Chapter 16

GRACE'S POV

At Susan's scream, I burst into laughter, clutching my stomach as she nearly fell off the couch.

“You’re lying! You have got to be lying!” She pleaded, eyes wide open.

“I wish I was,” I said between laughs. My stomach was aching at that point.

“That is insane. It's a full-blown disaster. There's no way they can do damage control, not at this point.” she said, shaking her head rapidly. 

“Exactly.” I concurred, still feasting on my popped kernels.

“And this all happened in the office?” She questioned, still shocked. It was taking her time to absorb everything.

“In front of everyone.” I added, enjoying how well it was going.

Susan slapped the pillow repeatedly. “I would have paid money to be there, seriously. Hell, I'd pay to be a fly on the wall..” 

I knew what she meant. Getting second hand information wasn't as thrilling as getting a front row seat to the main event. It was like watching a concert from the TV, great, but not awesome. 

“I was there,” I reminded her smugly, puffing my chest.

She pointed a finger at me. “You better not leave out a single detail.” 

“I won’t. Not when you're Jade Westing me rn. So after Victoria said that, she just grabbed her purse and left.” I whispered the last part as if I were telling a secret. 

“As she should!” Susan said, clicking her tongue. “Some work wife she had! Drying her underwear out in the office like it meant nothing.” 

I nodded and continued, “And then Lana tried to stand up dramatically, you know, like she wanted to storm off too, but then she just tripped. On absolutely nothing.” I cackled as I recalled the scene. 

Susan blinked. “…No.”

“Yes.” I said quickly.

“No way.” Susan giggled, hands over her mouth.

“She tripped and fell. Flat.” I confirmed, smacking my lips as an effect. 

Susan let out a strangled laugh, throwing her head back. “In front of everyone?”

“In front of everyone.” I confirmed, again. 

She completely lost it, laughing so hard that tears formed in her eyes. “Oh my God, that is the kind of karma I believe in! Like, yes, nature! Fight my battle for me.”

“I knew you’d say that.” I grinned at the sly smile that appeared on her face. 

“Well, did anyone help her up?” 

I shrugged. “I mean, everyone was busy cracking their ribs with laughter, so I'm not sure.”

Susan wiped her eyes. “I’m crying. I’m actually crying right now.”

I smiled, watching her. Moments like this felt… normal. Easy. Like nothing in the world was wrong, like there was absolutely no trace that everything would go wrong.

But underneath that warmth, something cold still lingered, because I knew something she didn’t. I knew how things ended, or would end if I didn't do something about it.

And the worst part was I didn’t know when, or how, everything would start to fall apart again. The goal was to stop it completely.

“So wait,” Susan said, calming down slightly. “Why was Victoria even sleeping with the CFO’s son?”

I blinked, cocking my head to the side. “That’s exactly what I was wondering actually.”

“Office politics?” she suggested, unsure.

“That’s one way to put it.” I chuckled. 

“Or maybe she actually likes him?” Her voice lowered at the question. 

I raised a brow, in thoughts. “You think so?”

Susan shrugged. “People do weird things for love.” 

Something about that made my chest tighten, because if only she knew. If only she knew. People did do weird things for love, like betraying someone who's done nothing but love them. 

I forced a small smile. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

Susan studied me for a moment, and said, “You’re thinking again.”

I blinked at her. “What?”

“That look,” she said, pointing at my face. “You get it when you’re overthinking something, so you're definitely thinking again, completely over.”

I laughed it off. “I just told you a whole office scandal, and now I’m the one overthinking?”

“Yes,” she said simply, with a tone of finality in her voice.

I shook my head, grabbing more popcorn. “You’re imagining things.” I tucked my legs in on the couch.

“Am I?” she asked, tilting her head.

I avoided her gaze, focusing on the TV instead.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The room was filled with the low hum of the show still playing in the background, characters talking, laughing, interacting, and living out their scripted lives, while I was living a life that felt like it belonged in a book, with an author who just loves weird second chances.

“Alright. How about we go out tonight? It's the weekend and I know we love chilling in the house and just watching whatever as we gossip, but why don't we go out tonight? Just for tonight.” Susan suggested, a smile on her face. 

I gave her a pointed look, and she rolled her eyes. 

“Correction, you love chilling in the house and watching whatever. But let's please go to the club tonight.” She put her hands together in plea, and pouted her lips. 

“Does it have to be a club?” I whined. 

“It could be a bar, a movie theater, an aquarium. Hell, we can go crash a kid's birthday at Macdonald's. Anywhere, but here.” She gestured to the living room.

I gasped, pretending to be offended. “What is wrong with ‘here’?” 

She shook her head rapidly. “Nothing. It's just that I can't find a man in ‘here’. Except you have a secret closet full of single, hot, rich, loving men, who will not think I'm high maintenance.” 

“Oddly specific, but I'm sure I can find one for you that perfectly fits your scroll of quality.” 

She groaned at my sarcasm. “Just this once, Grace. Find me a man that is not from your closet.”

Odd, but suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd find Michael wherever she took me. 

Just like that, a plan started to take its form.