Page 80 of Nothing But the Truth

CHAPTER

16

Lucy Green stood on a precipice.

Really, she waited at the rooftop bar of her favorite restaurant, sipping a crisp chardonnay and wondering who was going to show up to her birthday party after her big day of honesty. The hostess told her no one else had arrived when she claimed her reservation. Nonetheless, she led Lucy to her banquet table dressed in sparkling stemware stretched between squat palms and serving stunning views of downtown L.A. from the very heart of it. Instead of announcing her solitude by sitting alone at the table, she decided to wait at the bar.

It was, technically, early yet; her phone showed 7:58 p.m. And how desperate to show up early to her own party, but thanks to her low-maintenance look, she hadn’t needed that full hour to get ready. She’d blow dried her hair into soft waves and put on a pink party dress that didn’t restrict or dig or require assistance to zip. Her feet were comfortable in slides with festive bows on their toes.

As she waited at the bar, taking tiny sips of wine, she checked in on the media circus she had helped create. Thanks to Chase’s stunt, the internet had gone wild. J&J Public had single-handedly created a scandal worthy of reality TV. The Deadline story breaking the allegations, the press conference denying the allegations, the second Deadline story confirming the allegations, and then Chase reconfirming the allegations in front of a few million NBA fans made for quite the spectacle. Thankfully, the masses were capable of keeping score, and it was currently three to one, Team Lucy and Annie. Though not fully defeated—yet—Jonathan was losing by all public accounts. The reluctant criticism and benefit of the doubt from earlier in the day turned sharply into accusations of certainty and demands for justice. Twitter was one trending hashtag away from torches and pitchforks. But public opinion only counted for so much. The final score would be tallied by Joanna and the board members, and the thought of their meeting that was perhaps still ongoing made Lucy take bigger sips of wine.

She had not deliberately tried to tell a lie all afternoon, and as the hour approached what she was sure would be the midnight expiration of her wish, she wondered if she even wanted her capacity for dishonesty restored.

But honesty had always been a choice. She had the power to do and say what she wanted and needed all along; she was just led to believe by personal, professional, and profound social expectation that she did not. Perhaps the day’s greatest gift was simply awareness of the choice.

Nonetheless, having an actual wish come true was positively the strangest thing that had ever happened to her. Though her inability to lie was bizarre and at times frightening, she survived and came out better for the experience on the other side. And she had only described the insanity to three people, two of whom would bury a body for her and didn’t care if she sounded crazy, and the third had the most enlightened understanding of them all. Whatever source had sought to teach her a lesson had succeeded, and she was content to say thank you and carry on.

She checked her phone again to see that it was eight p.m. sharp. She scanned the rooftop and felt her heart swell when she saw two familiar faces. The body buriers themselves: Oliver and Nina. She had known they would come, but still, she couldn’t stop her relief from spilling over.

Oliver looked sharp in a suit jacket, though a little peaky from scandal aftershocks. He had probably come straight from the office. He carried a bottle of champagne with a garish pink ribbon tied at the neck and gave Lucy a warm but tired smile.

Nina carried a gift bag spurting with tissue. She wore a short black dress and flats because anything suggesting a heel put her over six feet tall, and being a woman at that altitude presented a host of challenges Lucy could not relate to. She had heard Nina speak of shrinking herself in public spaces and feeling gigantic in dressing rooms and bathroom stalls and wishing she could wear the cute heels Lucy sometimes abhorred without intimidating everyone within a mile radius. Lucy was used to seeing her friend in flats when they went out, but the injustices of female footwear had never felt so apparent. She considered offering to go buy Nina some heels, or maybe suggesting they both pitch their shoes off the roof and go barefoot to make a statement.

Instead, she greeted her friends with a welcoming smile. “You made it.”

Nina gave her a fragrant hug, and Oliver air-kissed her cheek. “Of course. And before you ask, I don’t know anything about the board meeting. Joanna told me I could go home, and they were all still at the office when I left. Why do you sound surprised we’re here?”

She absorbed the board meeting comment with another sip of wine. A big one. “Honestly? I thought I may have scared everyone away today with all the truth-telling.”

Oliver tugged at her lacey cap sleeve. “Well, you did try to convince me you were cursed, and when that didn’t send me running, I came to the rescue when you got pooped on by a bird and fell in a fountain.”

“I didn’t get pooped on.” She glared at him, but as she said it, she realized she could not say without a doubt that there was no bird poop involved in the fountain incident. Given the rest of the day, it suddenly felt plausible, and she was thankful she had washed her hair twice before the party.

Nina laughed, warm and sincere. “Yes, I heard about that. And if anyone should be ghosting out of embarrassment, it should be me over the whole bloody-nose incident. Sorry,” she sang like the word had ten Ys and held out the gift bag.

Lucy took it, feeling something solid and heavy inside.

“What we’re saying,” Oliver said, “is of course we’re here. We love you, Lucy. Even if you go temporarily insane on us.”

“Hey, insane or not, you witnessed it yourself, so...” She smiled.

“Well, then I guess we’re all crazy.” He shrugged with a laugh. “But really, I’m happy you learned a lot today, even if the source of the lesson is questionable.”

Nina nodded. “Me too. I’m glad you finally realized what we’ve been telling you for ages.”

Lucy was so caught up in the warmth of unconditional friendship and their praise, it took her a second to realize what Nina had said. “Wait, what?”

They both gave her flat stares but at least had the decency not to roll their eyes.

“Lucy, you’ve been settling for Caleb all along, and everyone knows you deserve better treatment at work. Not news to us,” Nina said.

Lucy gaped at them. “Why didn’t you say anything about it?”

Oliver and Nina exchanged a look and matching arched brows.

“I told her,” Oliver said. “Did you tell her?”

“Oh, I definitely told her.”

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