“Tarek?” Loretta said. “Is everything all right?”
“No, it’s not, Mrs. Sachs,” Tarek said. “And I’m sorry to interrupt your family meal. But there’s something Damon wants to show you.”
* * *
• • •
It was a video. That much Lauren and I got before Loretta shut the office door in our faces and we were forced to sit outside with Frank while she met with Tarek, Damon, and her lawyer.
“What is going on?” Lauren asked. “Why is the lawyer in there?”
“Um…yeah. There’s something I should probably tell you,” I said, and sat down on the small couch.
By the time I was done with the story of Christopher’s accident and his accusations against Damon and the lawsuit and the fact that Christopher had bailed and wasn’t speaking to me, Lauren’s jaw was on the floor.
“I knew it. I knew there was something about that kid that I didn’t like,” Lauren fumed.
“Yeah, I know,” I said, then blinked. “Wait. Which kid?”
“Damon!” she said, throwing a hand toward the closed office door.
“You thought he was cute! You thought I should make out with him!”
“Yeah, but I also thought he was shifty.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Okay, remind me never to trust your taste in guys,” I said.
Then the office door flew open, and the lawyer came striding out, cell phone to his ear. “Yes, I’d like to speak to Phillip Mosure, please. It’s about the Evergreen Lodge case.”
We were still smelling his aftershave when Damon shouted, “You’re firing me?” from inside the office.
“Yes, I’m firing you,” Loretta said. “We’ll mail you your last paycheck in the new year.”
Damon muttered something else, then stormed out, walking right past me and Lauren without so much as a glance. A couple of seconds later, Tarek came out, looking sheepish, and stepped over to Lauren.
“Sorry about all this.”
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’re not fired, too, are you?”
“No. At least, not at the moment.” He looked chagrined. “I gotta take Damon home. Call you later?”
She nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss, then left.
“Girls! Come in here, please!” Loretta called out.
We exchanged a wary look, then went inside.
Loretta was behind her desk, looking shell-shocked.
“Ummm…what just happened?” I asked.
“What just happened was Tarek and Damon showed me video of Damon shoving your friend Christopher clear off one of our trails and laughing when Christopher slammed into a tree,” Loretta said, somehow keeping her voice completely even. “He has been fired, and the lawyers will hopefully come to a settlement. One that, if there’s anything they can do about it, won’t bankrupt this place.”
“Oh my God, Loretta. Is that even possible?” Lauren asked, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth.
“It’s possible. But I’m hoping cooler heads will prevail. This is unbelievable. Truly.” She turned her back to us for a moment and her shoulders shook. Was she crying? My chest felt so tight I could burst.
“You know this isn’t your fault, right, Loretta?” Lauren said.
When Loretta turned around again, her eyes were wet, but her makeup was intact. “It is my fault, Lauren. The people who work for me…I’m responsible for them. I stood up for Damon. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. But now, well, he’s been proven guilty.”
“What made him show you that video?” I asked.
“He’s had some issues, it seems, with acting out. Tarek said something about his parents being away all the time.” Loretta shook her head. “Maybe this is his way of trying to get their attention. It’s a shame. I feel sorry for the boy.”
“For Damon?” I blurted out.
Loretta looked me in the eye. “Nothing is black and white, Tess. And appearances can be deceiving. You never know what’s going on in a person’s life unless they tell you themselves. Remember that.” She gathered her purse and took a deep breath. “Well. Shall we?”
“Shall we what?” I asked, confused.
“We still have your list to complete, Tess,” she said. “And I believe I just made a promise to you girls to spend more time with you, did I not?”
Okay, was she out of her mind? She just had a huge bomb dropped in her lap and she wanted to go get my hair cut?
“Loretta, no. You’re going to have so much to deal with. We don’t have to—”
“Nonsense. There’s nothing I can do at the moment but wait for the lawyers to call me. In the meantime, I will need a distraction.”
“Seriously?” Lauren and I said at the same time.
“Seriously,” Loretta replied, giving a nod toward the door. “Now let’s do this thing.”
* * *
• • •
Chunks of hair fell on my shoulders and back, then slid off the slippery black cape I was wearing and tumbled to the floor. The stylist had turned my chair away from the mirror when I’d gasped at the first snip, and hadn’t turned me back since, but I could still feel it happening. And, though I was mostly keeping my eyes squeezed shut, every now and then I’d sneak a peek at the floor. There were mountains of hair all around the chair. Mountains. How could all of that possibly have come from one person’s head? From my head?
“This is amazing,” Lauren said, forcing me to open my eyes and look at her. I immediately wished I hadn’t. She had my phone, and was training it on me, walking from one side of my face to the other.
“Are you filming this?” I demanded, distraught.
“Trust me. You’re going to be so glad I did,” she said with a laugh.
My cheeks burned. Was that a mocking laugh? Or a delighted laugh? Which was worse? I mean, mocking would be bad, but maybe she was delighting in the fact that I was going to look like a freak when all of this was over.
“Would you please stop?” I asked.
She must have heard the desperation in my voice, because she did. She sat down in the chair next to Loretta’s a few feet away and started scrolling through the pictures on my phone. Loretta wasn’t currently in her chair, though, because she was busy in the next room, alternating between socializing with Marika—the older and very retro-looking woman who owned this chic salon—and speaking urgently into her phone. I could only imagine she was consulting with her lawyers.