Page 13 of Bidding War

“Holy shit, are you kidding me?”

“I wish I were. That’s bad enough, but when Wallace was firing me, he kept saying something about not having a choice in the matter, and it clicked. I asked him if Elliot West had anything to do with this and Callie, he didn’t say it outright, but he practically choked on his words. Didn’t say no. Didn’t deny it at all. Just promised me a glowing letter of recommendation, blah, blah, blah. I know this was Elliot. Every fucking disaster in my life has been because of him.”

She sighs. “I am so sorry, honey. Is that why you broke up with Anderson? Too complicated?”

“Yes, oh my god, how is it that it took you two seconds to figure that out, but Anderson was still in some kind of fugue state of denial on that?”

“He doesn’t want to think he’s not enough to overcome the shitshow that is his father.”

I huff and sit back. “Yeah, well, I guess I get that. The truth is, it all sort of bubbled out of me and onto him. It’s weird to admit it, but I kind of broke up with him on a whim. Like I started down a rhetorical path and couldn’t get out of it.”

“Do you regret breaking up with him?”

“No. Yes. Both.”

She smiles, her eyes still full of pity, but I can’t bring myself to care right now. “We all say things we don’t mean when we’re upset. I’m sure you can walk this back if you want to. That man is in love with you.”

I snort in derision. “Hardly.”

“Oh, please. Who scams their own father to pay some woman without there being emotions involved?”

“He hates his father. Those are the emotions involved here.”

“Not buying it,” she says, sipping her cocktail. “But the better question, really, the only important one, is what do you want?”

“I want my job back.”

“Okay, what do you want that we can actually control?”

“Figures you’d ask the hard questions.”

She smirks and nudges my shoulder. “Come on. Out with it. Do you want Anderson back?”

My heart lurches at the thought. “Part of me does. But part of me wants to run screaming into the hills just to get away from all the craziness he brings into my life.”

“Hmm,” she says between sips. “You know how they say you should never make any big life decisions during a traumatic event?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve had, like, seven traumatic events in the past two months or less. Maybe don’t make any big decisions right now?”

“That might be the best advice I have ever received.”

We watch the film for a couple of minutes, before Callie asks, “Are you drinking vanilla ice cream? No judgment.”

“I’m drinking vanilla ice cream mixed with vodka. It’s mostly vodka. Didn’t have enough ice cream to make it good.”

“I brought more vanilla.”

I grin at her. “Because you’re the best person on the planet.”

She giggles and jogs off to get the vanilla for me. I chomp on some chips and popcorn, deciding I need chips more than popcorn. It’s nice to have her over. Even if she didn’t text first—wait.

Did she?

I check my phone. The rain got to it. Crap. “Can you bring some rice in a plastic baggie?”

“Need me to microwave it?”

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