Page 45 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“I’ll bake you all some cookies,”Ioffered.

“You thinkArchereats cookies?”Ruthieshot back. “He’sbasically a robot.Butgo ahead and make them anyway—I’lljust eat his.Actually, make some for all the guys.Noneof them will eat them because they’re obsessed with keeping their bodies in tip-top shape, but it’ll be a nice gesture.Plus, then we can eat them all ourselves.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, but guilt still gnawed at me.Myproblems withRandallwere creating inconveniences for everyone around me, andIhated it.

17

ELLIE

Ruthie andIwere scheduled to have lunch today down the street from the office at a sushi restaurant.SheandIhad been making a habit of going to lunch or dinner together and getting to know each other better.

Ruthie even confided in me about her past—and how she metArcherinLasVegas.

"After my mom died whenIwas fourteen, things went downhill fast,"Ruthiebegan. "Mydad always wanted sons, and only sons.Hebasically hated me, so my older brotherJasonended up raising me.Bythe timeIwas twenty,I’dsaved enough to move out, butJason’sfriendMalwouldn’t leave me alone.Healways sent me roses and jewelry, which creeped me out.Turnsout, the jewelry was stolen.WhenIturned it into the police,Iinadvertently exposed my family’s pawn shop, which was selling the stolen goods.Inturn,Ilanded my dad and brother in jail."

I stared at her, wide-eyed. "That’sinsane."

"It didn’t stop there," she said sadly. "Oneof their associates broke into my apartment and nearly killed me.Archerwas the responding officer and suggestedImove for my safety.Sincemy grandpa lived here, it seemed like a natural place.That, andArcheroffered me a job."

WhileRuthie’sstory wasn’t the same as mine, we both knew what it was like to be haunted by people who wouldn’t leave us alone.Itwas an odd thing to bond over, but we did.Andsince neither of us knew many people here, we found a strange comfort in having each other.

She was also really great to talk to aboutWade—which lately was becoming more complicated sinceIwas still staying with him in his apartment, but we hadn’t really had any conversations about where we stood or what we were doing.

Needless to say,Iwas looking forward to lunch withRuthietoday soIcould pick her brain a little.

I walked out of the elevator and turned right into the main entrance to the front lobby, whereRuthiewas sitting behind her desk.Shewas on the phone and looked at me while holding up her finger, indicating she just needed a minute.Igave her a thumbs-up and sat down in one of the chairs by the front windows.Ruthiesaid goodbye and hung up the phone before turning to me.

“The phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is definitely not a one-size-fits-all rule,”Ruthiesighed, rolling her eyes.

Having worked in the service industry for several years,Iunderstood her frustration.

“Can you give me a few minutes to sort some things forVincereally quick?” she asked me. “Thatwas a thirty-five-minute waste of a callIdid not have time for, andVinceneeded these reports within the hour.”

“Sure, or we can order, andIcan just go pick the food up while you finish up and bring it back here, and we can eat in the fancy conference room,”Itold her, becauseIhonestly didn’t care where we ate.Ijust wanted to catch up with her, andIknewMondayswere chaotic for her.

“Are you sure?Youdon’t need to walk there.Wecan just get delivery,”Ruthiecountered, looking unsure. “Iknow the guys don’t want you walking anywhere by yourself.”

“They removed the tracker from my car, and we haven’t had any calls lately, soWadesaidIcould have a little more freedom.I’mjust going across the street.”

Ruthie hesitated, then looked at me with sadness and guilt in her eyes, andIknew she must be feeling bad for having to adjust our lunch, butIhonestly didn’t care where we ate as long as we got to chat.

“This time of day, it would be quicker for me to walk over and pick it up myself,”Iexplained. “Let’sjust place the order, andI’llwalk over and get it in a few minutes and bring it back here.”

I pulled up the app on my phone and typed in my order.WhenIwent to hand it to her, she handed me a small box she pulled from her purse.

“Since you liked mine so much,Igot you one too,”Ruthieuttered.

I opened the box to find a charm of boxing gloves, similar to the oneIhad complimented her on during a shift at the bar one night.

“Now we match, just like sisters,” she said, her jaw twitching slightly. “Igot you a yellow pair sinceIknow you’re not a pink person like me.”Shesmiled weakly.

Her voice wavered slightly, andIcould see emotion in her eyes thatIcouldn’t quite pinpoint.Ruthiehad once mentioned she only had a brother, like me, soIchalked it up to this gesture making her sentimental.

“This one can be added to your charm necklace here,” she said. “Iknow you said your grandma gave you that necklace, butIfigure this can be a new charm to represent a new phase in your life.”

I smiled at her and thanked her sincerely.Thegesture was incredibly thoughtful, and,Iloved her idea of how it symbolized my fresh start here inGeorgia.Shereached into her desk drawer and handed me the tools to attach it to my necklace.Sheappeared oddly insistentIput it on beforeIleft, so to make her happy,Iadded it on and thanked her again.Itreally was a beautiful charm.

Afterward,Iwalked over to the restaurant to pick up our order.WhileIwaited by the register,Isuddenly felt like someone was staring at me.Itwas a weird feeling, but my body was already on alert becauseIwas by myself, andIknew the guys would frown at me for coming here alone.Iturned and glanced around the restaurant, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and no one even seemed to be paying me any attention.Still,Icouldn’t help but shake that creepy feeling.

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