Page 150 of The One I Hate
Hope to see you then.
Best,
Simon Banks
P.S.: I don’t know how I made it fifteen years without you because this past week has been absolute hell. I love you and miss you. I hope your shower is the best ever.
Rest in peace, my makeup.
I tear through the tissue paper, but all I see is a rolled piece of paper. I flatten it, only to see that it’s not just any piece of paper—it’s a bank statement.
A statement for an account that currently has twenty-one thousand dollars in it.
What are you up to, Simon?
Chapter 36
Charlie
Ithink I set a world record for how fast I opened my baby shower gifts.
I took pictures with every guest in an impressively short amount of time.
And now after what feels like hours later, with Simon’s letter, and bank statement, burning a hole in my purse, I’m walking into the home I’ve missed more than I realized.
“Simon?” I say as I step through the front door. “Hello?”
I look around, slipping off my shoes as I walk down the hall. When I enter the kitchen, I see a sprawling bouquet of flowers on the island, and a card in front of it that just says “Bug.”
Happy Baby Shower Day. I love you.
For a man who has made his name for being over the top, it’s the simple things that hit me in the heart the hardest when it comes to Simon.
I take in a whiff of the beautiful arrangement of roses before continuing to walk back to his office. The living room hasn’t changed—not that I expected it to in three and a half days—but seeing the dark gray furniture in contrast with the light gray walls somehow gives me a sense of calm.
I’m not sure what to expect when I walk into Simon’s office. So when he slowly turns around in his expansive executive chair, in a full suit and glasses on, I’m somehow not surprised.
Though I am surprised at one thing.
“Since when do you wear glasses?”
“This is the last of my secrets,” he says, making a show of adjusting them. “I use them when I’m reading contracts and going over the small details.”
I smile. “Is that what we’re doing today?”
“It is.” He stands up and comes around the desk, putting his hand on the small of my back as I sit into the chair. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
He kisses the top of my head before sitting back down.
“So, Miss Bennett, is it?”
I smile and laugh, realizing this is the bit and apparently I have to go along with it. “Correct. Charlie Bennett.”
“Charlie? That’s an unusual name.”
“It’s short for Charlene. Not many people know that. I’m actually quite guarded with my name.”
