Chapter 49

The girls’ trip in the car began in silence. Hailey was still seething and Tiffany and Molly were still half-drunk and half-asleep.

“We’re almost to your friend’s house,” Hailey said, the first words spoken during the 10-minute trip. “Do you two want me to drop you off?”

“I’ve made a right ass of myself already,” Molly said. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Tiffany?” Hailey pushed when the dark-haired woman was silent.

“Like it would make a difference what I want,” Tiffany hissed.

“I’m sure you promised all the guys they would get laid,” Hailey said. “And you’ve got a hole for each of them. I’ll drop you if you want me to.”

Tiffany was silent.

“I searched your bags when Phil pointed out that you set me up to cheat on him,” Hailey continued.

“I didn’t set you up for shit,” Molly said. “If you wanted to get laid, it was there. It’s not my business who you fuck – or who Phil’s fucking either. I put something sexy in my bag in case I liked one of them – or I got drunk enough that it didn’t matter whether I liked him or not. What you did was your responsibility.”

“Exactly!” Hailey said. “What I do is my responsibility! Phil was not screwing Nikki. I can’t believe I ever thought that – and I can’t believe I shared my fears with a bunch of self-centered cunts like you three. At least Molly doesn’t hide it. The rest of you pretend you’re supporting me when instead you’re just getting whatever you can from me.”

“Like you’re not doing that with Phil,” Molly said. “Look, he’s a great guy but we all know you’ll get tired of him. You can cast me as some narcissist if you want. I really don’t care. I’m not asking anyone to act like I’m perfect. I like hanging out with you guys because you’re fun. The past month hasn’t been fun. That’s the extent of my thoughts.”

“You really think I’ll get tired of him?” Hailey asked her passenger. It was something Phil had brought up, too.

“Of course we do!” Tiffany said from the backseat where she was sprawled out. “You use your looks and sex to keep him interested. You keep saying that you’re not the same person you used to be. From where I’m sitting, you just hide it better now than you used to. Once you’ve secured your cushy job at Barton, you’ll go right back to looking for your next score. You showed that today. If you didn’t know what we planned for you today then you’re stupid. And Hailey, you’re not stupid.”

“I suspected,” Hailey said as she pulled into the parking garage. “It didn’t mean that I planned to follow through with your plan. In fact, I decided before we even left that I wouldn’t. It’s why I wore a conservative suit and packed a pair of granny panties and a long T-shirt to sleep in. I’d made up my mind before we ever got there that I was spending the night at Beth’s tonight. I was on my way there when she called. It’s why I was dressed.”

“Yeah and now Tim won’t even talk to me Monday,” Tiffany groused as she got out. Hailey waited until they entered the apartment before she replied.

“You had better worry more about someone else being too pissed off to put up with you any more,” Hailey said. She gestured for Molly and Tiffany to join an already unhappy Katelyn on the couch. When Tiffany just glared at her, she grabbed the smaller girl and threw her down.

“Get this through your fucking heads, bitches,” she yelled. “I’m done with you. Don’t ask me for a favor, don’t ask me for advice, don’t ask me to pick you up a sandwich while I’m out. I am fucking sick to death of all of you. You three have come right to the edge of ruining things with Phil and I just sat around and let you. Well, no more! If you make a run at him, you make a run at me. Phil might not slap you down but I sure as fuck will. Tiffany, you asked Phil what he’d do if you didn’t stay out of our business today. Beth cut in before I could answer for him. I knew what he’d say. He’d be very disappointed or some bullshit like that.

“Well, here’s my answer. I will kick the shit out of you. Katelyn, I might not be able to take you in a fair fight so I’ll catch you while you’re sleeping. I will kick the shit out of you and when we get back to school I will absolutely fucking bury you. Phil won’t let me do it here and I don’t have the power to oppose him. But I will when we’re back at Heilman.”

“If you still have Phil,” Tiffany said. “If you don’t, who is with him will have that power. You better remember that.”

“You’ve developed a backbone in the past couple of months,” Hailey said dismissively. “It’s a shame your brain didn’t grow with it. Do you plan to make a run at him?”

