Page 70 of Catalyst
We hang up the phone, and I’m surprised to find a smile on my face. I needed that conversation to talk me off the ledge a little. What Adam said cut me deep. There’s no denying that. But there’s something to Katie’s thought about things being too perfect.
These past couple of months have been almost too good to be true, aside from the negative articles. Even our first interactions were fun, although I don’t think Adam would agree. He doesn’t cope well when he feels like things are out of his control. There were a few days in those first couple of weeks that I was pretty sure he was going to fire me.
Expecting Adam to be any different in the middle of a stressful situation is ridiculous.
None of that means he gets to say whatever he wants without any sort of consequence, though. I refuse to be a doormat for his anger, and I’m not ready to forgive him for using me that way.
* * *
Sunday afternoon rolls around, and I’m no closer to figuring out what I’m going to do on Monday than I was yesterday after talking to Katie.
I’m still beyond angry. Adam hasn’t texted or called all weekend, further stoking my rage, and our weekly meeting in the morning is going to be interesting, to say the least. The only thing I can plan on is hearing him out if he wants to apologize.
If he doesn’t, I might end up punching him.
A knock on my door has my stomach dropping. Half of me wants it to be Adam with an apology at the ready. The other half of me wants it to be literally anyone else.
I open my door, and my eyebrows wing up my forehead. “Stephanie?”
“Hey, sis.” Her smile is hesitant, as if she’s not sure she’s welcome.
After an awkward second of stunned silence, I snap out of my shock and welcome her inside. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little surprised you’re here.”
“I know. Even I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here, to be honest. It’s just… after the articles came out, I thought you might need a friend.” Steph shrugs.
“Wow. Um, thank you. Things have definitely been weird around here.” What a massive understatement, but I’m not about to start unloading all my problems on Stephanie. We’re nowhere near close enough to do that.
I invite her to sit down and go into my kitchen to pour us both a glass of wine. I have no idea what we’re going to talk about, but alcohol seems like a must.
When I head back into the room, I find Stephanie standing by my bookshelves, looking at all my framed pictures. A pang of guilt hits me when I realize I don’t have any of her up there. Although, I’m not really sure where I would even get a picture of her, let alone put a framed one on my shelf.
“That’s my best friend, Katie, and her son, Cody,” I explain when she picks up a picture of the three of us after a water balloon fight. All three of us have wide smiles on our faces and soaking wet clothes. Sue took it while she cheered us on from the sidelines.
“You look happy.” Steph looks at me, a gentle smile on her face.
“I am happy.”
She nods. “Good.”
I hand her the second glass in my hand as I hold my own up in the air. She clinks her glass against mine, and we both take a healthy sip.
“Mmm. This is really good,” Stephanie says, sitting down on the couch.
“Ten bucks at the grocery store here in town.”
A raised eyebrow is all she gives me in response. Maybe that was a little high-handed, but sometimes I can’t help myself when she’s around.
“How are you handling all the press? I’m sure it can’t be easy on your relationship.”
“It’s been tough. None of what they’re printing is true, of course, and I feel helpless knowing they’re allowed to print whatever they want without recourse.”
“If it’s not true, then can’t Adam sue?”
“The lawyers are looking into our options.” I have no desire to go into the many details that accompany this option and why it’s not viable for our needs right now. Not only am I tired of talking about it, but I don’t trust Stephanie with that level of information. I may be mad at Adam, but I’d never betray him.
“And you’re sticking around?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
