She shrugs. 揑 like my jobs, and Ed says棓
揥ho the hell is Ed??I抦 instantly suspicious. My mother is fragile, and she抯 got very little experience with men. A child could take advantage of her.
揕anguage, Gemma,?she scolds. 揌e owns the bar. You know that. He棓 She blushes. 揑 told him about Ben coming here to shovel and he was so upset. He抯 been coming over ever since to take care of things and I guess we抳e sort of begun棓
揊ucking??
揋emma! Jesus, the mouth on you. Dating. But anyway, he says I should take my time and decide what I really want to do with my life, so I抦 just sitting tight for now.?That抯 actually really sensible advice from Ed, if that抯 really his name. But that doesn抰 mean I trust him.
揑抦 going to need to meet this guy,?I warn.
揧ou act like he抯 a stranger, Gemma,?she says. 揑抳e known him for a year. He was just too shy to ask.?
揙r too much of a sociopath,?I suggest. 揟oo busy trying to get rid of the teenage girls he trapped in his basement.?
She frowns at me. 揑抳e been to his house. He doesn抰 have a basement.?
揊ine,?I say with a sigh. 揗aybe he抯 shy.?
Perhaps my mom is getting her Hallmark movie ending after all. I抦 going to need to make a radical change to get my own, however.
I look out the window: the morning light is still gray and sunless, the trees are bare, and less than a mile away the traffic on 66 is at a standstill, crowded with angry, stressed-out commuters.
I didn抰 especially like growing up in DC, and there抯 nothing about it I like now, but I need a new playing field entirely, and I suppose the logical one is here. My father did the right thing, at last, and would it be so bad, working at his firm? I抎 enter as a partner, I抦 sure, and I抎 be an equity partner soon enough.
It抯 not the work I want to do, but I抦 not sure helping the Sophia Waterhouses of the world lie to get custody is much better. I might as well do whatever it takes to get ahead, just like Ben did.
揥ould you be mad if I took the job Dad offered me??I ask, studying her face as she studies mine.
揙f course not,?she finally says. 揃ut why? You love living in LA.?
揘ot so much anymore,?I reply.
She hugs me for a long time and tells me it will all be better after I抳e had a nap, as if I抦 a toddler. And I suppose things can抰 get much worse.
When she goes to work, I climb into bed, staring at the bare ceiling of her guest room, wondering what's next. Yesterday seems almost too terrible to have occurred the way I remember. I keep wanting to make excuses for Ben, the same way I did for Kyle six years prior.
I snuggle deeper into the pillow and pick up my phone. I抳e ignored every sound it抯 made since leaving the office, not ready to deal with what Ben has to say, and apparently there抯 a lot: notifications from him cover my home screen. Taking a deep breath, I open the message app and scan the last few texts he抯 sent.
Ben: Please answer the goddamn phone.
Ben: Gemma, this is fucking ridiculous. We need to talk. NOW.
He sounds more irritated than conciliatory, just like Kyle did. I throw down the phone and pick it up again.
Me: Tell me something. Did you know this was going to happen all along? Did you sleep with me for months, knowing they抎 promote you and Craig but not me, knowing you were MOVING? Don抰 bother replying because the answer no longer matters. I know everything I need to know. Tell Fields once he抯 done celebrating my victory that he抣l be very lucky if I don抰 bring a similar suit against FMG.
I hit send and immediately regret it. I don抰 know if I抣l really bring a suit against the firm, but I haven抰 done myself any favors by telegraphing the possibility.
I turn off my phone and lapse into an exhausted sleep. When I wake, the dim afternoon sun is coming through the windows. I slept for at least six hours, but I don't feel any better for it.
I shower and get an Uber to drive me downtown, to my father抯 firm. The Law Offices of Adam Charles now occupy two entire floors of a massive building on K Street, but it otherwise feels a lot like FMG did. Soulless and corporate.
My father greets me enthusiastically, congratulating me on the Lawson case as we walk down the hall. 揕et me show you the office you抣l have if you come aboard,?he says, opening a door. It抯 as big as Fields?office back in LA. In the distance, I can make out the Washington Monument and the top of the White House.
He tells me the salary, and it抯 double what I make now. In two years, I抣l be an equity partner and get a share of the firm抯 net.
揑抦 not sure how soon you can get started,?he says, 揵ut I have the perfect case for you. A legislative aide has accused one of our clients of sexual misconduct.?