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“Well, I’m fine now.”
“Are you?” he asked, taking a seat in front of my desk and eyeing me curiously.
“I’m better than I was…”
It was partly true. Ever since I had opened up to Brody the other night and told him the truth about Heart and the baby, I felt like I was no longer holding everything in. It felt good to get everything out and not feel like I was going to explode at any moment. I realized I should have just told him in the very beginning. Despite being my younger and mostly immature brother, he was still a good confidant.
“I don’t see why you don’t just call her up…” said Brody.
“Who?”
“Addison. Heart. Whatever her name is.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?” He looked at me, incredulous.
“She said she never wanted to see me again. Maybe the loss of the baby gave her the finality she needed.”
“If you two had something between you, and it sounds like you did… Hell, you were going to have a baby together. Then it can’t be over.”
“Since when did you become such a hopeless romantic?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know. Since I watchedThe Notebook.”
“When didyouwatchThe Notebook.”
“Oh, I’ve watched it multiple times. I put it on when I have a girl over. I find it gets them in the mood.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“You’re ridiculous.” I laughed.
“What? It works. You should call up Heart and watch it together.”
“Okay, we’re done with this topic.”
“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “But you’re not off the hook for tonight. It’s one of the—”
“Biggest charity events of the year,” I finished sarcastically.
“Exactly.”
“We say that about every fucking one.”
I was all for charity, but I was tired of the endless events you had to go to in order to prove that you cared. I did enough behind the scenes and donated enough money. The ridiculous auctions and expensive dinners were just for show. By the time the event space was paid for, on top of the pricey champagne, caviar dinners, and waitstaff, what was really left for these organizations?
These things were just an excuse to buy new dresses and tuxedos and talk about anything but the cause. The only person who had ever seemed actually invested in the work was Heart. I admired her for it. I wondered if she had found another job where she could throw her passion into it, since I had cost her the last one.
“Okay, but you’re the face of the company and one of the largest donors…” said Brody.
“Can you go? Please. Just this once. I don’t want to deal with the whole red carpet thing and the schmoozing. Plus, I have no interest in running into Kiera.”
“Yeah, I guess I kind of made a mess of that.”
“You think?”
“Fine. But this is the last time I cover for your ass. Okay?”
“Thank you, bro.”