Little Gray Dress

by Aimee Brown

  “Mom, don’t get involved.”

  “This involves you too, Jack. I would think it would be of importance to you.”

  Jack’s eyes widen.

  “Elsie Graham, the mother of a girl called Madison Graham, told me a story I couldn’t quite believe at the time,” Amelia continues. Greta sucks in her breath and suddenly looks completely terrified, unsure where to run. “You are friends with Madison Graham, am I right?”

  “Not really.” Greta shakes her head continuously.

  Amelia frowns at Greta. “Maybe you’re not close any longer, but you were close a couple of years ago, correct?”

  Greta is still shaking her head. “I wouldn’t say close, I knew of her.”

  “You knew ‘of her’ enough to send her in Jack’s direction when he was looking for a new assistant?” This time, Greta doesn’t answer and just shrugs her shoulders.

  “Wait a minute…” Jack interrupts. “Madison Graham, my former assistant? That Madison?”

  “Yes.” Amelia nods her head and glances back at me. “This would be the same Madison.” Amelia sighs heavily and walks over to speak to Greta face to face. “I’m going to give you one chance to tell the truth. If you don’t, I will make sure you never fit in my crowd again.”

  “You can’t do that,” Greta says, with a haughty look on her face. “I was already in that crowd without you.”

  “Go on then, let’s hear the truth – or I’ll tell the story Elsie filled me in on.”

  Everyone’s head turns to Greta, who immediately looks to the ground before grabbing Jack’s hand in hers.

  “It’s nothing, really. I just… uh… That first time I met you, at the Christmas party, remember?”

  Jack nods his head before subtly side-eyeing me. The misery Greta mentioned earlier is now unmistakably present. It’s her. She’s been causing it. He doesn’t want to be with her.

  “I… uh… I couldn’t quit thinking about you, and you wouldn’t answer my calls, so I… I heard that you needed an assistant and my fr— a girl I knew from college was looking for a job. I thought she’d be a great fit so I sent her your way.” She shrugs her shoulders as if that’s the end of the story, but Amelia clears her throat and Greta sighs again. “I asked her to bring me up to you and get your reaction, but it didn’t faze you because of her.” Greta glares at me.

  “Yes,” Jack says with a nod. Again our eyes meet momentarily.

  “Go on.” Amelia says.

  “So, I came up with a plan.” Greta is speaking in almost a whisper at this point.

  “What plan?” I ask her.

  “A plan to steal Jack from you.”

  “My God,” Liam says next to me under his breath. “She is crazy.” He looks at me, his eyebrows narrowed but eyes wide.

  “I’m not crazy.” Greta glares at Liam, presumably having overheard his comment. “I was just in love. I asked Madison to make sure that Jack dumped Emi. What happened is not what I expected, or planned, but it worked.” The nonchalant shrug of her shoulders makes me want to run across the room and strangle her.

  “Are you telling me that you sent Madison into my office that day?” Jack immediately pulls his hand from hers and walks away from her.

  “Not exactly.” Greta follows him. “She did that on her own; I just told her when to do it. Madison knew Emi was coming to meet you for lunch that day, so she made sure Emi would catch you… uh… ya know.”

  “No… I don’t know. Catch me what?” Jack suddenly turns towards her, his face flushed and showing a glare I’ve never witnessed before.

  “You know… with her.” Greta’s shoulders shrug again.

  I immediately look at Jack. Our eyes lock. She did this. She ruined my life. She ruined our life. She did it on purpose, and she doesn’t even care. Suddenly I find myself feeling dizzy, my hand over my mouth and unable to say anything. I feel like I need to sit down before I fall over. I glance around the room, panicked. Everyone looks as shocked as I feel.

