83

83
ELLA
I sprinted down the stairs and startled the receptionist with my sudden appearance. She looked like she had forgotten who I was and seemed ready to ask how I had gotten past her.
I didn’t stop to create an opportunity for conversation—I simply waved goodbye and walked out the front door in quick strides. I glanced around for the black Mercedes Quincy and I had arrived in but couldn’t find it.
I started to worry that Eve had grown impatient waiting and left. Then I saw her in a blue Cadillac, tapping her fingers against the wheel to the beat of the song blaring through the speakers.
I jogged to the car, annoyed with myself. She had been parked there the entire time while I was inside going around in circles, trying to make up my mind about a situation I’d had eons to think over.
“Whoa! Hold your horses, tiger,” Eve exclaimed as I reached the passenger door. “Are you alright?” she added with concern.
I opened the door, got in, and exhaled slowly before replying. “I’m okay. I was worried I lost track of time and kept you waiting.”
“Waiting? I just got here and turned off the ignition. You were right on cue,” she replied with a chuckle. “How was the meeting?”
I heaved a relieved sigh and reached for the seatbelt. “Better than I expected, which was rather surprising.”
“Why? Claire’s a nice person. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Although she can be a bit creepy sometimes. Besides that, she’s great.”
Claire. So that was her name. Somewhat fitting for her job description. I made a mental note to apologize for not asking next time I saw her, and forced myself to focus on the conversation with Eve.
“Yeah, you’re spot on about the weirdness. When I stepped into her office, she said my full name and told me she had been expecting me. Then we started to talk, and the whole place got colder. It was so unnerving. But at the same time, I didn’t want to stop talking to her, nor did I want to leave,” I replied, and Eve scoffed.
“I knew she wouldn’t miss a chance to do something like that. The last time I went to see her, I was one foot in the door when she said, ‘Dump him.’”
“Dump him? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I went to talk to her about this new guy I was seeing in the next town. I knew May wouldn’t approve, being that he was from a political family—and she hated their guts. But you know, love takes you places you think you’d never go. Or at least, I thought it was love. But after a few minutes with Claire, I knew I had to leave him.”
“You made your decision based on what she said? I thought you all didn’t like to talk to her because you didn’t want her opinion influencing your decisions?”
“Yes, but I was at a crossroads. My other option was May, and I already knew what her response would be. Also, when I went to see him the next weekend, he wasn’t expecting me—and I caught him kissing someone else.”
I gasped and shook my head. “What a douchebag.”
“A proper one. He tried to talk his way out of it, but I just laughed in his face and drove back home. Thankfully, I was willing to take Claire’s advice, so witnessing that betrayal made things easier.”
“Why wasn’t she straightforward with me then?” I asked as Eve reached for the ignition and turned it on. “That would’ve made things so much easier.”
“Maybe this was something you needed to figure out yourself,” she replied, and I nodded.
“Yeah, I guess it is. The problem is, I’m not sure I’ll make the right decision—but she said I was on the right path, so I guess that’s a nudge in the right direction.”
“That’s something to hold onto,” she replied and put the car in reverse.
“Yeah, I guess so. Thankfully, we’re going home and I can sleep on it.”
“Home? Sleep?” Eve said, then broke into a hearty laugh.
I waited for her to finish before asking if we weren’t going home.
“No, silly,” she said as the car turned and she revved the engine. “We’re going shopping. This is the best part of town to get jewelry, dresses, shoes—whatever. You name it, I can point out a shop that has it. Why would you give that up for a few hours of sleep?”
As she spoke, she stepped on the accelerator and sped through the streets. A right turn and a few corners later, I could see what she meant.
We had gone from office buildings and a few high-end stores to the heart of the town. All the shops buzzed with activity. I knew we were in for a ride.
But I was just there to window-shop. I hadn’t come out of the house with any money, and I wasn’t going to let Eve spend hers on me. I had one job: enjoy the view and give my opinion on whatever item she picked for herself.
✦✦✦
What I thought would be thirty minutes of in-and-out turned into three hours of trying on dresses, shoes, and jewelry, paying for the items, and grabbing lunch before heading home.
My plan to window-shop and act as an opinion-giver had failed—Eve paid for nearly everything I tried on that fit like a glove.
By the end of the spree, I felt much better and had almost forgotten that I still needed to sleep because I’d barely done that earlier. And I was still indecisive about what I wanted when the time came for the bond-cutting.
“Did Quincy put you up to this?” I blurted out as I placed the shopping bags in the backseat.
I had been thinking about it while we shopped. She acted like it was her favorite pastime, but underneath it all, it felt like someone had given her extra motivation. And Quincy was the only one I could think of who would do something like that.
We got into the car. She started the ignition, then handed me the cappuccino we’d gotten on the way out of the diner, and tore into the wrapper that housed our pastries.
With the way she was taking her time to answer, I knew I had made the right call.
“Yes,” she said finally, pulling the car out of the parking lot once she had nothing else to stall with. “But don’t tell him I said anything to you. He wanted you to experience the town and felt shopping might be a great start.”
I nodded slowly, pondering how thoughtful he was while I had been second-guessing his intentions every step of the way.
He had shown me nothing but kindness, and I couldn’t pinpoint anything I had done to show that I appreciated his efforts.