Page 122 of Invisible String
“Hi, can I help you?” a woman at the front desk asks. Receptionist, I guess. It makes me wonder if he’s seeing her.
“Nope, I’m here to see Andrew.”
She reaches for her phone.
“No need for that. I know where his office is.”
“Ma’am, you can’t just walk in.”
“I’m Rainey Collins. I’m sure my father won’t mind.”
She goes pale and then nods. I spin on my heels and head to Andrew’s office. It happens to be next to my brother’s.
Andrew leans in his chair, engaged on his phone. I knock on the door. His gaze catches mine. “Hey, sweetie,” he says, standing to run to me.
God, he sounds like a granny.
I give him a tight smile, and he brings me in for a hug. It’s an awkward one. The last time I saw him was at the café.
“How are you doing, Andrew? Are you keeping busy?”
He gestures for me to sit. “Yeah, we have all been crazy busy, working long hours. Maybe we can meet up for coffee or dinner.”
I notice the smile on his face doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s a bitter smile, forced. “So, why did you ask me to come here, and didn’t come to the café if you needed to speak with me?” I get right to business. I don’t have time for his tea-time talk.
He swallows hard. “Umm, well, I wanted to talk to you about Max.”
I fold my arms to my chest. “What about Max?”
“He’s not what you think, Rainey. Did he tell you why he left you?”
“What are you talking about?” I shout.
His thumb swipes his cheek. “I heard your dad paid him to leave the night at the cabin. He wrote him a check, Rainey.”
I frown. That can’t be true.
“You think he cares about you, Rainey? Money was more important to him than you. He took the check and left.”
“That’s not true.” My heart races a million miles per hour. No. Max would never do that. I shake my head at him.
“He didn’t tell you, did he?” He reaches for his pen and writes something down. Then, clicks the top of the pen up and down. “He didn’t care for you then, and he won’t give a shit about you now. He’s going to leave you, Rainey. God, you are so gullible.”
Unable to hold my anger, I lash out. “Fuck you, Andrew. You don’t know shit about him.”
His wicked chuckle sends shivers down my back. “The person who doesn’t know shit is you. He’s not good for you.” He lifts off his desk and steps in front of me. “I’m good for you, Rainey, not that low-life delinquent with nothing. He took the money to start his own business, started his life, and left you behind. He took you from me.” A deep-seated hatred surges from him.
“I was never yours.” My voice rasps, the anger in me trembling.
“You were going to be!” he shouts. “I love you. But you fell for a low grade?—”
Slap.
The palm of my hand vibrates with the thrust of his cheek. Andrew’s eyes widen, holding his red left side. I’m fuming with anger at Andrew for talking badly about Max, but I’m equally upset with Max for not telling me about it. I slam the door on my way out.
Max said he was going to be open with me. Why wasn’t he? We talked about my dad. I asked if he overheard anything that night. He said he did. He could’ve told me he spoke with him, that my dad gave him a check to leave me. I can’t help but wonder if this is the reason he left—that he took the money.
The tires screech loudly as I twist the steering wheel, guiding the car onto the sharply curved ramp leading onto the highway. I spot Johnny in the distance. Tears of fear and frustrationtrickle down my cheeks. How could my dad betray me like this? It shouldn’t shock me, but the idea of him bribing Max to leave me—and Max actually accepting it—is unthinkable. I shake my head firmly, refusing to believe that Max would ever accept money from my father. Never.
