The Year Everything Changed by Georgia Bockoven Read Free Book Online

Rachel having such a hard time believing Connie? The right words were all there, put together in what should have been a convincing way.
    “For you being promoted was like the ugly girl in school making the cheerleading squad. You run with a different crowd when that happens. There isn’t enough time for all those new friends and the old friends, too.”
    Kiss, kiss, kill, kill. Rachel just hadn’t waited long enough. She had witnessed Connie’s sarcasm turned on others but had never been the target. It hurt. “Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, why don’t you tell me why you really wanted to see me.” It was almost impossible to hide her disappointment.
    Connie waited for her drink. “I want you to know that this isn’t easy. For a long time I’ve gone back and forth over whether I should say anything.” She ran her fingertip around the rim of the glass, avoiding Rachel’s gaze. “I know you’re not going to thank me. No one likes hearing this kind of thing. But sometimes, when it’s a friend and you know you’re her only real friend, you have to do what’s right, not what’s easy.”
    Connie moved to the edge of her seat and leaned close. Plainly whatever she was so eager to tell wasn’t a secret. A little investigation and Rachel could find out for herself. She was tempted to leave, to deny Connie the satisfaction that danced in her eyes.
    “Jeff is having an affair.”
    The words hit hard and low and left Rachel reeling. Her salvation came from a childhood that had taught her how to mask her feelings, to keep quiet when someone expected a response, letting them fill the silence, learning more from what was said in those awkward moments than the main text.
    “It’s been going on for months.” Connie picked up her drink. The paper coaster stuck to the glass for several seconds, then fell onto the seat. She didn’t bother retrieving it. Still Rachel said nothing. Connie added, “Everyone at work knows. They’re all talking about it. Some days it’s all they talk about.”
    “I assume I have you to thank for telling them?” Rachel immediately regretted the question. Not only had she given validity to the insane accusation, she’d given Connie the satisfaction of seeing that she cared about being the subject of gossip.
    Connie glared at Rachel. “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”
    “You’re telling me about this alleged affair because . . . ?” Was that really her voice? She sounded so composed, so detached.
    “You’re my friend,” Connie insisted. “And no one else would. They’re all afraid of you.”
    “But you’re not?” Rachel said softly.
    “Why should I be?” The challenge was unmistakable.
    “It’s all in the pecking order, Connie. After a while, if you don’t move up. . . .” She shrugged. “You move out.” Rachel cringed. Had she really just threatened Connie? She had to get out of there. She ran her hand over her skirt, smoothing the exquisite, silk-like wool of the Armani suit, stalling, composing herself, determined she would not let Connie see the devastation she’d come there to create. It was a small thing, but all she had at the moment. She reached for her purse. “I assume that’s it?”
    Clearly unexpected, the question caught Connie off guard. “You don’t want to know who Jeff is seeing? How long it’s been going on—or where or when they meet?”
    Rachel took enough money from her wallet to cover her drink and a tip, pointedly leaving Connie to pay for her own. She stood and slipped her purse strap over her shoulder. Digging deep, she found the strength to pull off a smile. “Not nearly as much as you want to tell me.”
    Numbness replaced bravado on the ride home. Her driver was accustomed to her working in silence during the forty-five-minute trip from the city to Orinda. No reason for gossip later. Nothing to tell the guys back at the limo office.
    The wife being the last to know was such a cliché. One Rachel