“I didn’t rip you off!” My eyes are swimming with tears. I’ve managed not to cry through this whole ordeal, but I’ve never seen Seth look at me this way. He’s always been kind to me—I could always count on that. “I swear to you, I wouldn’t do that.”
“Yeah, right.” He turns away from me, his eyes focused on his computer screen. “We’re done here. Get your stuff and go.”
“Seth…”
“Now, Natalie,” he says through his teeth. “Or do I need to call security?”
I know Seth really well. We were seeing each other for over a year before I called it quits. There’s nothing I can say to change his mind. He is pissed off at me. And on top of that, he’s hurt. He thinks I played him. He believes every word the detective told him.
This is far from over.
Chapter Forty
As I’m coming out of Seth’s office, Kim runs over to me. Her eyes are wide and curious. She grabs my arm to slow me down on my trajectory back to my cubicle.
“What happened in there?” she asks me. “Seth came around asking for you earlier, and he looked really upset.”
I want to spit at her that it’s none of her damn business. Kim used to be my best friend in this office, but our power dynamic has changed over the years. When she started here, we were both single. We used to go out to bars together and meet guys. We had fun together.
Then Kim met the guy she ended up marrying. He wasn’t exactly handsome, but he was wealthy and offered her the life she always wanted. The second she got engaged, everything was all about her upcoming wedding—the honeymoon, the giant house he was building for her, and all the perfect children they were going to have. I started to feel like Kim’s loser friend.
It didn’t help that she knew about me and Seth, and was super judgmental. Yes, I know it’s not a wise personal or career move to sleep with your boss. It wasn’t like I planned it out. You can’t control who you fall in love with.
Still, Kim is my friend. It’s not her fault that she’s gotten her life together faster than I have. And she was right—it was really stupid to sleep with Seth. It’s blown up in my face more than once.
“It’s fine,” I mumble. “I’m just going to work from home for a bit.”
“Why?”
I forgot how nosy Kim can be. She’s also a gossip. I’m sure as hell not going to tell her I got suspended for allegedly stealing from the company. “It’s been a stressful few days. He’s giving me some flex time.”
Yes, unpaid flex time while he’s investigating me for embezzlement.
She frowns. “Is the race still on?”
“Of course it is,” I snap at her. “I’ve spent the last three months organizing it. Do you think I’m going to just cancel it on one day’s notice?”
“Yes, but—”
“You’re coming tomorrow, aren’t you?” It occurs to me suddenly that with everything going on, people might not show up for the 5K. In terms of the charity, it doesn’t matter. I already have the donations. But I’ve got a local news crew coming, and it will look horrible if I’m the only one who shows up. “You’re going to be there, right?”
“Um…” Kim chews on her thumbnail. “I’m just not sure if it’s a good idea right now. With everything going on…”
I close my fingers around her arm. “Kim, you’ve got to come. I need people to show up to this. You can’t leave me hanging.”
“Nat…” She squirms. “You’re hurting my arm.”
I release my grip, my cheeks burning. “Please. You need to come.”
I don’t mention those pictures from her bachelorette party. She knows I’ve got them.
She finally nods. “Okay, I’ll be there. You can count on me.”
My shoulders relax slightly. Kim will be there, and also Caleb will show up. So that’s at least three of us. And I’m sure at least a handful of other people from the office will come. Greg Lowsky will surely make an appearance, even if he can’t finish the race.
“And maybe they’ll find Dawn’s killer by then?” Kim says.
I don’t know a lot of things for sure, but I know they’re not going to find Dawn’s killer by tomorrow morning.
Chapter Forty-One
Ordinarily, I would love having an unexpected day off. I might go for a run, or go to my favorite massage place in Quincy. Or maybe get a manicure. Something about getting a manicure always lifts my spirits.
I don’t feel much in the mood for a manicure right now. Detective Santoro would probably use it against me. She’s able to afford a manicure. She’s obviously embezzling money.
God, haven’t they ever heard of Groupon?
So instead, after taking care of a few quick errands, I spend the entire day on my couch, listlessly flipping between the channels. I mostly end up watching reruns of old sitcoms I’ve already seen a dozen times before. I’m just killing time before Caleb comes by after work. He’ll make me feel better.
In the late afternoon, my phone rings. My first thought is that it’s Caleb, maybe on his way over early. But then when I look down, “Mom” is flashing on the screen. Great.
But I don’t have anything better to do, so I snatch up the phone. “Hello?”
“Natalie!” Again, she’s shouting into the phone at the top of her lungs. I only hope she’s not in public. “I heard they found that girl from your company! That she’s dead!”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “I know…”
“Do you know what the newspapers are saying?” she says. I’m not sure I want to know, but she’s definitely going to tell me. “They’re saying people at your company bullied her. Did you bully her, Natalie?”
“No! My God, Mom…”
“You should be kind to people who aren’t as popular as you are, Natalie.” Even though I’m thirty, my mother still loves to lecture me. “Even though she’s not as pretty as you are or as well-liked, you could still be nice to her.”
“I was nice to her!”
“Obviously not.”
What is the world coming to when even my own mother thinks I’m a big old bully? “I wouldn’t bully someone, Mom.”
“Well, obviously you would.” She sniffs. “You have. Remember how you and that friend of yours, Tara, used to… you know…”
What does it take to get your mother to realize that you’re not a high school cheerleader anymore? “I was nice to Dawn. I swear it.”
“I know you, Natalie. I know what you can be like. Don’t you remember when…”
As my mother drones on, I hear a beep in my ear. I pull the phone away—Caleb is calling. Thank God. “Mom, I have to go.”
“Why? Where do you have to go?”
“I’ve got another call. Something for work.” I’m not about to tell her about Caleb. Not now, when everything seems so tenuous.
She grumbles a bit, but I’m not listening. I end the call and switch over to Caleb. He hasn’t called a moment too soon.