“That nice guy with the awesome apartment you call the Maxipad?” I said.
She nodded. “Uh huh, and get this. He took a girl out for the first time the other night, and at dinner she flat-out asked him how much money he has in his bank account.”
“She did not,” McKenna said.
“Oh yes, she did,” Andie said.
“I will never understand people,” I said. “What did he say?”
“Get this,” Andie said. “Before he could even answer, the girl’s BOYFRIEND showed up at the restaurant and started yelling at her.”
“No way,” I said.
“Way,” Andie said. “He starts yelling at her for cheating on him, and get this: she pretends she doesn’t know who he is!”
“You’re kidding,” McKenna said.
Andie shook her head. “Totally true. She acted like she’d never seen him before.”
“That’s awesome,” I said. “What a nut job.”
“Total nut job,” Andie said. “And when the guy finally left, she still wouldn’t admit she knew him. She told Max her ex-boyfriend must have put the guy up to it.”
“Yeah, sure he did,” McKenna said.
“I will never understand people,” I said, taking a sip of my beer. “So I’m assuming she didn’t get to see the famous Maxipad?”
Andie laughed. “Hardly.”
“Speaking of great apartments,” McKenna said, “are you ladies up for watching the Blue Angels at Davio and Alessandro’s annual roof deck party this weekend?”
“Yes!” I said. “I love that party, and I love Fleet Week. The planes have been whizzing by my window all week. It’s so loud, but I love it when …”
I stopped talking.
“You love it when what?” Andie said.
I looked over her shoulder. “Sorry. I got distracted. Check out that tall guy over there, but be casual about it. Isn’t that Darren from Left at Albuquerque?”
Andie and McKenna both whipped their heads around to look.
“Ladies, that was hardly casual,” I said with a sigh.
“Who?” McKenna said.
“Where?” Andie said.
“The one with the brown hair in the white button-down shirt, by the pool table,” I said. “Andie, remember we met him that night we went to Lefty’s after I ran into Aaron at the Marina Safeway? The night of the double Darrens?”
Andie laughed. “Ah, yes, the double Darrens. How could I forget?”
“Well, it turns out that cute Darren is engaged to that nightmare Mandy at work.”
They both looked at me.
“The Mandy who practically stole your job?” Andie said.
I nodded.
“That’s her fiancé?” she said.
“Yep,” I said.
McKenna looked back over at Darren. “He’s really cute.”
I sighed. “I know. I ran into them a couple months ago when I was on this awful date. It was so embarrassing, because at Lefty’s I’d given him my card hoping he would ask me out, but he never called. And then I find out he’s engaged to bitch woman.”
“Oops,” Andie said.
“Exactly,” I said. “So I pretended not to recognize him, but I don’t think he bought it. Oh well, whatever. If he’s marrying that nut job, he’s not my type anyway.”
Just then the guy standing next to us at the bar turned to face us. He shook his head and frowned. Then he looked right at me.
“Actually, Mandy’s a really cool girl, not that you would know anything about being cool. I’ll be sure to tell her you said hi,” he said. Then he picked up the beers he’d ordered and walked across the room to where Darren was standing.
Holy crap.
I buried my face in my hands. “Oh my God oh my God oh my God, please tell me that didn’t just happen. Please please someone tell me that didn’t just happen.”
Andie nodded. “Apparently it did.”
“That was ugly,” McKenna said.
My cheeks were on fire. “Good Lord, could I shove my entire leg further down my throat?”
“This town is way too small,” McKenna said. “You literally never know who might be standing right next to you.”
“I know,” I said. “But usually it’s Brad Cantor, not the friend of a girl who stole my job and hates me.”
McKenna put her arm around me. “It’ll be okay, Wave, maybe he won’t even say anything.”
“Or if she already hates you, who cares what he tells her?” Andie said.
I shook my head and felt the tears welling up in my eyes. “I can’t believe I just did that. Me and my stupid big mouth.”
Just then Andie’s cell phone rang.
“Hello? Hey … okay … okay … yeah … got it … okay … I’m on my way … Bye.” She hung up and threw the phone in her purse.
“Who was that?” McKenna said.
Andie smiled and stood up. “Booty call.”
I wiped a tear from my eye and laughed. “Did you really just say that? What about all that talk about how hard it is to find a date?”
She blew another bubble and popped it. “Who said anything about a date? Gotta run. Bye, sweeties. Hang in there, Waverly.”
McKenna stood up too. “I’ve gotta get going as well. Unfortunately, I have a seven a.m. conference call tomorrow. Our East Coast office has no shame.”
“I’m right behind you guys.” I stood up and kept my back to Darren and his buddy. “All I want to do right now is get the hell out of here.”
“Sounds like tomorrow might be a good day for you to call in sick,” Andie said.
I finished off my beer and put it on the bar. “No kidding. After that performance, I might as well call in dead.”
