She sniffed. "It is the only one. I looked all afternoon. There is nothing down here in nowhere Texas."
"Why are you only looking here? What about the rest of the state? Or Florida? Or California? God, that place is loaded with reporters."
I didn't expect the hurt look on her face.
"You think I should move?"
I realized when the words came out of her mouth what she was thinking. "I don't want you to move. No. But, I'm trying to think through the practical angles here. If there's nothing here you've got to cast a wider net."
She scooted back. "But you're the reason all of this happened. You are the reason I'm going to lose my job. And you think it's ok if my net takes me to California?"
"Syd, stop before we end up arguing. That's not what I'm saying."
Her eyes flared. I might have already lost.
"This is my first job. My first job. My only job. I don't own twenty different companies. And my bank account isn't overwhelmed with zeros." Her voice rose. "I worked hard to get that job. I moved by myself. I live in a cramped studio apartment. And it's over." Her eyes turned on me. "Because I slept with you."
"Hold on. I seem to remember this has all been mutual." I didn't like the direction this was headed.
"But only one of us has really been in control the entire time."
"You have had as much control as I have. More if you ask me."
She shook her head. "More? How could I have more? You're the one with the car and the trips and the money."
"That has nothing to do with you and me. You know that." I brushed her hair off her shoulder. "You are one of the only women I've been with who didn't care about that stuff. As a matter of fact, I think my money annoys you more than anything."
"It is a little irritating." She scowled.
"Tell me why we're fighting right now? Because all I could think about through those calls and meetings was seeing you at the end of the day. God, I've never rushed through a day before just to get to the end. What have you done to me?"
"I can't stay in South Padre, Mason. It's like a big, sick, twisted joke. I told my boss about you so we could have this, and because of it we can't have it." A tear slid against her cheek.
"You have forgotten who you are dealing with."
Her head cocked to the side. "Do I want to know?"
"Tomorrow, getting a job for you is my top priority. At the very beginning of the list."
"And what about tonight?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh, that's easy. Making you feel better is my top priority."
"You think you can do that?" She sounded doubtful.
I kissed her gently before standing. "You need dinner, a glass of wine, probably a backrub and then a hot bath. Sound good?" I walked to the fridge and began to uncork a bottle of cold wine.
"Did you read that in a book somewhere?" She watched me while I poured a glass and carried it to her.
"Not what you want?"
"Oh, I definitely want it. I'm not going to turn any of it down." She took a sip and sank back on the couch.
I pulled out my phone. "Pete's for dinner? I'll walk over and pick it up. You can hang out here. Relax."
"Pete's sounds good. I want an enormous cheeseburger. Tell Mac to pile on the fries too." She rested her feet on the end of the couch, shoving a pillow out of the way.
I placed the call and ordered two plates to go. "I'll be right back. Enjoy the quiet. We'll figure this out, girl. There's always another deal along the way. We only have to find the right one for you."
I left her sitting on the couch, a glass of wine in hand, the wheels spinning in her head about her job. I knew to her it seemed as if the bottom had fallen out, but I knew better. She was smart and talented. There would be another job. When I returned with dinner I‘d have to tell her how many times I had been fired. It sucked, but it made me stronger. She would bounce back more resilient, more experienced.
Grey was standing next to the bar when I walked in.
"Hey," he greeted me.
"Where's Eden?" I looked around but other than a few guys playing pool, Pete's looked slow tonight.
"She sent me to pick up dinner. What about you?"
I chuckled. "Same. Sydney's back at the condo."
"Think we have time for a beer?" Grey checked over his shoulder as if Eden was about to walk through the door.
The cook was still prepping the orders. I didn't see anything pass through the kitchen window.
"I think we could have one." I sat next to him at the bar.
The wood surface was worn and faded from years of people smoothing their fingers over the waxy coat. I traced the paths their fingers had taken. It hit me my father had probably done the same thing.
Mac slung a towel over his shoulder. "How are you boys doing? The orders are going to be a few more minutes. There was a problem with the fryer, but cook's got it going now."
Grey and I exchanged a look. "Two beers, Mac. We'll sit for a minute."
"You got it." He turned to pour the amber liquid into pilsners.
One of the pool players tapped on the jukebox to change the song. I never heard anything other than country music play at Pete's. Sometimes there was live music. Mac had arranged a squatty stage out of plywood, but Monday night the place was practically dead.
Mac deposited the drinks in front of us. "I'll check on your orders."
"No problem, Mac. We'll sit for a while." I realized I had half a beer back at the condo, but this one tasted good. Cold. I needed to give Sydney a few minutes.
My fingers rubbed into the grooves on the bar. "Did you and Dad come here a lot? I mean, Pops." Hell, I didn't know what to call the man anymore.
Grey's head bobbed. "We did. Sometimes we'd close up the office at the Palm and walk over. But he was more of a whiskey man. Not big on beer."
"Whiskey? Really. Huh."
"I usually left early. He was a talker. He'd run into someone he knew and they'd start on something, and I let him close down the place." Grey shook his head. "He had a way of convincing people to do things even when they didn't want to." He looked at me. "I guess that's where you got it."
I didn't take it as a jab. "We didn't have much in common."
"I think you're wrong about that."
"It wasn't like we spent that much time together. He'd drive in for a night maybe two at the most. And I never felt like he was really there to see me. My mom came first." The bottom of my glass clanked against the bar. "I'm glad he put her first though. She needed him. I don't think he ever realized how much."
Grey adjusted his barstool. "I always thought Pops was a simple man. He worked hard. He lived in the same place his entire life. Took me in. But ever since you showed up, I realized he wasn't simple at all."
I tried to picture the two of them sitting here like this. Stones of jealousy hardened under my skin. Grey knew my dad in a way I never would. Half the people on the island saw something in him I didn't know existed.
"I don't know which one of us gave up first." I swallowed another gulp of beer. "I guess none of that matters now. He's gone."
"What do you think he'd say if he saw us sitting at Pete's drinking a beer?"
I laughed. "No telling. Either run because he got caught." I paused. "Or join us."
Grey pushed his empty glass out of the way. "Yeah, I think he'd join us."
Mac appeared from the kitchen, holding up two white bags. "Y'all better get dinner back to those girls."
"Thanks, Mac." Grey took his order and slapped me on the back as he turned. "Have a good night. Uncle." He said it light-heartedly and it made me smile.
"Tell Eden I said hi."
"Will do."
I stood to pay Mac for dinner before walking out of the bar. This had been one hell of a Monday.
20
Sydney
There was fidgeting. And then there was what I was doing. I crossed my ankles one way and then the other. I pulled the hem of my skirt so much I could see stress lines in the fabric. I didn't know how long Alice was going to make me wait in the conference room.
The door opened and she walked in, only she wasn't alone. Frannie from HR was with her. Shit.
"Thanks for coming in, Sydney." The two women sat across from me.
"Of course." I tried to smile, but my lips felt like they would start to tremble at any second.
Alice cleared her throat. "I had Frannie join us so we can go over everything together."
She didn't need to say another word. I knew exactly what decision she had made. My job at the News & Record was over.
I sat in silence while they explained the company's policies on fraternization with a source. Frannie read an excerpt from the employee handbook and presented a copy of the document I had signed when I was hired. I tried to stay calm, but I felt like I was underwater and their words were muffled by the water in my ears.