  “I wasn’t with her,” Jack says, and turns to me. “This is what I’ve wanted to talk to you about.” He walks over to me but doesn’t get too close because Liam suddenly grabs my hand protectively. Jack frowns when he sees it but turns his gaze back to me. “I didn’t sleep with Madison that day. Or any other day, for that matter. I was gone that morning at a meeting across town, which you knew about. When I came back she was in my office, nearly naked, and threw herself at me. I tried to push her away, but she was all over me and I didn’t want to risk hurting her. When you walked in she had pushed me on to the couch with her and it just…” Jack’s eyes glisten over with emotion and he stops talking for a moment. He sighs heavily while running a hand through his hair again. “I never slept with Madison, Ems. She kissed me, yes, but I never kissed her back. I would never have done that to you.”

  I stand stunned. I felt Liam drop my hand a moment ago, my free hand still covering my own mouth. I blink back the tears as quickly as possible but one escapes, sliding down my cheek and causing Jack to reach up and wipe it away.

  His hand stops at my neck. “I’m sorry I let you down.” When his voice cracks, my tears spill over like a waterfall that I can’t control. He didn’t cheat on me with Madison? How could he not have said this for two whole years?!

  “I can’t…” I say to Jack. “There’s something else.”

  “What?” he asks.

  I force myself to breathe and quickly wipe away the tears. “It wasn’t just Madison.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know. It’s because of her.” When I glance at Greta she has an evil grin on her face knowing exactly what I’m talking about. “I saw her, at our apartment later that day. I went to talk to you, but before I could get out of the elevator I heard your voices and you let her into the apartment. Our apartment, Jack.”

  “You saw that? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jack is standing with a hand in his hair again, his jaw hanging open and brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Come on… I walked in on you… doing I don’t know what with Madison, and then later that same day I find practically the same thing with Greta! What was I supposed to say?”

  “Nothing happened between Greta and me. Yes, she showed up at our apartment, and yes, I invited her in, but it was to tell her to back off. She’d been relentless with the texting and calling my office. I’d avoided her the whole time and I’d finally had enough. I needed her to know that her and I would never happen. I needed her to see how serious I was when I asked her, for the thousandth time, to leave me alone. She was there maybe five minutes and I sent her home. Right?” He looks at Greta, who nods with tears streaming down her face.

  “He didn’t want me. Because of you.” She spits the word you like it’s poison. “When I did finally win him over, we were perfect until you showed up again. Right, baby?” She tries to sidle up to Jack, but he shakes his head and backs away towards his mother.

  “No, we’re not perfect, we were never perfect. In fact, we’re over.” He doesn’t even look at her when he says it; he stares at the floor and then looks up at me his eyes filled with regret. Yet again, it nearly tears out what’s left of my heart.

  “WHAT?!” she squeals. “You’re going to let her do this to us?”

  The moment the words come out of her mouth, the sorrow in his eyes turns to a rage I’ve never seen in Jack, and he turns his attention directly to her.

  “YOU did this to us,” he growls at her. “And I use the word us loosely. I’m not sure what we ever even were.” His finger is nearly touching her face as she backs away from him in fear. “You lied from the very start, you manipulated your way in.” He stops and stares at the floor. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I’ve been so hung up on—” He glances at me before turning back to Greta. “I can ever look at you the same again.” He looks at his mother as if they are having a silent conversation. “You need to leave.” Jack backs away from Greta before turning away from her altogether, not even wa
iting for her answer.

  I look at Greta, whose face is now a mix of horror, disbelief and heartbreak. I’ve never seen anything more fitting for a girl who is pure evil. A piece of my heart starts to heal instantly, and I don’t feel even a little bit bad about it.

  I thought I wanted to see Jack miserable, but that was before I knew what I now know. Seeing Greta finally get what she deserves is far better.

  “Before you leave,” Amelia says, “you may hand over my mother’s ring.” She holds her hand out to Greta and we watch her pull her hand to her heart quickly.

  “What? Jack…” She calls to him. He’s now standing near the reception entry doors. His tie has been loosened and his hair is ruffled from him continually running his hands through it.

  “Goodbye, Greta.” He looks at me and then over at Liam before dropping his head and leaving the room.

  “You bitch!” she screams at me before Amelia steps in between us.

