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“You’re judging me,” he says, cringing.
“Sorry.” I wrinkle my nose. “I am, yes.”
He laughs. “You’re blunt. I like you, you know that?”
“Thanks.” Heat blushes my cheeks. Tristan is very, very charming.
“So, this is officially the sixteenth time this has happened over the years,” he says. “Hell, maybe more than that. Meredith finds herself on a drinking binge, then her body gives out and she goes crazy, and then she drives to my house in a completely manic state.”
“My God.”
“I know. It’s a lot.”
“Why don’t you ...?”
“Call the cops?”
I nod.
“I have. The first five or six times that it happened, I did. But it keeps happening. And I’m not going to press charges on my ex-wife.” He vehemently shakes his head. “I wouldn’t do that. Never. Anyway, she’s been married three times after me, I think. The first kicked her out for her drinking, and the last two left because she was still madly in love with me. This, according to the voicemails the men left me, anyway.”
“Wow.” I begin twirling my tea bag around in my cup. Tea,indeed.
“No, Lavi, it’s not because I’m so fantastic. It’s my bank account. That’s all she’s interested in. Meredith and I married well before I made any money. We were young and dumb. Lasted less than two years. She ‘can’t get over me’afterI started making money. It’s sad.” He sips his tea. “I feel sorry for her.”
I feel sorry for your wife.
“Anyway,” he sighs, “she’ll sleep in the guest room next to the laundry room on the first floor. You shouldn’t have to mess with her. She’ll be downstairs, and you’ll be upstairs with Nina. And again, I’m really sorry you had to deal with this. I, uh ... well, I need to get back to work.”
He seems hesitant to leave, but then smiles awkwardly, turns, and disappears down the hall.
I lean against the counter and sip my tea.
Day one on my new job, and I’ve already met three women. Three women who are madly in love with my boss.
I think about Nina sleeping on the second floor, and a wave of sadness comes over me. All these women.
Is Nina jealous of Mariana, the sexy housekeeper? Is she aware that Tristan’s first wife is asleep just below her? Is she mad at her husband’s wildly inappropriate decision to continuously allow Meredith intoherhouse?
I can’t imagine what it would be like to hear and see these things but not be able to respond.
I pour my tea down the drain and begin the trek back upstairs when one more question creeps into my thoughts.
I wonder what Nina thinks of me?
10
Lavinia
Iam lying in bed when I hear the creak of floorboards outside my room.
I sit up, certain it’s not Nina herself. Not only because I was told she can’t walk, but also because the steps are coming from the opposite end of the hall, from the staircase.
Immediately, I regret not crawling back into bed with Nina after the chaos downstairs. But I didn’t want to risk waking her, and her somehow finding out that her husband’s ex-wife is sleeping in her house.
I peel open my eyes, straining to see through the darkness to the cracked door. For a moment I think I see a figure peeking through the crack, but just like that, it’s gone.
I turn to the clock on the nightstand—2:47 a.m.
