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Farrow:
You’re fired as my best friend.
Farrow:
Okay, you’re not.
Farrow:
But come back.
I need you.
Two days after my birthday, I was back to scrubbing toilets and wiping windows.
My knees scraped the tiles of the bathroom in Zach’s guest room as I poured bleach into the toilet nobody had used for at least a decade. The fumes tickled my nose, burning my eyes.
Zach roamed the house like an unhinged phantom, barking orders and casting a dark, formidable shadow on Natalie and the rest of his staffers.
He’d done zero work since morning, instead popping his head into the various rooms I floated between and demanding to know what I wanted to eat for lunch, what my plans were after work hours, and if it were possible to spend time together.
I assumed ‘spend time together’ was code for rubbing our genitals until fire ignited.
Shamefully, I did not find the prospect too off-putting. Yes, he was engaged, but I’d read the thick contract with Eileen on his desk.
Neither of them wanted to share a room, touch one another, or even cohabitate in the same state. I’d even been privy to their conversations.
They sounded like elderly siblings barely managing to tolerate one another through the mutual interest of dividing a fat inheritance.
Still, something ate at my inner organs, devouring me inside and out, one bite at a time.
I traded the bleach spray for beeswax and cleaning wipes, moving on to the wooden cabinets.
Behind me, the door creaked open. I used my elbow to wipe my sweaty forehead, not bothering to look at the intruder.
“I already told you… I want mac n’ cheese balls and a burger for lunch.” I sighed. “Yes, I know I’m not five. No, I don’t car?—”
“Get your ass up, Cinderella. We’re out of here.”
I whipped my head around to find Dallas filling the doorway,clad in a huge faux leopard coat, a pink cowgirl hat, diamond-studded sunglasses, and enough makeup to repaint the Sistine Chapel.
She looked…unhinged.
But also extremely freaking adorable.
I was still on my knees, trying not to get an epileptic episode from watching her alone. “What are you doing here?”
“Celebrating your birthday, silly.” Dallas ripped the shades from her eyes, grinning at me. “Sorry it took me over a day to organize. I was ironing out the kinks.” She bulldozed inside, protecting her nose (and baby) from the fumes with pinched fingers. “Come on, now. Our flight leaves in thirty minutes.”
“Ourflight?” I jumped to my feet, eyes flaring in horror. “What do you mean, our flight? I don’t even have my passport on me.”
She waved me off. “Don’t worry, it’s domestic.”
I let her drag me out of the bathroom by the wrist for the sole fact that I refused to be responsible for harming her baby. “I didn’t even pack.”
“I packed for you.” Her voice practically radiated cheer as she all but skipped her way out to the hall. “Hope you like thongs and leather nipple warmers.”
I honestly didn’t know whether she was joking or preparing me for what was to come.
