Instead, Wren was using the time to paint Maddie’s nails a festive red that coordinated with her own glittery green. And Maddie used the free time to pepper me with questions that were one step below an interrogation. “Is everything okay? Who is that? Why do you look so annoy—” Her words cut off as she dropped a glare toward my phone. Her words came out as a hiss. “Are you textingJosh?”
My wide eyes shot to her. “What? No! No, no,no.”
Wren’s eyes darted between the polish and me. “I don’t know if this is a thou-doth-protest-too-much situation. I’m horrible at reading people.”
“I’m not,” Maddie said, something we all knew. It was a beneficial skill to have with her chosen career. Less beneficial if we were on the receiving end of that perceptiveness when we wanted to hide something.
But in that case, there was nothing to hide.
“I haven’t heard from Josh since everything came out,” I offered honestly.
Pure glee lit on Wren’s angelic face. Evil glee, but glee nonetheless. “Maybe that means they locked him up and threw away the key.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think my dad told anyone about Josh’s involvement.”
“But you did.” Maddie’s brows lifted. “Right?”
I started to tuck my hair behind my ears before catching myself. “Uh. No.”
“What?” they both cried in unison.
I scanned the room, triple checking that no one had snuck in while my face was in my phone.
The coast was clear, but I still kept my voice low. “My concern was any blowback on my mom and your parents,” I told Maddie. “Plus, the whole affair-with-a-gold-digging-demon. No one would even care about a nobody like Josh, and if he has a secret insurance policy like he claims…”
I held back a shudder at the stress that often woke me in a cold sweat.
“True. It still doesn’t sit right with me that he’s escaping with no consequences,” Wren muttered.
“He’s probably still working for Chase Majors,” Maddie pointed out. “That’s punishment enough.”
“Not for me. I hope he trusts a fart he shouldn’t in averypublic place.”
“Remind me to never get on your bad side, Wrenley.”
“Maybe don’t call me Wrenley then,Madeline.”
Usually, the use of her full name would annoy Maddie, but instead, a blush went across her cheeks. She did her best to divert the attention away.
By, unfortunately, aiming it back my way.
“Who are you texting then?” she asked.
“Tripp.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, we’ve only had the one meeting with his agent so far, but it went well.”
“He’s not just asking you to get him coffee and dry cleaning, right? Because as helpful as I’m sure that would be, he could hire another Alex for those kinds of menial tasks. I don’t want your talents wasted.” She said it lightly, but tension infused her tone and her face as she gnawed her bottom lip.
I reassured my friend that the job she’d supported me taking was, in fact, a good decision. “No. But even if he was, I’m fine with grunt work.”
I would’ve actually preferred that over doing nothing my whole first week.
Glancing down at my phone, I wondered if I should offer to drop off takeout or something. Enough to check on him, but not something that would force me to stick around.
“Does he need something?” Maddie said. “We can finish your laundry for you.”
