Girls' Night Out: A Novel by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Author:Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke [Fenton, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781503902558
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2018-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE DAY AFTER

NATALIE

Natalie and Lauren sat side-by-side in silence, both contemplating Lauren’s words: they had to find Ashley. Natalie continued to analyze the emojis Ashley had sent Jason—hands in prayer, a wave, a sad face with a tear—feeling like she was trying to understand one of Meg’s texts to her friends. It would never happen. Because the emojis could mean a million different things—if Ashley was even trying to send a message, and not just drunk and lonely.

She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could inside her mind, her entire body clenching as she thought about what she would say to the officers. If Lauren, her friend of twenty years, was questioning her and her memory loss, what were the police going to do? She couldn’t blame anyone for doubting that she’d simply forgotten the night. Deep inside she was questioning herself, worried that the crucial memories—the ones that were locked somewhere deep in her conscience—were going to reveal more than she was ready for. Even though she couldn’t access them, she could sense their presence, like someone hiding in the shadows. And they gave her a very bad feeling.

Where are you, Ashley?

“I just got an alert. TMZ knows.” Lauren turned to her and held up her phone.

Natalie could see the headline at the top of Lauren’s screen, a picture of Ashley under it. BloMe Founder Missing in Mexico. How had they found out? “What does the article say?”

Lauren started reading. “BloMe cofounder Ashley Green, wife of Los Angeles chef and owner of the Dinner Party, Jason Green, has disappeared in the Yucatán Peninsula area of Mexico. According to a source in the Tulum police department, she hasn’t been seen since late last night, and foul play could be involved.”

“Foul play? We haven’t even talked to the police yet. How could they even be a source?” Natalie couldn’t believe the news had leaked. She felt dizzy from the realization and shut her eyes. She needed to protect BloMe. She’d have to call Amanda, have her draft a press release. She needed to get in touch with Austin, their assistant, and make sure he said “No comment” to anyone who called the office. She rubbed the back of her neck. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

“From what I’ve heard, the policía don’t play by the rules,” Lauren said.

“You think the police called TMZ?” Natalie asked.

“I don’t know—maybe. Who else would have?”

“I’m getting text messages, emails.” Natalie held up her phone, the screen filled with alerts. She could see just the beginning of each one pop up on the screen before the next pushed it away. Is Ashley really gone? What happened to her? Is what the police are saying true? Foul play? Was she kidnapped? She didn’t respond to any. She needed to call Ben immediately—make sure he protected Lucy and Meg from this news. She looked at the time—he could still keep them home from school. She quickly texted both him and Jason to do that.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.