She frowns. “Jack’s fine. I think. I don’t know, really. We haven’t spoken lately.” They haven’t? A tiny spark of hope lights in my chest. And then I snuff it out. “I take it you haven’t spoken to him either?”
I shake my head.
“Okay, good. Then I’m glad I’m here.” She taps her foot impatiently on the sidewalk as she clutches her oversized Louis Vuitton. “Anyway, Jack never invited me to the Golden Chef Awards. I surprised him there.”
I blink, uncertain.
“But what about the bakery?”
“I bought it without him knowing. He’d already signed the lease when I bought the building.” She reaches into her designer tote and pulls out a manila file. “But I don’t own the building anymore. Here’s a copy of the papers showing I just sold it this morning. I just came from the closing.”
I take the papers, still stunned. I look at them. Could this all be true?
“What about that picture on your social…”
“Me licking his face?” Mal rolls her eyes. “One hookup. Afterbeing broken up for a year. And I plied him with drinks. And kind of begged him. And it didn’t mean anything, and, anyway, I think it was before you and he… whatever. So don’t get hung up on that.” She flicks her wrist dismissively.
I’m stunned. I glance at the papers and then at Mal. “Why are you telling me all this?”
Mal lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’m trying to do good things or whatever. Well, I’m trying to do thenextgood thing, anyway. God, it’s exhausting.” She fans her face with a gloved hand. “Wayharder than I expected. Anyway, you were on my list. Next good thing to do. Whatever. So. Go on. Call Jack.” She shoos me off, even though this is my stoop.
I hesitate.
“Go on,” she shoos me some more. Then she shakes her head, pursing her lips in disdain. “Jack didn’t do anything wrong.It was me. All me. It was all my fault.” Mal makes a face like she’s eating something rotten. “Oh, geez. That left a terrible taste in my mouth.” She sticks out her tongue. “Ack. Gross.” She makes a gagging face. Then she looks at me again. “What are you waiting for?” She shakes her head in disgust. “Talk to Jack.”
I stare at her. “Did Jack send you?”
“Ugh? Seriously with that? No. He didn’t.” Mal sighs, exasperated, flicking her fingers at me. “Just go talk to him. Don’t make this a wasted trip for me.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Seriously. Go on. Shoo.”
“But this is my building.” I nod backward to my home.
“Ugh.Fine.I’ll go then.” Mal looks to the sky as if asking the universe for patience. She turns in a huff, heading back to herchauffeured Mercedes. “No good deed goes unpunished,” she moans, ducking into the back seat of her shiny black car.
I trudge up my stairs, open my door, head reeling. I turn her words over in my mind. Jack never lied to me. I’d been blaming him all this time for something heneverdid. He never invited Mal to be his date. Never agreed to have her buy the bakery. Never was seeing her behind my back.
Oh, God. If that’s true, then I’ve completely and totally been an ass to Jack. I never let him explain. I just cut him out, like a cancerous tumor. I never let him even try to tell me his side.
Maybe I’m the asshole.
I open my condo door and find Nami vacuuming. She’s getting the place ready for its first open house tomorrow. It’s pristine, and smells like lemon-tinged cleaner. She shuts off the vacuum.
“Did you get more glass cleaner? We’re out.”
I sink into my couch. “Nami, I was wrong about Jack.”
Nami snorts, loudly. She’s still in man-hating mode. “You weren’t wrong about Jack.”
“I was,” I insist. I hand her the manila folder. “Mal gave me these just now. She bought the bakery behind Jack’s back. But she’s sold it. At least, I think she did. That’s what she said.”
Nami grabs the papers and gives them a once-over. As a corporate attorney, she’s all about the fine print.
“Uh-huh.” Nami nods. “Yep, that’s what this is. She sold it this morning.” Nami scans the document. “And she sold it at a loss, so she really wanted to be done with it.” Nami bites her lip. “Also, she originally purchased the bakery by a blind proxy, anyway,” Nami says, tapping the papers.
“What does that mean?”
