AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t ask you anything, and you didn’t just get here. We’ve been here for over an hour.”
“Look, look—your man is over there like, just standing there, mean-mugging you. He’s being a big meanie.” She breaks out in a loud cackle that prompts people to look over at us. “Look at all this liquor, Quin. There’s too much booze flowing around here for people to be still up in their lil’ mean feelings.”
“Are you sure?’ I ask. “I think you might’ve drunk it all.”
She cackles. Snorts and cackles.
“Ella, pull it together.”
“What? I’m fine. I really am.” She stands up straight and runs her fingers through her sweaty hair.
I walk over to the bar, get a glass of ice water, immerse my fingers in the glass and splash cold water on her face.
“Hey, what did you do that for?”
“To snap you out of it. You’ve been drinking like a fish up in here.”
I splash some more on her and she says, “Hey! Okay, okay. Gosh!”
“Are you back?”
“Yes. I’m good,” she says. “Are you good? The husband looks mad.”
“He’s upset with me about something. That’s all.”
“Aw…da poor lil’ baby is upset. What is he mad about?”
“I told him I wanted to take things slow…”
“Take things slow?” She giggles. “You literally…” She laughs some more. She laughs so hard, she can’t get words out. “How do you take things slow with a man you’re already married to? Am I dreaming? Did I not come to your wedding?”
“Shh,” I say, covering her mouth with my right hand. “Nobody here knows I’m married. I want to keep it that way for now.”
“Why? What’s the big hairy deal?”
“I still work for the company.”
She snaps her head back and folds over, laughing. “You…you still work there? Quin, stop playing with me.”
“I do. I—Ella, stop laughing and listen.”
“Okay, okay.” She stops laughing, finally, and rakes her hair away from her face using her fingers. “All right. You have my divided—I mean undivided attention.”
“Okay, so I told Essex I wanted to continue working.”
“Why? This guy has more money than Jeff freakin’ Mentos—”
“You mean Bezos.”
“That’s what I said. Why would you choose to work when your man is filthy rich? If it were me, I’d be laid up under one of them palm trees living the life. It’s not like you don’t deserve it.”
“Everybody deserves happiness, but I don’t want to become this woman with no drive and ambition because my husband is rich.”
“Okay, okay, okay, okay. Listen—I may be a lil’ tipsy—”
I raise a brow. “A little?”
“Okay, alottatipsy, but here’s what I know. Are you listening?”