“What if I do?” Tiffany asked. “Do you think you can stop it? I can fuck him as good as you can and that’s all you got to keep him interested. If you don’t grow tired of him, he’ll surely get sick of your shit. You’re no different than you ever were.”

“Then you know not to fuck with me,” Hailey hissed dangerously.

“Yeah, yeah,” Molly said, “you’re both badasses. You both want Phil. We get it – and we don’t care.”

“Like you don’t want him,” Tiffany asked.

“I’d fuck him if I got the chance,” Molly said. “But long-term, not really. Running a business empire makes your knickers all wet but I like a different sort.”

“What about you, Katelyn?” Hailey asked. “Is that what your little escapade was about? You want to make Phil notice you?”

“No,” Katelyn said. A part of her was sad and a part of her was angry. “I’m not interested in Phil that way. I think I just saw a powerful black face and let him draw me in. I really didn’t know he was married.”

“Oh, please,” Tiffany said. “You’re as stupid as Hailey, then.”

“Seriously,” Molly added. “It was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes.”

“It only took Phil one look,” Hailey pointed out. “But maybe I am stupid because I didn’t think he was lying. You know he lost his job, don’t you?”

“What?” Katelyn asked.

“That was the proviso that Phil put to Joe Pepper,” Hailey confided. “He gets sacked by Monday or everything hits the papers. Did Phil mention the mayor’s misdeeds to you?”

Katelyn nodded.

“I’m going to tell you all something,” Hailey said, sitting down so they were all on the same level. “Phil cares about all of you. He will tear down the mayor just to get to Joe Pepper if it becomes necessary. He’ll destroy Pepper’s career if he doesn’t do exactly what Phil says.”

“Oh, please,” Tiffany scoffed. “It’s Phil!”

“Phil has changed,” Hailey said. “We haven’t seen him much for the past few weeks but you all caught a glimpse of those changes today. Part of it was the news he got today. He failed. Waterford is likely going to collapse unless Beth intervenes.”

Three faces looked at her incredulously.

“What do you mean he failed?” Tiffany asked, as if the mere possibility was out of the realm of consideration.

“He couldn’t do it,” Hailey explained. “Maybe if he had another month, he could have pulled it off. He came damned close but that just made it worse. Think of this, Tiffany. He took a company that was in the same situation as yours. In five weeks, he almost pulled it out of the fire. He called in favors and put pressure on buyers and banks. Today he threw the lead negotiator from one of the largest software corporations in America out of the office and told them he would smash every copy of the software before he let them have it. He wasn’t kidding in the slightest.

“He made Joe Pepper, a very powerful man himself, back down and he didn’t bat an eye. Since I’m being honest, you should know something else. He might insist you find other lodgings. He might insist we all do. Katelyn, did you take my advice and check the listings?”

Katelyn stared at her for a moment before nodding.

“What did you find?” Hailey asked.

“We could probably afford a one-bedroom in Newtown,” she said. “And that’s if all four of us chipped in. None of us is making a lot of money. You’re probably being paid more than the rest of us, Hailey, and you’d have trouble finding anything that wasn’t a bedsit.”

Hailey nodded.

“That means you’d have to move to the suburbs and buy a car,” Hailey pointed out. “With all that in mind, let me ask you to consider something: What does Phil get from the relationship with any of us?”

“You’ve got an obvious answer,” Tiffany pointed. “He gets laid as often as he wants.”

Hailey rolled her eyes.

“You don’t really understand how things really are,” Hailey said. “You know all those disposable celebrities that we make fun of? The ones who are famous because their parents are rich?”

“Yeah,” Tiffany answered.

“Phil could be that way if he wanted,” Hailey said. “Beth is a very powerful woman. I thought I knew how influential she was before I started working for her but I had no idea. You’ve heard me mention a few of the people I’ve met in the last month. That’s just the ones I haven’t been advised were confidential. The most impressive names I have been asked not to mention. Phil could have his picture on the Internet every day with a different movie star or a supermodel. He’s rich in his own right. He’s hot as hell and he’s articulate. We could easily see Phil Warner in Monaco one day and on the beach at St. Kitt’s the next. He would have a different woman on his arm each day – and both of them would put the four of us to shame. He doesn’t get anything from me that he couldn’t get from anyone – including from you.”

