Page 1 of The Wrong One

ChapterOne

Izzy

Ilooked around my new apartment, lamenting the fact it wasn’t quite as nice as the home I left behind in California, but it was mine. No asshole was going to drag his flavor of the week into my bed. I won’t have to squeegee the damn shower door after every use to keep my obnoxious fiancé from bitching at me. There won’t be notes plastered on the fridge about what he wanted me to do when I got home.

Catching Patrick cheating on me had been the best and worst thing to happen to me in all my twenty-nine years. I thought I was marrying the man of my dreams. He was wealthy and getting wealthier in his little company he started. We were friends with the movers and shakers in Silicon Valley and spent our weekends boating, wine-tasting, and living a carefree life.

At least that was what it had been like. The last six months, I should have known things were different. Something was off. I just thought Patrick was stressed about the wedding. I thought he was busy building his company. I didn’t mind. I was thrilled to be the woman beside him on his rise to the top.

I had no idea I was one of many.

I pushed it aside. Reliving the moment over and over wasn’t going to help. I needed to move forward. I opened another box, finding some more of my kitchen stuff. I was putting it away when the doorbell rang.

“Hi.” I smiled when I saw my cousin Emmy holding a bottle of wine and a gift with a big blue bow on it. “What’s this?”

She walked inside. “It’s your housewarming gift. This is a nice place.”

“Thank you.” I sighed. “It’s taking a little getting used to, but I think I’ll make it home.”

“You will,” Emmy insisted. “You’re getting back on your feet. It’s going to feel like you never left.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” I murmured. “I left to start a new life. I loved living in California.”

“But you know you missed us,” she teased.

“Maybe a little,” I admitted and moved some of my clothes that still needed to be hung up. I patted the couch. “Have a seat.”

She sat down and looked out the window. “Your place is ten times bigger than the shitty apartment I had. I was confused when I didn’t smell pee in the hallway. Like not everyone uses the hall as a toilet? Was that just my building?”

I had to laugh. “Your apartment was a step above a cardboard box. I’m glad you met your Mr. Wonderful and got to move on up. How is Luke?”

“Good.” Emmy smiled. Her face lit up the way it always did when we were talking about her man. “Off making more millions I imagine.

“And you?” I asked her. “Still working on that ghostwriting project?”

She looked at me and groaned with her lips peeled back in total disgust. “Unfortunately.”

“Bad?”

“The guy is such an arrogant asshole,” she muttered. “I don’t know why I agreed to do the job. I should have known when I interviewed for the job. He was giving major asshole vibes but I saw a chance to do something exciting. I had no idea his life story was all about him tooting his own horn. I thought I was getting the chance to sit down and interview an amazingly talented dude. I couldn’t have been more wrong.Hebelieves he’s talented.Hethinks he’s done great things. There is no actual proof of either.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Emmy shrugged. “I chose to do it.”

“I admire you for stepping out and doing what you want to do without worrying about your dad,” I said. “That took balls. I didn’t know you had it in you. I thought you would take over his business one day.”

“No way.” Emmy shook her head. “I’m forging my own path. It’s not easy. At least, it wasn’t easy. Having Luke by my side has changed that. There were so many times I thought about giving up and giving in. I could go back to my cushy life in my cushy home with drivers and housekeepers and a world-class chef and live the easy life. But then I remembered I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want easy. I wanted to do what felt right, even if it meant living in a hovel and eating ramen noodles for dinner.”

“Because you had clear direction,” I said. “I feel like I’m drifting. Patrick cut the rope on my raft and I’m drifting at sea. I have no direction. I couldn’t even tell you which way was north. I’m lost. I eventually have to get a job if I want to keep my apartment.”

“You are going to find your way,” Emmy assured me. “You’ve been through a major upheaval. Give the dust some time to settle. You have your savings and the money from the sale of the house, right?”

“Yes, but I spent six years of my life getting my degree and then I worked my ass off to get to where I was at my job. I’ve got all this knowledge and nothing to do with it. What good is it to have know-how to change the world but no way to actually start it?”

“It hasn’t been all that long,” Emmy said. “You need to take some time and get your head straight. Tech isn’t going anywhere. You’re going to find a job. I know Silicon Valley is the hot thing for you techies, but it’s not the only game in town.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

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