  “I’ve notified security, and if you don't go in the next five minutes, you will be escorted out of the building by them. It’s your choice.” She again holds out her hand for the ring, and Greta violently jerks it off her finger and hurls it to the floor. The stomping sound of her exiting before security arrives echoes in my head in sync with my heartbeat pounding in my ears. We watch the elevator doors close behind her, and finally, for a moment, I can breathe.

  “Let’s all get back to the reception so we don’t ruin Hannah’s day.” Amelia nods a small smile at me before walking towards the doors into the reception room.

  “We’ll just leave you two alone.” Lily and Josh sneak away leaving Liam and me standing in the foyer.

  “I… uh…” Liam runs his hand through his hair nervously. “I’m so sorry. I know I’ve only known you a few days, but that made even me sick. Is there anything I can do?”

  I shake my head, fighting back the tears, again. I feel like walking in on Jack and Madison has only just happened, and I’m losing everything for the second time.

  “Do you need to go talk to him?”

  “No,” I answer quickly, turning to Liam, and forcing a smile. “I don’t, there is nothing to say right now. Let’s get back.”

  “Emi...” He gets closer and grabs both of my hands. “You have every right to be upset. If you want me to go, I totally understand.”

  “Why would I want you to go?”

  “I just… I know this is a lot to deal with, and I really think you and Jack need to talk.” He sighs the sort of sigh you make when you give people bad news. “Can I give you some advice?”

  He continues without waiting for my answer. “You are an amazing woman. For months, my heart and my head have been a mess because of my break-up, and then you wander into my bar and make me see things in a way I haven’t in a while. But you have a lot going on here that needs to be sorted, and I think after all this,” he motions to the now empty foyer, “you should really see what you feel for Jack.”

  “You think I should get back with Jack?”

  “I think only you know the answer to that. But I do think you should work out what all this information revealed tonight means to you.”

  “Oh.”

  “I think it’s best if I go. You know where to find me.” He forces an almost sad smile and I watch him as he slowly walks into the elevator. He nods his head in my direction as the doors close behind him, leaving me alone with only my confusion to keep me company.

  Another tear falls down my cheek before I can wipe it away. I can’t just fall apart, this is my brother’s wedding. I walk to the doorway and watch the excitement of the room. People dancing, eating, laughing, and here I stand with only half a heart left. Lily waves over at me from the table. The last thing I want is to ruin my brother’s wedding day. Whether I want to or not, I have to pull myself together.

  “Where’s Liam?” Lily asks.

  “He left.”

  “Oh. Ems…” She smiles a pitiful smile at me and pats the chair next to her. “I’m so sorry, but I think he did the right thing. You need to deal with this right now.”

  “I know.” I sigh and look across the room at Jack. He’s sitting at a table alone, staring at a beer bottle in front of him, looking as miserable as I’ve ever seen him. Even though I’ve no idea what should be said, I know I need talk to him about this.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Five Years Ago

  Downtown Portland, Oregon

  The Fight

  Sometimes I wonder why anyone would ever want to be a lawyer. It seems like all Jack ever does is work. If he’s not working on an active case he’s working his ass off because he’s trying to get to be a partner of the firm. He’s good at his job, he really is, but is it worth risking your personal life for?

  “When is the last time you guys even had dinner together?”

  I’m sitting at a table in the middle of a bustling restaurant with Lily and Josh. I feel like I’m the third single wheel, even though I’m not even close to single.

  “Over a month ago,” I sigh, and push the food around my plate. “I try, really I do. I’ve even scheduled dinner dates, and he’ll call at the last minute and have to cancel. I just don’t get it. Should I be worried?”

  Lily’s frown says it all. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

  “No.” Josh rolls his eyes. “You girls think too much. Maybe he’s just busy with work. It’s not like he has any kind of malicious bone in his body. Jack’s the best guy we all know.”

  I feel myself nodding but also wondering if that’s true. “Maybe we missed some kind of signal?”