“I think you love him,” Molly said.

“She just doesn’t know what that means,” Katelyn added angrily. “She’s never loved anyone before and she doesn’t understand that love means you make sacrifices and you overlook flaws and you don’t run off to a pool party the first time he doesn’t act just the way you want him to.”

She glared at Hailey.

“I know he hurt you,” Katelyn said. “And I’m sure he’s sorry for whatever happened with Nikki Bradshaw.”

“Nothing happened,” Molly cut in. “Or so he said.”

Katelyn turned to look at her before turning back to Hailey.

“He ... he didn’t?” Katelyn asked incredulously. “But you were so sure!”

“I was an idiot,” Hailey said. “I knew how I would probably act and I put my insecurities onto him. I believe him. He didn’t have anything to do with her.”

Katelyn shook her head angrily. Phil’s indiscretion had hurt her and shocked her. She began to wonder if that’s why she was such an easy mark for Josh Carter. If Phil Warner wasn’t immune to screwing around with a coworker, why should she worry about it?

“I know I don’t add anything,” Katelyn said. “I’ve often wondered why he put up with us. I know I’d miss him if he weren’t around, though.”

“You’d miss him or you’d miss all this?” Hailey asked. “I’m not being a bitch. I’ve spent a lot of the day wondering the same thing about myself. I think I have my answer. Tiffany, you might get your wish. I’m not sure we’re dating any more. I’m not sure where we stand. The four of us might be given tomorrow to find a place.”

“I couldn’t blame him,” Molly said. “Maybe we should think about it.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Tiffany countered.

“Maybe we should consider that Phil could find better friends than us by putting an ad in the classifieds,” Katelyn said. “We can’t keep doing this. Why did we immediately think he was dicking that skank? Is it because we could see she wanted him to? Or is it because we all know if we were in her shoes Phil would have shown up to find us naked on his desk one day?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Molly admitted with a frown. “Christ, we should have known that.”

“What do we do?” Tiffany wondered.

“I meant what I said,” Hailey said. “I’m through with you. You do what you want. I’m going to prove I love him.”

Phil pondered the parting exchange with his mother on the way up the elevator.

After her heartfelt statement, he had readied himself to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at her. She was still sitting and smiling at him.

“When Joe Pepper calls you tomorrow to ask you to intercede, you tell him this from me,” he said. “I want the man fired. He is not permitted to retire. He is not permitted to resign. He is fired. I’ll let Joe pick the reason but let him know that I think maybe it’s time we hear a little honesty from a politician. Who knows, it might start a trend.”

His mother’s smile didn’t waver a fraction.

“I’ll tell him word for word,” Beth said. “And I’ll add my own personal endorsement of your idea, if you don’t mind.”

Now he was heading up to the top floor and his mind was miles away from Joe Pepper. He wasn’t sure of how he would deal with Hailey’s friends but he knew he wasn’t going to deal with it tonight. He planned to go in, take a hot shower and go to bed. He might go to bed alone or Hailey might join him. For all he knew, Molly, Katelyn and Tiffany might be face down on the bed with asses in the air waiting for him to punish them for their sins.

He shook his head to clear the image. He set the flowers down and dug into his pocket for his wallet for the keycard. Four faces turned to him when the door opened. Three wore looks of varying levels of contrition. Hailey’s was still imbued with anger but that changed when she saw him standing there.

“Ladies,” Phil said, nodding at the ensemble cast on the couch.

Katelyn was the first one off the couch. She hugged him firmly.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Phil said, stepping out of her embrace. “None of us have been at our best the past few days. It’s over and we’ll move on.”

“Do you want us to leave?” Molly asked.

“That’s up to you,” Phil answered. “I don’t really see where you can go. You’re still welcome to live here. It’s convenient to all your jobs. If we find it won’t work, I’ll move out.”

“No you won’t,” Tiffany said. “You’re not the one who fucked up. We assumed you would behave like we do. We forgot that you’re a better person than we are. We were jealous and we were scared. We did something stupid and we’re all sorry about it. I’m the worst offender and I’ll leave if you want me to.”