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"I don't know actually. We haven't talked about it. I'm guessing he had a scheduling conflict or something and couldn't do them."
Her face said everything that ran through my mind that night.
Traitor.
Jerk.
Hypocrite.
All the times I criticized him for being laser-focused on his career and here I was doing the same thing. Betrayal hangs heavy in the air, making it hard to breathe. I don't know what to say to defend my choice, to make it justified from the outside looking in.
I can't make out a response before Nora is rolling into our conversation.
"Wow, you ladies are such a power couple! Who knew girl-on-girl would be so powerful!"
Does she seriously not see the innuendo in what she just said? She needs to get her nose out of her phone before she becomes oblivious to the real world.
"I owe it all to Lacey. She worked hard and brought even more energy this time around. She truly is the star."
Lacey flashes me a smirk before turning on her heel to get changed.
"I haven't fully confirmed everything with Ovis, but there is an opening in our photographer roster and I plan to recommend you for it. You have proved your value these past few weeks and how you handled BK was better than we could have hoped. Watch for our offer in your email by the end of the month. I look forward to working with you more in the future. Welcome to the team."
She says it like there's no way I wouldn't take the job. Part of her is right. Then the smallest part of me says it might not be the right thing. While the rest of me is jumping up and down like a middle-aged woman at the casino who won the jackpot on her last quarter.
As I pack up my gear, ready to go home with only Hammie to keep me company, my phone dings.
Burger King: Can you just let me know you're not in a ditch somewhere?
Burger King: Please…
Everything is elevating in my career while everything is crashing and burning in my relationship, or whatever Brett and I are. I can't help the feeling of déjà vu. This is how things ended with Warren and the thought of things with Brett meeting the same fate has me ready to puke in a parking lot trash can.
WhenLaceyshowsupat my door, I am more confused than I was when Ella barged in last week. How has it only been a week since that happened? It feels like I haven't talked to Carter in way longer than that. She has left me on read and I feel like the girls I have ghosted in the past. I get why they thought I was such a dick, being on this side of it freaking blows.
I sent another message yesterday trying to see if maybe she forgot to reply since that happens. You think you sent that reply but really you never hit send and it's just sitting in the text box waiting for your command. Still no word back from her.
"Sorry to show up randomly like this. I know we aren't really friends, but there's something you should know," Lacey explains as she leans against the hallway wall, making no motion to come inside.
Some five-word sentences that most men don't want to hear:
There's something you should know
I stopped taking the pill
I'm pregnant and it's yours
He's my stepbrother, it's fine
Showing up unannounced and dropping a bomb like that is straight-up rude. Lacey and I were cordial on set but I definitely wouldn't consider us friends outside of that. I know there's no way she's pregnant with my baby because I never touched her like that.
"Okay, are you in trouble or something?" Not sure how her being in trouble would be something I needed to be concerned with, but it's all I can think of.
"Carter wrapped the reshoots yesterday. I know you guys have been hooking up and it seemed shady to me that she didn't tell you. It's not my place to get in the middle of things but I can see the way you two care for each other and I didn't think it would be good if you didn't at least know. She will probably hate me for telling you but I didn't know what else to do."
I'm guessing that's why she hasn't been responding to me. The funny thing is, I'm not even mad. Part of me is relieved that they chose her for the task. It makes sense since she had been on set every damn day, not to mention standing in for me when I was dying on my office couch.
She got her dream and my dream shifted full circle. It's wild how things like that fall into place. Once you get the thing you wanted, the thing you wanted loses the value you imagined it had.
