tilt my head. “Maybe she’s just good at her job.”
“She is. I’m hoping she keeps me because being so close to the boss comes with some great advantages, even if I’m not that high on the totem pole.” Traci flushes, then sips her coffee, lowering her eyelashes. “I can learn from watching him and then maybe leverage that into getting a more lucrative position at the firm.”
“Right.” I grin. “You are totally crushing on him,” I tease.
Traci meets my gaze straight on. Her eyes are unusually bright. “What if I am?”
I gape at her. “Wait. You’re seriously saying that you are?”
She shrugs, although her mouth is smiling. “He’s a very…charismatic man, and I’m not dead. But”—she sighs—“I know he’s married. So…”
“Don’t they have other unmarried hotties at the firm? It looked like it was full of young, ambitious men the last time I was there.”
“Yeah, but they aren’t the same. Gavin’s the alpha male.” She adjusts her top, smoothing it so it lies perfectly against her enhanced cleavage.
So that explains her outfits. I don’t know if she’s consciously choosing to wear them or not, but I hope she doesn’t do anything stupid. Unless I’m mistaken, Gavin is utterly in love with his wife. I open my mouth to say something, then stop. It seems a bit presumptuous of me to lecture Traci when she already knows about his marital status and we’ve just reconnected after a couple years apart. Unlike me, Traci’s been smart enough to make something of herself, so who am I to act like I know better?
“Although… There’s this guy in accounting with this totally hot look. But I hear he’s gay. Pete’s handsome too, but he’s taken.” She sighs again. “It’s always something.”
Finally. I perk up. “You mean Pete Monroe? Dennis’s boss?”
