Page 25 of Diamonds & Deception

Is she putting me in danger by showing up on my doorstep? Ten minutes later, my buzzer rings. I open the door and am surprised to see her so frazzled. Knowing what I do about her parents, I hope she’s safe. I lock the door behind her and usher her in.

“Are you okay? Are you safe?”

“Safe?” She looks up from her long lashes and lets out a sigh. “Yeah. Except from my own head.” She opens her satchel and takes out a bottle of vodka.

“Rough day?” I ask, taking down two glasses.

“More like stressed tomorrow’s going to be a rough day.” She pulls out a bottle of soda water and two limes. “My training is done, and I start for real tomorrow. I’m worried I’m not qualified.”

Relief washes over me that it’s not about her parents or the Donahues. “Didn’t you do something similar down south?”

“I interned and worked in a small lab. The one here is big time. Hell, they’re finding cures for rare pediatric diseases. What if I screw something up or miss an important discovery and thousands of little kids die because of me?”

She pours a healthy shot of vodka into her glass and tops it with a little soda. I slice the lime and offer her a wedge, then make a drink for myself.

“If you’re researching cures, you’re not responsible for anyone’s death. Instead, you could save lives. I think that’s pretty cool. Pretty badass.”

“This company is big time. They’re in the news. Their stock value keeps rising because of the work they’re doing. Why would they hire me, someone with basically no experience?” Avery drops her head on the counter with a thud.

“What happened to the confident badass Avery Baxter I met a week ago? She walked into a room and owned it. Do that tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to learn, but don’t be afraid to speak up as well. They hired you because they saw you possessed the qualities they were looking for in their company. Experience and a bunch of degrees aren’t what makes someone valuable. Work ethic, drive, independence, and confidence do.”

Avery lifts her head, her eyes filled with tears, and rewards me with a smile. “Thanks, Nora. I knew reaching out to you was smarter than talking to my brother.”

“Have you talked to Trey?”

“Yeah.” She sits up and sips her drink. “I gave him the same sob story I gave you.”

“Let me guess. His response was something like, Suck it up. You’ll do fine.”

She snorts. “Almost verbatim. He doesn’t say sweet words. I love him dearly, and he’s loyal to a fault, but a smooth talker he is not.”

Loyal to a fault.Knowing where his loyalty lies can lead me in the right—or wrong—direction.

“He’s loyal to you, I can tell. Does he have other people he’s close to?”

“Yeah.” She finishes her drink and I tip mine back as well. “The four aces. Well, the three.”

“Why the casino when they’ve only been open for less than two years.”

“No. The guys. They call themselves the four aces. He has their back no matter what. Like he has mine.” Avery wipes her eyes on the back of her hand and pours me another drink.

If I get her sloppy drunk, maybe she’ll tell me more. Although, since she only met Drake a week ago, I doubt she has inside information. Keeping her close and getting her to see me as a confidant may be easier than trying to infiltrate information from Drake and his friends.

We move to the living room, and she asks if I mind if we zone out in front of the TV. We watch a show while she fills my glass as soon as it empties. It isn’t until I’m quite buzzed that I realize she’s been nursing hers for most of the evening.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you planned this to get me drunk and take advantage of me,” I joke.

“Sorry. I guess it’s the responsible adult in me. I’m always the designated driver, the mom in the group. Not to say I don’t get drunk and crazy and let loose, but I had to grow up fast, and sometimes all it takes is one drink to make me realize I need to be responsible and not fun. Showing up hungover on my first day on the job tomorrow probably isn’t the best idea. Thanks for drinking for me. I swear that wasn’t my original intent. I hope you don’t have an early morning planned.”

I don’t, other than checking in on Daisy at the shelter. And I’m a pretty shitty friend for encouraging her to drink when she was already nervous about her day tomorrow.

“The great thing about my job is, for the most part, I can make my own hours.”

“In that case”—she tops my glass with vodka— “finish up.”

Why not? I miss Lenora. I miss how we used to do exactly this back in college and when we first graduated. Gossiping, venting, crying, drinking, watching TV together. Sometimes we had a purpose, other times all we needed was each other’s company to get through whatever it was we were struggling with.

Time and geography have gotten in our way, and we’ve grown apart, but I miss what we once had.

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