Chapter 50
Anna
"See?" my mom said. "Isn't this so much better than a booth?"
No. It wasn't.Booths were nice and private, but my mom had requested a table smack-dab in the center of the steakhouse where there'd be no hiding from anyone.
It was nearly noon on a Friday, and the place was growing busier with every passing moment. Already, we'd ordered our food and were in the process of picking at our salads – me because I wasn't hungry and my mom because she picked at everything.
Across from me, she gave a sudden smile. "Oh wait, you need to tell me where you were sitting."
I wasn't following. "When?"
"When Mackenzie took that selfie."
Oh, God. The crotch selfie.Turns out, my deletion of that stupid photo had been all for nothing. By then, Mackenzie had already posted it online and texted it to at least a dozen of her closest friends.
It had gone viral from there.
Across from me, my mom laughed like this was the jolliest thing ever. "She issucha riot."
Yes. She was. And equally destructive.
Now, I couldn't help but recall Flynn's words after I'd assured him that I'd deleted the selfie."When you see it, you'll know."
Oh, I'd seen it all right.
By now, it had made the rounds not just locally, but globally. Usually, it was accompanied by stories of how Flynn and Felicity were on the outs while Flynn Archer took up with some local girl, me, who was nobody special.
Oh, they didn't put itquitethat way, but their stories were peppered with phrases like, "waffle waitress" and "college dropout," along with sly innuendos that I was personally responsible for breaking up the world's prettiest couple.
Maybethiswas the reason that Flynn had been keeping us away from crowds.Maybe he was ashamed to be seen with me.
But if that were the case, why wouldn’t he just fire me and start over with someone new?
At the thought, something in my heart twisted. I didn'twantto be replaced.But why? Because of the money? Or because I'd actually miss him?If I were smart, I wouldn't even speculate.
Across from me, my mom said, "So….?"
I shook my head. "So…what?"
She sighed. "Which booth was it?"
Reluctantly, I pointed toward the notorious booth, where four guys in business suits were digging into their steaks.
After giving the booth a long, speculative look, my mom turned back to me and asked, "HowisMackenzie, by the way?"
"I wouldn't know. We're not really friends anymore."
"But you just had dinner together."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Don't remind me."
"But you two were always such great friends. I still don't know what caused that rift."
"Yes you do," I replied. "I told you years ago, remember?" At her clueless look, I added, "When we lost our money, she lost interest in being my friend."
My mom stiffened like she always did whenever this topic came up. "We didn't lose our money," she said. "It's just in limbo, that's all. As soon as Gordon gets out, everything will be back to normal."