Chapter 9

"I told you she would still be working."

Monica's head sprang up at the familiar voice. She knew her best friends said they would fly in, but when they hadn't shown up after twenty-four hours, she started to think Trista hadn't been able to convince her husband.

"Why the fuck are you still at the office when it's nearly eight at night?" Trista waltzed her fine ass into her office and plopped it down on the corner of her desk.

Trista St. Clair, well, now Trista Lamont, was a former model and overall dramatic human being. If anyone had told her she would be best friends with the obnoxious woman when they first met, she would've laughed in their faces. Now she couldn't imagine life without the bubbly and insane personality in it.

"Why are you cussing at me in my own office, and where's my niece?"

Not that she didn't love her two best friends, but she hadn't seen Mallory since she was born, and from the way Ash carried on about the little girl being constantly attached to her chest, she assumed Mallory would also be present.

"I left her with Bentley and Falcon," Ash answered, leaning against the doorjamb. "This mama needed some girl time."

Monica didn't bother to hide the horror on her face.

"Don't worry," Trista said. "Falcon is playing bodyguard rather than uncle. He already warned me that the sexual favors I owe him have doubled since he wasn't informed the little diva would be hanging with the men. His words, not mine."

"My niece is not a diva," Monica huffed.

She totally was. Trista's wish that Bentley would have a little diva on his hands was, so far, becoming true. Monica wondered if that had more to do with the fact that Bentley was wrapped around the baby"s finger. If Ash wasn't spoiling her and holding her all the time, Bentley for sure was. That little baby had only to whimper and her parents came running.

"And I don't need to hear about your sexual favors," Monica tacked on. "I've never met someone so open about their sex life."

"That's because up until recently, you haven't had a sex life. Vibrators don't count!" Trista cut her off before she could even attempt to defend herself.

"Can we not talk about sex at my place of employment?" She tried to look past Ash, who was still standing in the doorway, but couldn't see anyone. Then she remembered Trista had mentioned it was nearly eight in the evening, so the chances that anyone else was still here were pretty slim.

"We all know you're the only crazy person still working this late. Even Daddy Dearest"s office is dark."

Ash nodded in agreement, and Monica let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she managed to do something right. Although she wasn't sure what that said about her if working so late was considered the right thing to do.

"I just need to finish up a few more emails and then we can get out of here."

"Nope." It would appear Ash was done letting Trista be in control of the conversation. Her best friend walked over and manually shut down the computer before Monica could even register what was happening.

"Hey!"

"Don't hey me. This is for your own good. There's not a single email that can't wait until tomorrow. Now grab your coat. I have several bottles of wine and an order to place with my favorite Chinese place."

"Since when did you get so bossy?"

Ash used to be the quiet one. The go-with-the-flow friend. Then she met Bentley. The man had been determined to get her to open up, and he succeeded. Ash was a force to be reckoned with now.

"I've been this way for years. I just don't usually turn it on you because I thought I was doing you a favor letting you focus on work. I see that was a mistake, and since my father is insistent on making your life hell, I'm here to give him a piece of my mind as well."

"No, you can't interfere." She shrugged her coat on and slipped her phone into her bag. "He would only resent me more."

"Then you need to stand up for yourself," Ash fired back. "He wants to see that you're worthy of the position and the company. You can't do that if you continue to let him walk all over you. Now we're going to drop the subject for tonight. This is my first night away from my baby and I fully plan to spend it hearing all about this mystery man you met in Rome and drowning out my loneliness with some wine."

Trista hopped off the desk and looped their arms together, dragging her in the direction of Ash. Her best friend, not to be left out, linked her arm on the other side, and all three of them walked out of the building.

"Oh my God,"Ash moaned. "Why does my lo mein always taste better when I come to visit?"

"Because you're eating it with your best friends," Trista replied around a full mouth of food. If it were anyone else, it would be considered impolite, but anything went when the three of them got together.

"Bentley hates Chinese food, so I only get it when I'm with one of you."

Monica had to admit she ate it less now that Ash no longer worked with her, and that was probably a good thing. All the takeout she used to live on would've eventually caught up to her, and now that she also didn't have her best friend pushing yoga down her throat, exercise was not existent. Oh, how far she had fallen since her friend left.

