“What did you have in mind?”
“Something that doesn’t involve drinking, but will get my mind off the shitshow that is my life right now.”
“What happened?”
I should tell him. I haven’t talked to anyone about it yet, and it would probably help to lift some of the weight from my chest.
“In a nutshell? I think Raina has been lying to me.”
Sully is quiet for a second, then carefully asks, “About what?”
“Her marriage is fake. The document was forged. Javier showed up and alluded to her knowing this the whole time.”
“And you believe him?” He practically laughs.
Leaning forward in my chair, I rest my elbows on my thighs. “You didn’t see the confidence he exuded when he made his confession.”
“Lu-Lu, I don’t need to see the fucker to know he’s lying. Raina would never do that to you.”
“You don’t know that.”
That stupid ache in my heart comes back.
“Uh, I do. And you do too.”
He doesn’t understand. The anger I briefly pushed aside for this phone call comes back full force, and suddenly the last thing I want to do is be on it.
“You know what, Sully, just forget I called.”
“No,” he says quickly. “Wait. If you need a friend, I’m here. Where are you now? I’ll meet you.”
“Just forget about it.”
“Luc—”
I don’t let him finish saying my name before I hang up.
Calling him was a mistake. We’rebarelyfriends.
Clicking into the message app, I pull up the conversation between me and Raina, scrolling through the last few messages and clicking deny when Sully tries to call back.
She’s sent me six messages since I walked out on our interrupted date.
My heart aches as I read through them again, and I know I should text her back. My fingers itch to respond, but something deep inside stops me.
Nothing good will come if I reach out to her now. I need time to cool off. I’m not being reasonable right now, and I need to sit with the fact that I do know she would never lie and manipulate me like Javier accused her of.
Logically, I’m aware I’m not being fair. Ignoring her isn’t right, and to some degree it kills me that this is my reaction. Myinstinct.
My fight-or-flight mode is clearly mostly flight, and I’ve never felt like more of a coward. Her last message nearly broke me. The more times I read it, the more my resolve crumbles.
I want to hold her in my arms and work through this.
But as a lawyer, I fucked up on so many levels.
It’s not something I can get over as quickly. I’ve spent years making a name for myself, and I pride myself on my ability to do my job, and do it well.
From day one I told Raina I didn’t want to take her on as a client. I explained the conflict of interest—it was a giant red flag. Never mind completely shitting on my oath and personal responsibility as an attorney. I was never fully afraid of ruining my career because of my relationship with her, although it was a risk.
