“That’s a weird way of putting it, but no, I wasn't.” Ivy scrunches up her nose.
“Trust me. If he saw what you’ve become, I don’t think you’d feel the same way about him,” Tim remarks, a hint of a blush entering his cheeks.
“Get to the point,” I interrupt, not liking where this is leading.
“Eric, you’re well aware of how Cassidy’s parents used to treat us.” His eyes zero in on me. “How we were never good enough for their daughter.”
“Yeah, I remember,” I respond, wishing I could forget.
“Well, they were really drilling that idea into her head during her last year in college. Telling her that she should explore her options. That she should date other people and not be in such a rush to settle down. That she was selling herself short when she had so much to offer.” Tim pauses, waving his hands in the air. “Yada, yada, yada.”
“And how would you know about this?” Ivy jumps in, her ire up, ready to defend me.
“Because she told me a lot over that winter break after Eric broke up with her,” Tim confesses. “More than I cared to know.”
“That’s funny. I thought hearing how her parents would rip me apart would make you feel like a million bucks,” I remark, crossing my arms in front of me, trying not to think about the breakup.
“It did. For a split second…until I realized that they hadn’t even factored me into the equation. I was no threat to their daughter. I was just good ol’ Tim, the one they could depend on to make sure she always got home okay,” he groans, rolling his eyes. “I was even lower on the totem pole than you were. They considered me her watchdog. The one who would keep an eye on her whenever they weren’t around. Tell me. How pathetic is that?”
“You always were the mature, responsible one,” I say, ragging him.
“Always the friend, never the boyfriend,” he concurs, conceding the point.
“See? That’s what I mean!” I exclaim. “You always pussy out instead of manning up.”
“Tim, you’re way too fine a specimen of a man to be single this long,” Ivy remarks, causing my stomach to clench. “But what does all this have to do with Mr. Price?”
“Maybe I’m unconsciously trying to avoid the subject,” Tim replies guiltily, scratching the back of his head. “Let’s just say Conrad Price is exactly the kind of man Cassidy’s parents dreamed of for their little girl.”
“But he was married!” Ivy exclaims.
“That didn’t mean their ears didn’t perk up when she started mentioning seeing him around campus,” Tim counters, eying me warily. “He’s one of the school’s major benefactors, and when they invited him to address the senior class as part of an alumni seminar, their paths happened to cross.”
“I don’t remember that seminar,” I retort.
“You wouldn’t, would you? You were too busy taking twenty-one credits that semester so you could graduate early. Cassidy complained that you never had time for her anymore, that you were always in the library,” Tim reveals, resting his hands on his knees.
“Yeah, because I was working on building our future together, not because I was goofing off, going to frat parties. I was pulling all-nighters because I was trying to cram in the shitload of course work I had to do,” I reply, defending myself. “She knew that.”
“But it didn’t mean she liked it,” Tim says dryly.
“So what? You’re saying Cassidy fooled around with Mr. Price?” Ivy asks incredulously.
“He bowled her over,” Tim agrees somewhat uneasily. “He was handsome and sophisticated, the kind of man her parents taught her to look up to. He’s the one guy who hailed from her hometown who’d actually made something of himself. He hadn’t just succeeded. He’d created an empire. The Price name was something she both feared and admired. But to have him notice her was something else entirely.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” I exhale loudly, pinching my brow.
“I felt the same way when she first told me,” Tim admits, willing to commiserate with me. “I thought I was imagining things. Cassidy and Conrad Price? It didn’t make any sense. Cassidy grew up so sheltered. What did she have to offer someone like him?”
“So she slept with him?” I ask, biting the bullet, hoping he’ll put me out of my misery.
“He’s the one who pursued her,” Tim replies, dodging the question. “He spotted her in the crowd at that seminar. She said he kept looking over at her, making eye contact while he was speaking. She thought it was nothing at first, until intermission when his assistant came over, asking if she’d be willing to meet with him in the dean’s office after everything wrapped up.”