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“You know my mother and I were estranged. She had health issues, and her husband handled most of the arrangements; I needed some time to process because…” She sniffles heavily into the phone. “I didn’t expect it to hit me so hard.”
“Well, you just lost both of your moms in the span of a month.”
“My family is gone.” She cries silently into the phone, and there’s nothing I can do. “I tried to call Jeff, but he didn’t answer.”
Jeff and Denny have been divorced for almost two decades. That’s a long time, but I’d like to think he’d have at least some sort of empathy to comfort a friend in a time of need. Their divorce wasn’t messy, to the best of my knowledge. She was also under the Hessler curse as a workaholic, and he grew sick of it. He made her choose…us or him. In hindsight, I wonder if she’s happy with her choice.
“That’s shitty of him.”
“No, he’s remarried. It was probably inappropriate for me to call.”
“Denny…” I don’t know what to say. I try to think of how she comforted me at Grandma’s funeral. “Your family isn’t gone. I’m here.”
“Thank you,” she breathes out, then clears her throat. “Anyway, back to the interview. I can call the PR team to do some damage control. Josie Rivers or Jay Prudence would love to do a rebuttal on anything Tearney writes. I’m still in New York City, going through some of my mother’s things, but I can come back in the morning?—”
“Denny. Stop. Don’t worry about any of that right now. Lennox and I will figure it out.”
“Okay, that sounds good. By the way, while most of that bullshit in the article was fictitious and exaggerated, there was one thing…”
“What?”
“How much do you know about your new father-in-law, Sam Mitchell?”
I met Mr. Mitchell a time or two in passing. Mostly just a wave when he stopped by Finn’s house. Once, he came into the dive shop with Lennox. I know his sordid secret about trying totake his own life, not that I’d ever speak about it. “Not too much, yet. He’s a nice guy.”
“Did you know he’s a white-collar felon? Unfortunately, of all Kat’s allegations, that one has merit. Do you remember that huge embezzlement scandal with Seaguard Investments about ten years ago? They stole from their employee’s pensions to pad some up-and-coming Silicon Valley investments, and it all tanked? They lost hundreds of millions.”
“What does that have to do with Lennox’s dad?”
“He signed the transfers, Dex.He did it.It’s a miracle he’s not in prison. It just doesn’t look good that his daughter is now the CEO of Hessler Group. Kat made some snarly statements about the apple not falling far from the tree.”
“Fuck her,” I mutter into the phone. Feeling nauseous, I roll down the window, letting some air into the vehicle.
“It’s obviously a stretch, but there are some comments… Um, how close is Lennox to her dad?”
“Very,” I answer.
“Then tread with caution. If she read the article or anything online pertaining to that article…she’s having a bad day.”
I sigh, feeling my heart twist in my chest. Lennox has been alone all day. Plenty of time to cry in private. I bet I’ll get home, and she’ll pretend like she’s perfectly okay, making a mental note to never rely on me. Had I come home when I said I was going to, none of this would’ve happened. “Denny, I’m going to take the weekend off, but if you need anything, call me. Take care and take as much time as you need. We’ll be okay.”
25
Dex
My heart stops when I see the open suitcase on my bed. It’s half empty, just some shorts and shirts folded and tucked into one side. A few pairs of Lennox’s underwear are shoved into the mesh zippered compartment. To the right of the suitcase, there are two chargers with the cords neatly coiled resting beside her phone. No matter how much I investigate, I can’t tell if she’s in the middle of packing or unpacking.
Her phone lights up, and I can’t help but see the notification flash across the screen. A preview of a text from Alan catches my eye.
Alan
It was good to talk. Thanks for calling.
My whole body tenses. I try to relax my jaw, but jealousy seeps into my blood, making me jump to the worst conclusions. We just need to have a simple conversation.
She’s in the bathroom. I see the light under the door. I’m assuming the worst as I sit down on the bed and brace myself.Did I already fuck this up?One week… That’s all it took tocompletely ruin the shot at happiness my grandma was trying to give me. I turn my back for a few days, and now she wants Alan again?
The pounding in my heart becomes painful as it accelerates. Beads of sweat pour down my forehead, and no matter how hard I try to focus, the room starts to spin.Fuck, fuck, fuck.I press against my chest firmly with my palm as if I can hold my heart steady but it’s no use. The sequence of events are as they always go.