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I cried and cried, deep sobs coming out as I sat there. It was traumatic, not just that Victor lied. It hurt, but it wasn’t shocking. It was how Sarah spoke to and about me. It was how Victor had led me into that and I’d walked so willingly toward it. I was so stupid.
Finally, the tears started to dry up, and I sat in stony silence for a while. I was so angry I could barely see straight, and the hurt was still there in my heart. I was done crying. I just wanted to go home.
My phone started ringing, and I realized I had shoved it into my pocket and not put it on the dock on the windshield. It was probably Victor, which meant I wasn’t going to answer it. I almost just left it in my pocket and let it ring, but I decided to pull it out anyway.
Looking at the screen, I saw that it was Amy calling instead. Momentarily, all my emotions paused in confusion. What could Amy want? It was early in the afternoon. She should be in the beginning of her shift going twelve to eight.
I went to answer it but missed it by a second. Waiting for a moment to let her realize she got voicemail, I called her back. It rang three times before she answered. When she did, she sounded worried and upset, and I sat up in my seat in the car.
“Miss Brewer?” Amy asked.
“Amy, what’s going on?” I replied.
“Haven’t you heard?” she asked. There was a distinct note of panic in her voice. “Where are you? I thought you were coming in today. What should we do?”
“Slow down,” I said. “What do you mean what should you do? I am coming in. I just… I got held up. What haven’t I heard?”
“The storm,” she said. “The storm that’s coming for Murdock. They said we are in the danger zone, Melanie! Norma called and said she thinks we should shut down immediately. What should I do?”
“What storm?” I asked. “I haven’t been paying any attention. It’s gray out here but nothing crazy, and I’m only a couple miles from you.”
“A tornado,” she said. “A big one. They say it’s going to probably touch down right here in town!”
“Okay, Amy, keep it together,” I said, wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands. I didn’t have time to be sad or upset about Victor right now. My store needed me. My employees needed me.
“I’m trying,” Amy said, fear clearly gripping her voice.
“I know,” I said. “I’m on my way. I’ll be right there, okay? Just hang on five minutes.”
“Okay,” she said. “What should I do while I wait for you?”
“If you feel like you need to leave, leave. If you want to wait for me, wait. If there are customers, start getting them out of the store right now.”
“Okay,” she said. “Please hurry.”
“I am,” I said. “Be there in a minute.”
I hung up the phone and put it on the dock. There was no time to check my makeup in the mirror or put myself together. I had togo. I shoved the car into gear and pulled a U-turn, heading back toward the store, determined to do my job while I still could.
15
VICTOR
Iwatched Melanie drive away feeling a white-hot pit of anger in my stomach. How dare Sarah do this? How dare she ruin yet another part of my life? I turned to face her, and she was looking past me, also watching Melanie leave. When she slid her eyes over to me, she did an exaggerated shocked face and put her hand over her lips.
“Oops,” she said as sarcastically as possible. “Did I make your little slut feel bad?”
“How dare you?” I asked. “Nothing has happened between Melanie and me. Not that you have any right to know that. Not like I don’t know that youimmediatelyslept with your yoga instructor after I moved out. Not like you didn’t bring all this on yourself. You have no rights. To anything.”
“I have rights. You spent our money…”
“Mymoney,” I said. “Money you paid and signed paperwork for to buy me out of my own damned company. Money that wentfrom a bank account with your name on it to a bank account with my name on it. Sure, both of us were listed as authorized users on each other’s accounts, but it wasmyaccount. And a judge would laugh you out of court the second you tried any of your ridiculous arguments.”
“My lawyer doesn’t think so,” she said, smirking.
“Your lawyer is a slimy piece of shit,” I replied. “And I look forward to raking him over the coals in open court if you bring this any further than you already have. The investment I made in Brewer’s Grocery is mine and mine alone. You can back the fuck off. And while you are at it, get the hell out of my house.”
“This isn’t over,” she said. “I think you set this purchase up while we were still technically married. And if I can prove it, then it’s half mine. I will have lawyers crawling so far up your ass they will be able to tell what you ate for lunch. I swear, Victor, I am going to take everything you have and leave you with nothing.”
