Page 31 of The Chef's Kiss
“Something like that.”
“Well, put your girl boss pants on, and get your head on straight. You know I’m here for you, always. It doesn’t end when we walk across that big Harvard stage and get our diplomas. This friendship is for life. Don’t forget that.”
“I know; you’re right.” But would Cara still say the same thing when she knew the awful thing I did?
“We did not go through four grueling years at Harvard to take the easy road home to our family empires.”
“It’s not that simple, Cara, but you have a point. Let’s just say I’m exploring my options.”
“Do it, and then get your rear end back here to me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I smiled as I ended the call. Cara was always good for a pep talk, and unlike anyone else in my life, she knew exactly what it was like being me.
And she was right. I rolled out of bed and went into my closet to find my girl boss pants. Even with a baby on board, I wasn’t going to take the easy, safe route.
But I was going to need the support of my family if I was going to do this alone.
The baby’s father was out of the picture. What a mistake he was. For months, I’d been seeing Jeff on the regular. We got along great, and it was a no-pressure, fun thing for both of us.
And then, Cara finally introduced me to her secret boyfriend. The one she was crazy about but didn’t want to jinx it by having him meet her friends until she knew it was going somewhere.
It was going somewhere all right. Mystery boyfriend popped the question, and I finally met him. Turned out Jeff was dating both of us at the same time; only, he was more invested in his relationship with Cara.
But I was the one having his baby.
When I told him about the baby, he gave me a wad of cash to “deal with it,” and I hadn’t seen him since.
I would tell Cara. And I knew it would burst her happy bubble. I knew my bestie well enough to know as soon as I told her about me and Jeff, they would be over. I just worried our friendship might take a similar course.
Brushing my unruly hair out of my face, I sorted through the clothes in my closet, looking for something that could pass for professional attire.
Unfortunately, high school Jorgina had a thing for summer dresses and crop tops.
“Conner was right,” I muttered as I sorted through a row of dresses with their tags still attached. “There’s a fortune in here going unused.”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I set several of the dresses aside, wondering how much I could get for them at a Boston shop.
“Could be enough for first and last month’s rent.” I added several boxes of never-worn shoes to the pile. Dad would just have the staff give them away. Might as well put them to use to support his first grandchild.
I found a pair of white linen pants and a matching jacket that would work with a brightly colored top and still manage to look somewhat professional.
I needed Ruby. If she even still worked here. I rushed across the room before I could change my mind and stuck my head into the upstairs hallway. I could hear the vacuum running in the room down the hall and tiptoed to the entry.
“Ruby?” I hissed. “Is that you?”
The girl turned, dancing with the vacuum, her eyes closed and her AirPods stuffed in her ears.
“Ruby!” I called louder, happy to see my favorite maid was still here.
“Jorgina!” Ruby dropped the vacuum and pulled the earbuds from her ears. “I heard you were back.” She beamed at me.
“Come to my room. I need your help with something.”
Ruby shut off the vacuum and followed me back to my room.
“I’m so glad to see you.” I pulled her into a hug. “I can’t wait to catch up, but I need to ask you a big favor before I lose my nerve.”
“Anything, Jorgina; you know that.”
