Gretchen: Spill the beans. We need deets.
Greer: It's too much to text. Let's just say that Asher bribed my dad to get him to put on a wedding so I could manage it and he could be around me, so now I'm sending his ex to spy on him and see if he wants to be with me.
Greer: I guess that wasn't too much to text after all.
Chelsea: !! You sent Donna?
Taylor: Wait, he put together the whole wedding thing just so he could be around you?
Greer: Yup.
Taylor: I don't know if that's sweet or crazy.
Gretchen: OMG I AM SO PISSED AT HIM. Does he know how much I have needed you in the last month? I am kicking his ass. I had to taste my own damn cakes!!! There is no cake on cabbage soup diet!
Brontë: I . . . also think it's kind of sweet. But I married a manipulator of my own. :)
Chelsea: Aw, I was kind of hoping Bron-Bron would have a quote about liars being great in bed or some shit.
Brontë: I'm mostly familiar with the classics, and I don't think Aristotle said a lot about liars being great in bed.
Taylor: Socrates?
Gretchen: Can we focus on the wounded party here? IE me? I've been without my wedding planner for the past month because your dad's wedding is a fucking fake?
Greer: It is apparently being done for publicity and the fact that Asher bribed him.
Taylor: Aww, for you? <3 <3
Gretchen: Taylor, shaddup. This is still NOT CUTE.
Chelsea: So . . . you're throwing Donna at him?
Greer: I have to know if he really wants me.
Chelsea: I just worry you're going to get hurt, Greer.
Greer: I'm already hurt. I just need to know if the wound is survivable.
Chelsea: :(
Greer: I can't trust what he says, not right now. This is the only way I'll know. I give him what I think he wants the most and if he gives it up to be with me, then I know he really wants me.
Taylor: This sounds like it's going to backfire spectacularly.
Greer: Yeah, it does. Which is why I'm having a nervous breakdown.
Taylor: That does it. I'm on my way over with pizza!
Greer: Don't you have a raid or something?
Chelsea: She always has a raid.
Taylor: I'm making Loch play my toon. It's going to be awful but I told him if he fucks up bad to pull the cord out of the router and pretend a power outage. Coming over with pizza!
Greer smiled despite her misery. Her friends were awesome. She really was lucky to have such wonderful support. Count on them to cheer her up when she was down and have her back no matter what terribly shady things she was up to.
The screen flickered and a new text rolled in.
Donna: Hey, it's Donna. The plan's on. We're meeting tomorrow for lunch. He wanted me to call him tonight but I'm keeping our agreement and insisting we meet in person. You going to be there?
Oh god. Oh god. This was really moving forward. Greer stared at her phone, panicking. Had he answered so fast because it was Donna? Or because of Greer's name? She hoped this wasn't a mistake. It felt like a mistake, but it was too late to change course, wasn't it? She agonized for a moment, and then typed her answer.
Greer: I'll be there.
***
Greer should have guessed that Donna wouldn't play fair, but it was still a little shocking to see her rival show up in a pale blue sheath dress with a low-cut vee in front that showed off more cleavage than Greer owned. Her hair was even bigger today, no doubt from a salon blowout, her makeup flawless. She looked dewy and fresh despite the summer weather.
And Greer? Greer's hair was in a fat braid over one shoulder, and she wore no makeup. Her glasses were smudged and kept sliding down her nose thanks to the heat, and her tank top and capris were a hideous maternity version of sailor chic that made her look more like a dumpy prisoner than a sassy yachter. She didn't care, really. If Asher had been after looks alone, there were a million hot girls in NYC that he could have banged without following her to Vegas. It made Donna look as if she was trying too hard. That made Greer feel better. If Donna thought there was no competition, would she have gone to such lengths to get dolled up?
They were in front of the same small cafe they'd met at yesterday. It seemed like the right place to have the meeting, but to Greer's chagrin, the place was nearly empty today. She'd have to sit far in the back and Donna in the front. That meant she wouldn't get a chance to look at Asher, and for some reason that was disappointing.
