Getting Some. Kayla Perrin

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СКАЧАТЬ there.”

      “This is getting way too depressing.” I glance around for a sign of Apple, who I hope to spot with our second round of drinks. “We’re clearly better off without these guys in our lives.”

      “But you’re both grieving,” Annelise points out. “And there’s no shame in that.”

      “You’re right,” I say, the understanding of what I’m experiencing helping to chase away some of the sadness. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. Going through a grieving process.”

      “Totally,” Annelise agrees.

      “I never thought of it that way,” Claudia adds.

      “I’m lucky,” Annelise continues. “I’ve had Dominic to help me get over any of the hurt Charles caused me. You two…I say you both need a palate cleanser—a hot fling or a new man. Someone to help make the memories of your relationships distant ones.”

      That’s the last thing I need, but I don’t say that to Annelise. I have no interest in getting into the sack with some new guy for a meaningless night of sex.

      “You said you have some good news,” I remind her, remembering that Annelise had mentioned that before I got all dramatic. “Are you and Dominic getting married?”

      “No.”

      “Oh,” Claudia says, the word full of sadness.

      “I didn’t mean that to sound so final, if it did,” Annelise tells us. “We’ll definitely wait until my divorce from Charles is finalized before thinking of that step. Which is fine with me. What I want to tell you is what my lawyer said when I saw him today.”

      I suck in a sharp breath. For the past few weeks, we’ve all been hoping and praying that she’ll get good news regarding her house with Charles. That she won’t lose her portion of it because her husband decided to rip off terminally ill children. “You said it’s good news?”

      A smile spreads across Annelise’s face. “I can’t believe it, but I get to keep my half of the house!”

      “Oh, Annie.” I clasp my hands together. “That’s the best news.”

      “I know.” She can’t stop beaming. “I’ve been feeling a bit guilty, though. Wondering if it isn’t fair for all the proceeds from the house to go to the charity. But it’s not like I don’t need to live.”

      “And you had no part in Charles’s scam.” I reach across the table to grip her hand. “Honey, take the money and run. Put some into your business, invest some, find a place to live.”

      “Oh, I don’t think she and Dom will be parting ways anytime soon,” Claudia says.

      “Not likely,” I agree. “But you keep some of that money under lock and key. Never let yourself be in a situation again where a man can fuck you over because he’s got the money and you don’t.”

      “I won’t.”

      I shift in my seat, sitting a little higher. “That was truly good news. My spirits have lifted already.”

      “And you haven’t even heard my news yet.”

      I turn to my right and face Claudia. “If you tell me that you’ve found another man, I will whoop you upside the head. I don’t want to be the only single one.”

      “A man. Right.” Claudia laughs sardonically. “That’s a good one.”

      “Then what could possibly be your good news? Adam is going to jail, too? No, if that news had broken, I would have heard it.”

      Adam, Claudia’s ex-fiancé, who formerly held the position of president on the board of the Wishes Come True Foundation, was investigated for any possible connection to the embezzlement but was found to have no involvement. Still, when the news of his drug use and sexual fetishes came to light—thanks to our plan of revenge—he resigned from the board amid great scandal.

      “No, this isn’t about Adam. But it is about the foundation.”

      “I’m listening,” I tell Claudia.

      “You know one of my cousins is a music producer, and as such, he obviously has lots of connections.”

      “Right.”

      “Well, I was talking about our desire to help the Wishes Come True Foundation, and he had an idea. He said that if we want to make this fund-raising effort work, we need to get some big names attached to it.”

      “Which is a great idea, yes,” I agree. “But getting someone—”

      “Let me finish.”

      I mime pulling a zipper closed across my lips.

      “Well, Morgan talked to Rugged—you know, that hot new rap artist from Atlanta—about the idea of possibly participating, given that this is his home town, and—”

      “And he said yes?” Excitement washes over me.

      Claudia nods. “He wants to do it.”

      “Yes!” I pump a fist in the air. “This is exactly what we needed. Some celebrity to headline the event.”

      Across the table Annelise is grinning, too. “It gets better,” she practically sings.

      “Really?” My eyes flit from Annelise to Claudia. Then I notice Apple in my peripheral vision.

      “Here are your drinks.” Her face looks flushed as she deposits three mimosas and three mugs of coffee onto the table. “I’m sorry, I got busy with other tables. I didn’t mean to bring them out this late.”

      She’s looking directly at me as she offers this explanation, as though she expects me to bite her head off.

      “That’s fine,” I tell her.

      Nodding nervously, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You haven’t gotten food yet.”

      “We’ve been gabbing,” Annelise explains. “We’ll get to it.”

      When Apple walks off, I say to Claudia, “Okay, what’s this even-better news?”

      “Right.” She grins. “Well, Rugged likes the idea so much that he said he’d ask other rap artists, like 50 Cent, Ludacris and some others, if they’d like to get involved as well. Maybe do a ‘rap artists support the cause’ type of event.”

      “You know what, I will never feel sorry for myself again,” I proclaim, smacking the edge of the table as I do. “I came in here feeling so shitty, but life is still good. There are still good people in the world.”

      “Exactly,” Annelise agrees. “I told you things have a way of working out.”

      “Can you believe it?” Claudia’s eyes are beaming with happiness. “We’re gonna make this happen. And we’ll raise a ton of money for the foundation.”

      “Lord, СКАЧАТЬ