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“No,” he said. “Thanks. I’ll probably be asleep on my desk if I do that.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty tired myself today,” I said, walking back to the chair.
“Oh, and Lindsey wanted me to make sure that you were still coming to the wedding,” he said. “We changed the seating arrangements around to avoid anything awkward. It really wouldn’t be the same without you there. We’ve known each other our entire adult life.”
“We have, haven’t we?”
“Ever since that event during college,” he said. “I knew you would be a success the first time I met you.”
“And I knew you would help get us there,” I said with a smile. “Though I am glad that you decided to get over that plaid phase that you went through. I am pretty sure Lindsey would have passed on a d
ate had you been wearing that terrible tie you just wouldn’t let go of.”
“Plaid was in,” he said.
“No, plaid was never in.” I laughed. “But as far as your wedding, of course, I will be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Awesome,” he said. “Alright, I’ll let you get back to work.”
I nodded and smiled as he walked away, already thinking about excuses I could make to get out of the wedding. Unfortunately, I was so close to the groom that it would take pneumonia or a hospital stay for me to be forgiven for missing it. I could possibly stage a fall and have to be seen right away, but I knew that John would call me out on it in a heartbeat. He was such an asshole sometimes. The reality of it was, I didn’t want to see Amanda. That was a lie. I really wanted to see Amanda, which was exactly why I shouldn’t be there with her. I missed her more than I could even express, and although I still felt like I had made a mistake, that pesky little voice in the back of my head kept putting another seed of doubt into my mind. There was still a chance that everything that John had told me was right on target, and she really had been after me for my money.
I could remember the butterflies I used to get, waiting at her front door. I would get so excited and nervous to see her, but as soon as she was there in front of me, that all faded away and I felt more comfortable than I ever had before. This time, I was nervous, but it wasn’t about seeing her. It was about not wanting to let her go. I was nervous that I would either fall back in love with her, or I would get wasted and say things that I didn’t really mean. I didn’t know if control was something I was going to be able to exercise, and I didn’t want to make a scene at Jordan’s wedding.
The one thing I knew for certain was that the reception was going to have an open bar. I would prop myself up on the barstool and just drink until the event was over. That might keep my attention off of Amanda for a while, but I knew it wasn’t a foolproof plan. I knew that I was going to have to face her at the wedding, and Sarah, too, probably. I wondered how uncomfortable that would be. Maybe I would get the courage up to ask Sarah about what she told John, though I doubted she would tell me the truth if she was that manipulative of a person. What I really needed to do was stop being a coward and call Amanda. I needed to talk to her about things and find out if what Lindsey told me was the God’s honest truth. I didn’t even know at that point if she would take a phone call from me. I had made it more than clear that I wanted her out of my life. She probably would just hang up on me, and that was the last thing I needed in my day.
Everything was always so damn complicated. I didn’t understand why people couldn’t just be honest with each other. As I sat there contemplating Sarah’s part in everything, John poked his head in the door.
“Hey, dude,” he said.
“Hey,” I replied, waving him in. “I have a question.”
“What’s up?”
“Is Sarah coming to the wedding?”
“I called her yesterday actually to find out that exact thing,” he said. “I thought she’d be a good date for the event. She said she got into some sort of huge fight with Amanda and her sister. She said her sister punched her in the mouth and has now alienated her from the family.”
“Wow, over what?”
“She said they were mad at her for telling me the truth about Amanda,” he said.
“Why would Lindsey punch her in the face for telling the truth? It’s her own little sister.”
“I don’t know, man,” he said, scrunching his eyebrows together. “Why do you want to know, anyway?”
“I thought about talking to her about what she told you,” I said.
“Dude, seriously, you need to get past this shit,” he said, standing up. “Enough is enough. You need to get your shit together, and stop drinking so Goddamn much, or you are going to ruin the company and everything all of us have worked so hard to achieve. I don’t mean to be harsh, but I think it has reached the point where someone needs to tell you how it is.”
“You know, maybe you’re right,” I said, standing up and grabbing my jacket. “No, actually, you need to mind your own damn business and fuck off.”
“Whatever,” he said, turning and walking from the room.
I shook my head and sighed, kicking the empty trash can next to my desk. I left the office, telling my secretary I was leaving early for the day. I went straight home and poured myself a drink. If I was going to be fought every step of the way, I might as well just be by myself. Just me and my bottle of whiskey.
Chapter 23
Amanda
