Chapter Six-
Kelsey
My foot taps against the leg of my chair as I sit in the cafe of Barnes and Noble. My back is to the door, so I will have no clue when she walks in. I drink my chai latte and scroll through Instagram, desperately needing a distraction from the situation I am about to find myself in.
What feels like hours later, I sense her presence before I see her. She sits down across from me at the table, Prada sunglasses perched on top of her curly brown hair. First impressions: she’s beautiful.
“Let’s not beat around the bush. Let’s just get into it.” She folds her hands together on the table and crosses her legs, the blue maxi dress draping over them.
“Thanks for meeting me. Sorry for reaching out on Facebook, I have been going a little crazy and I really just needed some answers. Can you start by telling me the truth of what’s going on? What do you know?”
I fidget with my hands in my lap, so desperate for an answer that will ease the anxiety weighing on my chest. I say a silent prayer that whatever I am about to hear won’t be the end of Jason and I.
“Angelo and I have been having an affair. For years. He told me it had to end once they got married, but clearly he couldn’t even stay away from me on the night of THEIR wedding. The bracelet was just a gift that he tried to give me, and so I gave it back.”
My eyes search frantically around the room to land on anything to look at besides her eyes. I don’t know why, but this girl makes me incredibly nervous. Good thing I am excellent at spotting a liar.
“Well thank you for your honesty, I appreciate it. I know you are only telling me because you know that I saw you two at the bar. Why did he think that was a smart move, to see you DURING his fucking wedding?”
She began to play with the cardboard coffee sleeve around my chai latte. How weirdly intimate.
“I don’t know, men are fucking dumb sometimes. They just think with their dicks. You of all people should know that, I mean with dating Jason and all. That boy can’t tell his left foot from his right. It’s a good thing he built his business from the ground up, and had a lot of help to figure it all out.”
She could tell that her last sentence confused me, because I couldn’t help but make a distinct face with a crinkled brow. Before I could think of another question to ask, she just continued to answer herself.
“So, you obviously don’t know. Jason is a black market jeweler. And a cocaine dealer.” Rebecca picks at the skin around her thumb, also avoiding eye contact with me. She MUST know that this is a lot, right? Does she?
So many questions run through my mind, and I can’t help but wonder how on Earth this girl knows my own boyfriend better than I do. I mean, we live together! How has he been hiding this other life from me? I chuckle to myself as I remember that I have thought he was a car salesman for Porsche this whole time. Idiot girl.
I have nothing to say at the moment, so I let out a small sigh and take a sip of my drink. I really should have had her meet me somewhere with alcohol. My first instinct is to ask her if they have ever dated, but do I care?
We sit in silence for what feels like minutes before I get up the courage to ask everything that I have been thinking.
“I had a feeling something was going on, but I could never put my finger on it. I have two main questions, the first one being if you guys have ever dated. The second one, how do you know this about him?”
“Yes we have dated, and I work for him.That’s how I know. Jason and Angelo are partners now, and I quit my job as an accountant to handle their finances. All off book.”
“How long?”
“Worked for or dated? Either way, on and off for a few years to both. But when you guys got together, I really backed off. We haven’t hooked up since you had your first date, I swear. I know I must sound like a total bitch, but I really needed the money and I did really like him when he asked me to work for him.”
Rebecca looked down at her hands, looking sad. I could tell she still loved him, and I could tell she wasn’t going to stop working for him any time soon.
Fuck!
I put my hand on her arm as I got up from my chair.
“Thank you, Rebecca. He won’t know that you told me.”
She nodded and collected her things to get up as well.
“For the record, I know you are lying about the bracelet. I think Angelo gave it to his wife and then you stole it from her, just to give it back to Jason and Angelo so they could re-sell it. All while his wife would just think she had lost her gift in the hustle and bustle of the wedding.”
And with that, I put on my sunglasses and walked out the door of the Barnes and Noble.
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