Was he… Did he seriously think that taking a six-year-old on a cross-country music tour was a good idea? It was times like this I wondered what I’d ever seen in him. Opposites might attract, but what happened after the initial appeal wore off?
“What am I supposed to tell her?” I asked, knowing just how upset she’d be. I could already picture her tear-stained face.
“Tell her…I’ll catch her next time. Tell her I’ll make it up to her. I promise.”
I rolled my eyes. How many times had he said that before?
“Cal, you can’t do this. She’s counting on you, and so am I. I’m working on closing a huge deal, and I gave Gabriela the summer off because you were supposed to be spending time with our daughter.”
Gabriela was our live-in nanny, and Sophia adored her. I adored her. She treated me like a daughter, and I’d be lost without her. I might attend parent-teacher conferences and school plays, but she knew all the ins and outs of Sophia’s routine. She knew where Sophia’s favorite outfit was and what her favorite food was.
Sometimes I felt like a bad mom for not being as involved, but then I reminded myself I was affording her a life I could never have dreamed of. I was ensuring she’d never have to work as hard as I did. I loved her, and I showed that love by providing for our family financially.
“Summer camp!” he said, as if it were that simple.
“Camp?” I shook my head. “It’s too late to register, and most of the good ones had waitlists months ago.”
I heard him talking to someone else in the background, and I knew I’d already lost him. It didn’t matter what I said or how much I begged, Cal was going to do what he wanted. The problem was, I was going to pay the price.Again.
Yet again, he was having all the fun, and I was doing all the work. Yet again, he was bailing on our daughter, and I was having to scramble to pick up the slack. Yet again—
“Hey, Lex. You still there?”
I clenched my fist, staring out at the skyline beyond my window. “I’m still here.I’malways here.”
“Can’t you offer to pay Gabriela more or something? I bet she’d be happy to watch Sophia.”
“No, Cal. I can’t. She’s already halfway to Colombia by now,” I spat back, getting madder and madder the longer this conversation dragged on. It didn’t matter that our nanny had gone home to visit her family in Colombia; it was the principle of it.
“All right. All right.” His tone told me he thought I was being irrational, which only incensed me further. “Calm down, babe.”
“Don’t call me babe. Don’t call me Lex either. I’m not your wife. I’m not your groupie.” My voice rose with every word, my anger becoming something tangible. Something living and breathing. “I’m just the mother of your child, and I’ll figure it out without you. I always do.”
“Look,” he sighed. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go. I’ll FaceTime with Sophia when I can.”
“Cal… Cal!” I shouted into the phone when he didn’t answer, only then realizing he’d already hung up.
Shit.I continued to stare at the phone as if he’d call back and tell me it was all a big joke.
I laid my head on the desk and took a few deep breaths, trying to center myself. It wasn’t just the change in plans or the lack of notice, I thought. Though those definitely pissed me off. It was the impact on Sophia. I knew how devastated she’d be. And how guilty I felt even though none of it was my fault.
I should’ve known better than to trust him.
My phone chimed, and I lifted my head to see a calendar entry for “Drinks with the girls.” For a moment, I considered bailing. But then I remembered Sophia was sleeping over at a friend’s house, and I could really use a drink.
When I arrived at the bar, Lauren was already waiting, drink in hand. She waved me over, and my red-soled shoes clacked against the floor, drawing attention. I straightened, tossing my caramel waves over my shoulder as I strode toward her. I felt powerful, confident, sexy. Even when my life was spinning out of control, I could at least look like I had it together.
“Alexis!” Lauren’s bronzed skin glowed beneath the lights, her brown eyes sparkling. “Honey, you look good.” She spun her finger in a circle, indicating I should do the same. “Mm. Mm.” She shimmied her shoulders as if enjoying a decadent dessert.
It made me laugh as I slid into the high chair across from her, knowing I’d made the right decision in coming. Lauren and I had been friends since what we lovingly referred to as “the college internship from hell.” We’d bonded while working for a property developer. And we’d stayed friends since, even as we formed our own businesses. I often referred my clients to her for interior design, though her real talent was staging. Which was why, as much as I’d wanted to go home tonight and crawl into bed, I knew I needed to come out.
“Hot date?” she asked.
“Annoying client,” I said, knowing her question was in reference to my fitted sheath dress and sky-high heels.
She flashed me a wicked grin. “Even better.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sleeping with him, if that’s what you’re implying.”