"All right," Donna said, pulling a blinged-up phone out of her purse. "I'm going to put you on speaker and then put the phone on the table facedown so he can't see that it's on. I'm also going to put you on mute so you can't speak up and ruin things, okay?"
"That's fine. I'll wear headphones so there's no chance of him hearing noise feedback, too." She held up her earbuds, demonstrating. "I don't want him to know I'm listening."
Donna nodded. "I'm warning you now, though. I want him back and I'll do whatever it takes to get him back. So be prepared to hear some things you don't want to." Her look was confident.
"I don't know that I want to hear any of this. I just know that I have to find out the truth." And if you want him so badly, why did you let him go in the first place?
"Whatever." Donna shrugged, the same unconcerned smile on her face. For a moment, Greer wanted to punch her-not for being smug, but for being such an awful person. For betraying Asher and nearly breaking him, and now deciding that she wanted her discarded toy back, like some spoiled child.
Whatever indeed. "Let's just plan our seating, all right? In case he shows up early."
Greer sat in a very back booth, hunching her shoulders and pulling the menu up to obscure her face. The table that Donna had chosen was directly in front by the windows. There would be no missing her, and no need to head to the back of the restaurant. Greer's chosen seat had her back to the two of them.
Her phone rang and she put in her earbuds.
"Putting you on speaker," Donna murmured and then set the phone down.
Greer put her own phone dutifully on mute and listened to the soft sounds of the cafe. Napkins rustled and forks clanked against plates, but through it all she could hear the soft rustle of Donna's dress and her light, sweet humming to herself. Like this was a party or a fun reunion .
This wasn't fun for Greer. Her entire body was trembling with anxiety. There were so many things that could go wrong. She was spying on him like a big snoop, and she knew if he ever found out, he'd be upset. Heck, she would be if someone did this to her. It didn't matter that he'd concocted all kinds of lies to get closer to Greer and the baby; what she was doing was equally wrong and that didn't sit well with her. Worse, what if he saw Donna and immediately fell in love all over again? Donna was beautiful and everything Greer was not-graceful, showy, extroverted, sophisticated. Hell, she even hummed sweetly. Greer couldn't sing for shit. She'd grown up in titty-mag central and knew more about nipple alignment post – boob job and asshole bleach than any human probably should. All she brought to a relationship was a fat wallet and some dubious connections.
And a baby, but the baby was a question mark because she didn't know that Asher even wanted one. He didn't need her money, just like she didn't need his.
As minutes ticked past, she grew increasingly nervous. A cafe employee walked past and gave her an odd look, and it made Greer worry. Should she leave? If she was on speakerphone, there was no need for her to be in the same establishment. What if he saw her sitting here and realized he was being spied on? That she was eavesdropping? Maybe she should go next door.
She got to her feet, and as she did, she saw Asher enter the cafe. Oh. She quickly slid back into her seat, but not before she got a good look at him and drank in his features. God, he was gorgeous. His hair was slightly tousled and a little long, as if he hadn't had a chance to cut it. His face had looked pale and strained, and he hadn't shaved. His suit was immaculate, but she didn't care about that.
Asher had looked . . . tired. Weary. Was he worried over her? Her heart clenched. Or was something else wrong?
"Asher!" Donna's coo got Greer's attention and she clutched her phone in her hands, hunching over it in the booth like Gollum with a ring. "Oh my goodness, look at you. I haven't seen you in forever."
"Donna." His voice was abrupt, and that made Greer's heart sing a little. "I didn't know you'd moved back to the city. What's this about?"
"I did! But don't change the subject on me-don't I get a hug? I haven't seen you in two years."
There was a massive rustle of fabric that indicated that Donna was moving, and Greer desperately wanted to turn around and peek at them. Was Asher going to hug Donna? Or was he going to blow her off?
"We didn't exactly part under friendly circumstances, Donna. You leaked private information about my company to a rival."
"That was a mistake." Donna's voice grew sad. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but it was a big mistake, Asher. Haven't you ever made a mistake you regretted?"