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“He treatin’ you right?” Curtis asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s totally fine. I was just being stupid last night.”
“Ain’t stupid to feel,” Lane said.
Curtis and I both gave him a somewhat surprised look. Lane wasn’t exactly known for his depth.
“Thank you. I’m fine. Really. I’ll let you two know if I need anything, okay?”
“Damn right you will,” Curtis said.
“Shee,” Lane agreed.
39
PEARL
“Speech, speech, speech!” Everybody at the reception was chanting and looking my way. Steph had just given a sarcastic but hilarious speech and now, apparently, it was my turn.
Lizzie and Jonas were sitting together at their little table, both smiling and absolutely glowing. It was a little weird to think my sister was officially married–Lizzie Pollard, as strange as that was.
I’d made it through most of the ceremony without saying more than single word sentences to Dean, who didn’t seem to be in a rush to talk to me, either. He was sitting beside me now and he gave my hand a subtle squeeze under the table.
I hated how much it reassured me, but the inner voice currently freaking out about giving a speech did calm a little bit.
I smiled, then stood up and raised my glass–it was water. I’d sworn off alcohol for the foreseeable future.
It took a moment for everybody to calm down and get quiet so I could speak. I looked around the room and saw my parents, my cousins, Grandma Bobo, and even several people I recognized from town who were working various jobs for the wedding. All of my co-workers were here now, too. I’d caught up with Marley before the bride and groom arrived at the reception, which we were holding in the same beautiful dining room at Stone Tower where we’d done the rehearsal dinner. I even apologized and told her the truth about me and Dean. I knew I’d held her in the dark this long to spare her if I ever got caught, but I was over all of it. I just wanted the truth out there to anybody I could afford to tell, especially my only real work friend.
“Um,” I said, once the room was quiet. “I wanted to say how glad I am that we’re all here. And how awesome it is that my sister did me the favor of making my boss my brother-in-law, because now he’ll have a much harder time firing me when I ask for next week off.”
There was a ripple of laughter through the room. I smiled a little, feeling the nerves settle some. “And I also wanted you to know, Lizzie, that I think you did an awesome job. It’s not easy to love somebody. It’s hard, and it’s scary, and it can hurt if it goes wrong. So I think what you two are doing is probably the bravest thing. And I’m really proud of you for it.”
Lizzie put her hands over her heart and gave me a sappy smile.
“Oh, and I also wanted to formally suggest that since you two will be gone on your honeymoon for a week, Jonas could give all of us the week off.”
There was cheering from my co-workers and laughter from everyone else. Jonas looked like he was actually considering it, and Lizzie whispered something to him.
“Granted!” he shouted.
The cheering doubled, and I was smiling right along with everyone else until Alec Pollard stood up.
“I’d like to say something, if that’s alright,” he said.
Jonas shrugged and someone took the mic from me and walked it over to Alec.
Everyone grew quieter. The man just had an aura about him that made me feel like we’d reached the part in the movie where the bad guy announces he has put a bomb under everyone’s table and he has also been cleaning the toilets with our toothbrushes all week.
“I wanted to say that trust is critical. Paramount, actually, to a successful business. And business, at its essence, is a relationship. A business built on false truths is a business doomed to fail. And a business partner formed through lies is a partner better left behind.”
“I ain’t heard this Dr. Seuss book, but it sucks!” Lane shouted. There was a quick and subdued round of country-flavored laughter.
There was some murmuring and clear confusion. Jonas got to his feet and started walking toward Alec like he was going to take the little cordless microphone away from him.
“That’s why I think it’s important we all know Pearl and Dean have been lying to all of us. For reasons I don’t understand–”
There was loud, angry murmuring. Maxwell Pollard got to his feet and shouted, “Enough, Alec! This is hardly the time.”
“This is exactly the time,” Alec said, holding Jonas at bay. “For months, I’ve been trying to talk sense into the two of you. Maxwell, you’ve been enamored by that man so fully that you can’t see reason anymore. Jonas, you’ve been half-assing your duty ever since you met that woman. This is our company. Our vision. Our dream. And you’re both letting it slip away, no matter how many times I’ve tried to bring it up. So I decided to get your attention once and for all.” He spread his arms, looking around the room at everyone who was glaring at him like the 90’s movie bad guy I’d known he was from the moment I saw him. “I don’t know why Dean and Pearl they’ve been lying to all of us, but I assure you, they have. You’ll find a printed copy of a text conversation between the two of them from six months ago. I’ve taken the liberty of posting it near the front doors, for anyone curious. They clearly admit…”
