Page 50 of Am I the Only One

“I see he hasn’t changed much. Has he mentioned me at all?”

“Just that you two are old family friends,” I respond, feeling too uncomfortable to mention my awareness of their hookup. “Why?”

“Oh, we had a brief fling a few years back. It’s been a bit awkward ever since.”

“That’s too bad considering how long the two of you have known each other.”

She shrugs. “I should’ve known better, but with our history, I figured it would’ve turned out differently.”

IfIdidn’t know better, I’d assume this girl was still hung up on Luca.

“I tried calling him after we ran into each other at his parents’ New Year’s Eve party.” She shakes her head slightly, adding, “I’m not even sure why I called in the first place. My life is a bit of a disaster right now.”

I can only assume she referring to the affair she’s having with Tripp, which I seriously doubt she would ever reveal to me, a girl whom she met a few weeks ago, but I pry anyway.

“I’m told I’m a good listener if it’s anything you want to talk about.”

“You really want me to dump my baggage on you?”

“What else are we going to talk about?” I say lightly, hoping she’ll grab the bait, and to my surprise, she does.

“Okay, but I owe you!”

“Deal, when my life falls off the hinges, I’ll be calling you.”

We both laugh, and after she takes another sip of her wine, she lays it out there for me. “My fiancé just left me.”

“Oh my God. What happened?”

“Just over a year ago, Tripp gave me my first real job since graduating. He was still the attorney general, and I had just signed the one-year contract to replace his assistant, who had just resigned. A week before my first day, my girlfriends and I thought it would be fun to take a celebratory vacation to Manhattan. The first night, we got all dressed up and went out dancing. That’s when I met Court Rothman.” She says his name as if she’s in dreamland, and I have to hold back a snicker at how douchey that name sounds. “He’s an investment banker on Wall Street. We caught eyes, he bought me a drink, and we wound up dancing all night. The following day, he took me to brunch and we went for a walk in Central Park.” She smiles. “I know it all sounds like some corny Hallmark movie, but he really did sweep me off my feet. For the next few days, if I wasn’t with my friends, I was with Court.”

“It sounds like a fairy tale,” I remark.

“It really was. By the time we were boarding the plane to come back to DC, I swear I had already fallen in love with him. Every weekend thereafter, either I was flying to New York or he was flying to DC. I was a few months out from the end of the contract with Tripp and had already made the decision to pack my bags and move to New York so that Court and I could be together. It was during that time when Court flew me out to his parents’ vacation house in the Hamptons and proposed.” She stops and takes another drink. “Anyway, Tripp ended up making me an offer to work on his campaign team, and I couldn’t refuse. When I dropped that bomb on Court, that’s when things started falling part, and he ended things two months ago.”

She tells me all this, as if I’m really supposed to care, but I’m not here to build a friendship with this girl. “That had to be hard. To chose between Court and your job.”

“It was. All the announcements had already been sent out so that people could save the date. When he called it off, I was humiliated. I could hardly function, and I kept dropping the ball at work. I was so scared Tripp was going to fire me. I mean, this is my dream job, and the experience I’m getting is priceless.”

“Are things better at work and with Tripp?”

“They are. I ended up telling Tripp about what was going on and he was totally understanding, which wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Even though he’s so busy and being pulled in every direction possible, he’s been there for me in a way I never expected. He’s truly an amazing man.”

I bet.

“You’re so lucky to have a boss who’s so understanding,” I say while thinking that Tripp must’ve viewed her as an easy lay with how vulnerable she must’ve been at that point. No wonder she started sleeping with him. She strikes me as the type of girl who can’t be without a man’s attention.

Her smile grows. “Maryland is going to be so lucky when he wins this election.”

It takes everything inside me to keep from rolling my eyes. Sure, Tripp is a shoo-in for governor. Hell, there’s even whispers of him running for president in the next election, but this girl has some serious hero worship going on.

Interesting that not once did I see her at The Jefferson during my stay there.

“So, are there any perks to the job? Do you get to travel with him? Stay at the same hotels as him? I can only imagine the luxury.”

“It really depends on the schedule and the events he’s attending. He often stays overnight here in the city, but since I’m right down the street in Bethesda, I just go home. Enough about me. I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with campaign talk.”

“It’s actually fascinating. I mean...it’s my dream as well to work on a campaign such as Tripp’s. I think it’s an amazing opportunity that will help you move forward in your career,” I boast on her behalf, and she eats it right up. “And between you and me, I think you made the right decision by staying in DC. You shouldn’t let go of your dreams and ambitions for a guy, and if he couldn’t understand that, you’re better off. He would only serve to hold you back.”

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