Page 80 of November

“Not yet,” she said, leaning forward on the sofa. “You need an advisor.”

“An advisor? I have–”

“You have a bunch of people just like you surrounding you all the time. You need the opposite of you.”

“Well, I know that’s not you, because even though you’re not my number one fan, we’re still pretty similar, India.”

“Find someone like Maisie, Colter; someone who wouldchallenge you, ask you questions, and make you think about the impact of your decisions and votes. That’s what you need.”

“God, are you just trying to make me a better person or something right now?”

“I suppose I’m trying to make you realize that your actions have consequences.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“I don’t know that you care, if I’m being honest,” India said.

“Look, I’ve got to go now. There’s a party. I was going to invite you, but I think I’ll just tell Mom you were busy.”

“Mom’s there?”

“Yes. Her son won an election tonight,” Colter replied. “My dad’s here, too.”

“Enjoy your night, then, Colter.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he said and hung up on her.

India tossed the phone onto the sofa, took a long drink of her wine, not savoring it this time, and then ate another three candy bars before she finally got up, turned off the fire, went into her bathroom, and started the water, checking to make sure it was hot enough. She added her favorite bubble bath and slid inside once it was ready for her. She sipped her wine while listening to her favorite opera soundtrack and thought about how Maisie must be feeling right now, wishing she could be there with her to wrap her in her arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

India had always been a bit of a fixer. She supposed it was one of the things that made her good at her job, but it could also be annoying to people in her life. Her bath finished, she dressed in her robe, putting nothing on under it, and went to her safe, which she opened to find the engagement ring that would never be Finley’s. She still hadn’t done anything with it and needed to stop putting it off, so despite the late hour, she found her phone on the sofa and called her jeweler.

“You want me to sell it?” he asked her once India had explained.

“Yes, please,” she confirmed. “I can have it for you tomorrow.”

“It was a custom piece. Are you sure?”

“The person I got it for is with someone else now, so yes, I’m sure. It’s lovely, though, and if I ever need another engagement ring, I’ll have you make it for me.”

“Very well. Yes, drop it off tomorrow. I’ll write up the paperwork and have it ready for you to sign.”

“Thank you,” she said and hung up.

Normally, her life at work was filled with phone calls, but her evening life was typically devoid of them. Text messages were much more common, but she didn’t even get that many of those these days. Tonight, she’d already been on the phone with three people, so she figured why not one more.

“Hey. What’s up?” Finley asked.

“I messed up,” she said. “Are you busy?”

“No. Well, Molls and I are walking the dogs, but other than that, no.”

“Who is it?” India heard Molly say on the other end of the phone.

“India,” Finley said to Molly. “Hey, we saw the results before we came out. Maisie lost, huh?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Sucks. Sorry.”