The following Monday night, I met up with McKenna after work for a yoga class. On the way out of the studio, I stopped in my tracks and put my hands on my hips.
“Frick, I left my purse in my office,” I said. “Just what I needed to top off this fantastic night.” I was already annoyed because I’d been stuck next to one of those inappropriate yoga guys for the entire class. I wanted to punch him after all that endless grunting and groaning and moaning, and then when he started snoring in the final relaxation pose—the main reason I even went to yoga—I nearly lost it.
“Can’t you just get it tomorrow?” she said.
“Nope, it’s got my keys in it.”
She patted my head. “Now you know why I’ve been telling you for years to give me a set of your keys.”
I looked at her and held out my hand. “Have we met? I’m Waverly Bryson, not some responsible adult.”
“Fine, fine. Let’s go.”
“It shouldn’t take long. The security guard knows me. He can let us in.”
Five minutes later, we were in the dark offices of K.A. Marketing, the only light coming from the soft glow of the exit signs and the kitchen, which for some reason was always lit.
“This is creepy,” McKenna said. “I’m heading to the kitchen to get some water. Meet me at the elevator?”
“Sure. I’ll just be a minute.” I walked down the long hallway to my office and grabbed my purse. I was about to head back to the elevator when I thought I heard someone crying. I paused for a second.
Crying?
Then I noticed a single light on down the opposite hall. I walked slowly toward the noise.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” I said.
The crying stopped. I walked toward the light and poked my head into the doorway.
Mandy Edwards was sitting at her desk, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“Mandy, are you all right?” I said.
She pushed a few strands of hair away from her face and nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“As fine as I can be, I guess.”
I looked down at my hands and then up at her watery green eyes.
“Um, what’s wrong?” I said.
She sniffled. “I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean
?”
Silence.
“Mandy?”
She put her face in her hands and started crying again. “I found out that my fiancé has been cheating on me.”
Her words were so unexpected that for a moment I just stood there.
“Oh God, I’m sorry, Mandy,” I finally said.
She coughed, and the tears began to stream down her cheeks.
I didn’t know what else to say, but it didn’t seem right to leave her there, so I sat down on the chair across from her desk and let her cry.
And cry.
After about thirty seconds, I finally spoke. “Is there anything I can do? You two looked so happy when I saw you together.”
She coughed again. “I love him, Waverly. God, I love him so much. I thought he was so perfect, you know?”
I nodded. Boy, did I know.
“But part of me has always known that he wasn’t who I thought he was. Or who I hoped he was,” she said.
Was this really Mandy Edwards sitting in front of me?
I handed her a tissue. “Well, I guess it’s better to find out now than after you were married, right?”
She blew her nose. “I know, I know. And I know I have to break it off. It’s just so much harder than I thought it would be. I … I just don’t want to be single again.”
I stared at her. For a second it was like looking in a mirror.
I took a deep breath. “Mandy, believe me, I know how you feel. I really do. But you can’t be with someone who isn’t right for you just so you won’t be alone.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re from around here, you went to college here. You’re not alone, but I am. Besides Darren and my roommate, I don’t really have any friends in San Francisco. And no matter what I do, I can’t seem to make any, especially here at work.”
I bit my lip.
“I know I’m not that great with people sometimes, and ever since I transferred to this department, all I’ve wanted to do is fit in. But no matter how hard I try, people seem to hate me,” she said.
“People don’t hate you, Mandy,” I said softly.
“C’mon, Waverly, every time I try to talk to you, you can’t run away fast enough. And I hear the things you say about me.” The tears were still streaming down her face.
Me and my big humongous mouth.
“And I know what other people around here think about me. I know everyone resents me for taking over the JAG account.”
I twisted my right earring. “Well, that’s not exactly true.”
“Please, I’m not stupid.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just looked down at my hands.
She blew her nose again. “When Jess offered me the account, I thought maybe I could do it. I thought maybe I could show everyone that I do belong here. But I was wrong.”
I kept looking at my hands.
“I didn’t want it, you know,” she said.
I looked back up at her. “You didn’t?”
She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Waverly, I was already so over my head with Adina Energy, you don’t even want to know.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “And if you remember, I tried to ask you for help more than once, but I don’t have to remind you what your reaction was.”
“I … I …” I didn’t know what to say. She had really been asking for help?
“So believe me, taking on another account was the last thing I wanted,” she said.
I handed her another tissue. “But I thought—”
“Well, you thought wrong.”
“Then why did you agree to take the JAG account on as well?”
She dabbed her eyes. “What was I supposed to do? Tell Jess that I couldn’t handle it?”
I took a deep breath. “Wow, I honestly had no idea you felt that way. I thought you were happy running both accounts.”
“Well, I’m not. I’m drowning, okay? Thank God Kent and Nicole know the JAG account so well, because without them I’d be in serious trouble.”
