Page 118 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘We’ve been asked to leave,’ I tell her. ‘It’s over, Mer. I suggest you go back to California. Duncan and I will book a flight back to London. I’ll need to explain myself to Vaughn.’

Meredith gives another nod. My heart goes out to her. She looks so dejected, clasping her hands together, eyes down, fixed on her feet, though flitting up occasionally to see if she can catch Duncan’s eye.

‘This is all my fault,’ she says. ‘I’ll go get my things and check out. I can take the Greyhound back to LA.’

‘Right.’

‘Lexi… like I said last night… I… I’m so sorry for everything.’

I nod, not entirely in the mood for consolation. ‘We’ll talk, okay?’

She embraces me, the heavy silence hanging over the room interrupted only by the distant hum of Las Vegas traffic.

‘What did Aidan say?’ Meredith asks.

I pull away then shake my head.

‘What will you do now?’ I ask.

She’s gripping her balled fists to her chest. ‘Go back to the office, I guess.’

‘If you need a reference or anything, ask. And thank you again for all your hard work.’

Meredith attempts another smile. It fails miserably. Her gaze goes back to Duncan.

‘Are you alright?’ Meredith asks him.

‘Aye,’ he grimaces. ‘Your boyfriend’s got quite a right hook.’

He looks at her just once before his eyes move away. It’s a low blow. Meredith seems to hold her tears inside, but only just. ‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ she squeaks. Embarrassed, she flees the room in tears, without even saying goodbye.

When she’s gone, Duncan buries his face in his hands.

I finish packing my things, including all the camera equipment and lighting into the oversized Peli cases. My shaky concentration is broken by yet another knock on my door.

This time, I am met by Cal, holding hands with Bianca.

‘Hey, Lex,’ Cal swallows, in an uncharacteristically subdued tone.

‘Hi,’ I try to smile.

‘Can we come in for a sec?’

‘Sure.’

Inside, Bianca wraps me in an embrace. I hold my tears on the inside.

‘Thank you so much for everything,’ she smiles, her own tears leaking down her face, her eyeliner smearing everywhere. ‘We owe you so much.’

‘You don’t owe me anything. I just held up a mirror to each of you.’

Cal’s arms snake around Bianca’s waist. It’s gratifying, seeing them together and happy. He says, ‘I wanted you to know that last night we took a vote. I mean… my first reaction was,can’t we do this in the morning,’cause I just wanna spend time with my girl, but Aidey insisted. So I voted for you to stay. Look, I love Aidey, but he’s not my boss.’

I blink at him. ‘So… nobody else voted for me to stay?’

Bianca looks to the floor.

‘Ravi did too, at first…’ Cal says. ‘Until Miller persuaded him to change his mind.’

---