  “Signal?” He grabs his beer and leans back in his chair, both Lily and I waiting for his response. “Maybe it’s a signal that he worked his ass off in college and he’s almost accomplished one of his goals. Do you guys have these conversations about me?”

  “No,” says Lily, wildly trying to silently signal me to agree with her.

  “Yes,” I say at the same moment, not quite picking up her signal quick enough and earning a confused look from Josh.

  “Great.”

  “You haven’t done anything completely stupid like this yet, so we haven’t really had to.” Lily plants a reassuring kiss upon his cheek.

  “Jack’s not doing anything stupid,” Josh repeats to me.

  “Maybe he isn’t, but don’t you think him pushing her aside for weeks at a time is a little risky?” Lily asks him. It seems that I’m being completely booted out of the conversation.

  “How’s that?” he asks.

  “What if he’s pushing her into the arms of some other attention-giving man?” Lily replies, clearly disgusted by Josh’s nonchalant attitude over this entire conversation.

  “Is he?” He looks directly at me.

  “Well… no,” I sigh. “But he could be.”

  “But he’s not, and it’s not like you’re going to get tired of him and dump him, so I say, learn to live with it. He’s a hard-working guy and he wants to make the most of a career he loves. Either accept it or move on.”

  “Have I ever told you I don’t love your latest taste in men?” I say to Lily, who nods in agreement before giggling.

  “He’ll learn the ways of us soon enough.”

  A roll of Josh’s eyes says maybe he won’t.

  He could have a point, though. Up until now Jack and I have never had an issue, in fact, we’ve never even had a serious fight. Maybe he really is completely innocent, and this entire problem is quite possibly just in my head.

  But then again… maybe he’s not. Men do these things; they get wrapped up in their work and decide they don’t have time for a relationship. What if that’s what this is?

  “I’m just going to have to talk to him about it.”

  “You should. Do it tonight… Surprise him at his office.”

  “Yeah, great idea. Men love that… when women surprise us anywhere. Don’t do that if your relationship means anything to you.”

  “I’ll do it.” I glance over at Josh who’s giving me the
I warned you look. He doesn’t know everything; he just knows a man’s perspective. I respect that, but I know Jack. And something’s wrong.

  I order our favorite meals from Pastini: tortellini gorgonzola for me and fettuccini alfredo with chicken for Jack. Pastini is the restaurant I choose to eat at whenever it’s my turn to choose. I go to the Piece of Cake bakery and grabbed an entire Fantasy Cake. Which is the best cake in the entire world… cheesecake on top of chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. It’s like a chocolate cheesecake heaven. I even grab a bottle of wine that cost more than $15. Jack should be more than impressed.

  I probably should have considered how I’d get this all into the building before ordering every food item I adore, but sometimes the stomach speaks louder than the brain.

  “Do you need help?” a voice behind me asks. When I glance back I see Rachel, Jack’s assistant, coming out of the stairwell. “Oh! Emi, it’s so good to see you.”

  “Hey, Rachel. I’d love some help. I’m just bringing up dinner to Jack, I feel like I never see him anymore.”

  “Oh… Jack actually isn’t in the office; didn’t he tell you?”

  “Tell me?”

  “He and Andy were meeting with a client in Seattle. They left first thing this morning.”

  I drop the Pastini bag on the floor. “In Seattle?”

  “I’m sorry. Can I help you at least get everything back out to your car?”

  For a moment, I stare at Rachel, confused. Why wouldn’t he tell me he was leaving the state?

  “Yes, yes… That would be great,” I say to Rachel, hoping she doesn’t notice the panicked look on my face.

  We load the stuff into my car, and Rachel, the sweet girl she is, waves as she walks towards her car in the garage nearby. Now, as if never calling or showing up for our dates isn’t enough, he’s running off out of state, without even telling me. I violently jab his number into my phone only for it to go straight to voicemail. Either his phone isn’t on, or he’s intentionally ignoring me. The asshole. I dial Lily and thankfully she picks up on the first ring.