Page 131 of The Sinner: James

Not far from me, Lex snores softly, his face buried in a pillow.

The memory of last night comes back to me.

It wasn’t bad at all if it wasn’t for this stupid headache that’s been pounding my brain.

Butt-naked, I swagger to the chair and look for my pants.

Remotely, I inspect my surroundings. We were sober enough to check into a hotel, and that’s good... I guess.

I fish out both our phones and check mine first. Twenty missed calls. A few are from Rain, and the rest are from Ed.

He called both of us, and most of his calls arrived within the last hour. I glance at the time.

It’s two in the afternoon, and the city council meeting must be over by now.

Yeah... I’m in no hurry to find out the voting results.

Rain sent me a few text messages. They sound desperate.

One catches my eye.

Rain: I may need to leave for New York before the end of the week.

Right.

I stroll to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, I walk out, a towel wrapped around my waist, the crappy mood still with me, my mind clear, though.

Naked, Lex is hunched over his phone.

“Are you sure?” he asks the person he’s on the phone with.

Ed’s scream rolls in my ears.

“Yes.”

Lex turns to me, his eyes brighter than the sky.

“We got it, James.”

“We what?”

“They approved the proposal with three more votes than we counted on. Sheryl was one of them, and two others, who were on the fence.”

My hands slip to my hips, my lips curling into a slow smile.

“I’ll be damned.”

Lex snakes his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug.

We start laughing.

“I can’t fucking believe it. The biggest commercial Casino in the state,” he says.

I can’t stop smiling before I look down.

“Go get dressed, for fuck’s sake,” I say, tearing away from him, chuckling, and he rushes to the shower.

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