The Truth (Charade Book 3) by Stella Gray

Author:Stella Gray [Gray, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781953520524
Publisher: Paige Press, LLC
Published: 2021-05-24T18:30:00+00:00

Emzee

Chapter 15

My sister-in-law Tori had always had perfect timing; being in Chicago for a few days meant I had the perfect opportunity to have a proper sit-down with Emma instead of trying to explain what had been going on with me over email or the phone.

I ended up taking her out to brunch at The Whale for our face-to-face, because I’d desperately missed their lobster and waffles and also because they served decent mocktails. My plan was to just ‘fess up and lay it all out for her, giving her an overview of everything related to my divorce and my escape from Chicago. She deserved an explanation, and I knew I had to renew her faith in me if I wanted her to continue running things at the charity in my stead.

She’d be getting a somewhat redacted version of things, though. I still hadn’t told anyone—not my coworkers, not my brothers or sisters-in-law and most definitely not Ford—about the pregnancy, and the real reason I’d moved to New York.

As far as I was concerned, no one needed to know. Yet.

For now, the important thing was to focus on making sure that See Yourself was in a good place. With maternity leave looming in the not-so-distant future, who knew when I’d be able to take over operations again?

“I love working for you, but I can’t run the show when you go radio silent,” Emma said once we’d settled into a blue leather booth next to the retractable wall of windows. The sun was out, and the window walls were up, letting a cool breeze drift into the restaurant. Despite the tension between us, the ambiance was heavenly.

“I know,” I said. “This whole thing was just a giant mess, and I’m so sorry I put you through it.”

I gave her a brief rundown then, about how my marriage had crumbled, how my ex refused to sign the divorce papers, how he’d showed up on my doorstep in New York after tracking me there, even though I’d been trying to get away from him. Emma was sympathetic, and she squeezed my hand across the table.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Are you safe?”

“Yeah, it’s—he’s actually been very sweet. Just…stubborn. I would have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to bring my drama to the charity, or dump all this personal stuff on you. Everything’s just been falling apart, and it’s sort of embarrassing to even have to talk about it.”

“Understandable.” She nodded. “Emzee, I believe in the non-profit, and I believe in you. That’s why I’m still here. But even with everything you’ve been through, we have to figure out a way to keep things up and running here if you’re going to be living a thousand miles away.”

Our waiter arrived with our drinks—mimosa for Emma, watermelon juice with non-alcoholic tequila for me—and took our orders. We both got the lobster and waffles, but I added a side of fruit and a side of bacon.

“Someone’s extra hungry today,” Emma noted.

“Umm, no, I’ve just really missed this place—and I don’t know when I’ll be back,” I said.

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