I handed her another tissue. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“What could I say? I’d already asked you for help more than once. Why do you hate me so much anyway? What did I ever do to you?”
I couldn’t deny it. “Well, I guess, I guess I just don’t trust you,” I said.
“Why not?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Well, to be honest, I don’t trust you because of that whole Super Show thing.”
“What Super Show thing?”
“You know, what you told Jess about me after the big party that JAG threw.”
She looked at me. “What?”
“Come on, Mandy, I know it was you.”
“You know it was me? What was me?”
“I saw your roommate’s sister there. I know what she told you.”
“My roommate’s sister? What? I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I looked her right in the eye.
“You didn’t tell Jess?”
“Tell Jess what?”
“You really didn’t tell him?”
The look in her eyes was blank.
Wow. I couldn’t believe how much my initial opinion of her had clouded my judgment of everything she said and did, and for so long. Talk about judging a book before you’ve walked a mile in its moccasins.
“Mandy, I think I owe you an apology,” I said.
“For what?”
I walked behind her desk and pulled her out of her chair. “For being an idiot. C’mon, let’s get you out of here.”
We walked out into the hallway and nearly smashed right into McKenna.
“Uh, hi. I didn’t want to intrude, but I wasn’t sure where to go,” she said.
“No worries,” I said, and looked at Mandy. “Mackie, this is Mandy. And she needs a margarita.”
As we walked toward the elevator I made a mental note for a Honey Note.
Front: Ever wonder why the new girl at work seems to hate you so much?
Inside: Honey, think back to the angst of the high school lunchroom. Then offer her a seat at your table.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
With three weeks to go before the auction, the planning for McKenna’s wedding continued full steam ahead. We pretty much had everything in order, and when the day came to send out the invitations, we went for a walk before work for a heart-to-heart.
“So this is it, my dear. The big day,” I said, as we headed down the steepest part of Fillmore toward the water. “Once those bad boys are in the mailbox, there’s no going back.”
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I’m so nervous.”
“What are you talking about?” I stretched my arms over my head. “Why are you nervous? You two are perfect for each other. And I was kidding about the no going back by the way.”
“I know you were, and I know we are, but I’m still nervous, Wave. Seriously, so nervous.”
“Really? But why?” I said.
She scratched her cheek. “I love Hunter to death, I really do. But I like doing my own thing, too, ya know? And I love spending time with my friends. I just don’t want that to change once I’m married.”
“I know, I know.” I nodded my head. “I’ve realized those things about myself, too, thank God.”
“I hope I’m not a horrible wife,” she said.
I laughed and pushed her arm. “Mackie, please. You’re great with Hunter. Believe me, I’ve paid attention. Besides, he doesn’t want a Stepford wife, he wants you. He knows how you are, and he loves you for it. He doesn’t expect you to change just because you’re marrying him.”
“Do you think so? Even though we’ve been together forever, I’m afraid things might change once we’re officially married. Does that make sense?”
I put my arm around her and squeezed. “Don’t worry, Mackie, you’re going to be fine.”
�
�Really?”
I laughed. “Yes, really. Ya know, I must say that I’m rather enjoying this moment.”
“What moment?”
“The one moment in our ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP where I’m the one calming you down, not vice versa.”
She laughed. “I’m glad my stress brings you joy.”
“Seriously, Mackie, ask yourself this: do you want to be with Hunter?”
She nodded.
“Forever?”
She nodded again.
“Are you sure?”
She paused for a few seconds and then smiled. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Then you’re going to be fine. If you’re doing what you really want to do, you’ll be happy. It’s as easy as that.”
“Ya think?”
I nodded. “Don’t worry about how your life is supposed to be. Just make it how you want it to be.”
Once the words were out of my mouth, I realized that I finally believed them.
Late that night, hoping he’d be gone from the office, I called Aaron. I’d noticed that attorneys tend to live at the office, so I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t answer, in which case I’d either have to hang up or disguise my voice and pretend it was a wrong number (thank God his office phone system didn’t have caller ID). But I lucked out and got his voicemail, so I left a message wishing him the best with the baby and his marriage and life in general. I didn’t have the guts to actually talk to him, but I meant what I said and wanted him to know that I’d moved on.
I didn’t mention the hiding behind a car thing though—I’d matured, but I hadn’t gone insane.
I hung up and went to bed contented, finally feeling the sense of closure I’d wanted so much.
And the very next day, I did what I should have done long before.
I quit my job.
The Tuesday evening before the auction, I was walking along Union Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, window-shopping for a dress to wear and chatting with Andie on my cell phone.
“So after the next press tour for the Honey Notes, that’s it? You’re done with K.A. Marketing?” she said.
“Yep,” I said. “Totally done.”
“I still can’t believe you quit.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I didn’t think you’d ever leave that place,” she said.
Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson Page 26