"As fascinating as watching you orgasm over food is, I would prefer to hear more about Monica's real-life orgasms. You know the ones that came from an actual man since those have been practically nonexistent since we moved to Texas and left her."

"What is this, ‘pick on Monica' day? I haven't seen the two of you in months and this is the shit I get!"

"Whose fault is it that we haven't seen you?" Ash was quick to point the blame. "I've asked you multiple times to get together, and every time, something has come up. Other than the birth of Mallory, you've been MIA. Too busy." Ash actually air-quoted the last two words.

Suddenly the egg roll that she had been enjoying just moments before, felt like a lead weight at the bottom of her stomach.

"I thought we were dropping that ..." She picked apart the rest of her egg roll.

"That's the plan. Now pour us some more wine and tell us all about Rome."

Monica wasn't sure that was a safer topic but anything to stop the guilty feeling for being such a shitty friend. The wine was clearly not helping, even though they were into their second bottle already. The first bottle had been gone before the food had shown up.

"His name is Luke and I met him at the hotel bar because, yeah, I was in need of a stiff drink after a long flight. I wanted something to take the edge off, and instead, I found a different way to loosen up. It was supposed to be one night. No names, but as luck would have it, things got complicated. Story of my life lately." The last part was more of a mumble under her breath.

"Complicated how?" Trista had taken over and filled up their wineglasses.

"Complicated as in he works for the government and was there because the client I was supposed to meet is shady as all hell." She didn't keep the sneer out of her tone when she spoke about Alexander. He wasn't a client, per se, but she didn't have a better word at the moment. "Asshole" or "dickhead" wasn't professional.

"I hope you didn't take this client on."

As much as Ash wanted nothing to do with the business, it was still her name attached to it. Well, her maiden name, and just because Ash didn't want to work there, didn't mean she didn't care what happened to it. Which is why she fought so hard to make sure her best friend would take over in her stead.

"No, and that's why I went to Rome to begin with. The guy was arrogant and wouldn't give up. Meeting him in person was supposed to end things once and for all, but now I have your father pissed at me because of who the guy is, and Luke wants to see how things can play out between us but I've been ignoring him all day."

Wow, she needed to catch her breath. That, and chug her glass of wine. Tipping the glass back, she lost sight of her friends" shocked gazes as she gulped the extra-large glass of red. She was already tipsy and chugging a glass would push her over the edge.

"That's a lot to unpack." Ash was the first to pick her jaw up off the floor. "Explain to me why my father would be pissed at you. Other than the usual," Ash quickly added when she gave her best friend the look.

"Two words. Samuel Silverstein."

Both Trista and Ash let out whistles. Monica had to commend her friend for being a bigger person than most. At least Ash didn't snap at her when she said the name.

"How is it possible he's still causing trouble from prison?" Trista wondered.

"Because my former boss was a slimy fucker," she told Trista honestly, slurring slightly. The wine was going to her head, and if she didn't slow down, she was going to be extremely hungover for work in the morning. "The guy who wanted to meet used to work with Samuel, and when he heard Carmichael was planning to retire, he thought I would be interested in picking up where Samuel left off."

"Hence the government watching the guy," Ash correctly surmised.

"Bingo. Now your father is mad at me because I said the forbidden name and he doesn't trust that I have a handle on things. He feels I need to focus more on work and maybe he's right. As much as I had a great time with Luke, do I really have time to start a relationship? Even a casual one?"

"Yes!" Ash and Trista both yelled in unison.

"I don't care what my father says," Ash declared. "You make time for yourself. He had my mother to come home to when he first started the business, so it's not like he's one to talk. And the fact that you didn't just write this guy off and he's on your mind is enough for me to be sure you need to give him a chance. You don't want to wake up one day and regret that you let a good thing pass by."

"Where have I heard something similar before?" Monica tried to hide her smirk behind her glass, but Ash wasn't having any of it.

"I'm pretty sure my best friends gave me the same advice when I was willing to let Bentley leave so I could help my father save his company."

"And look how great life turned out for you."

"Exactly."

Monica stepped right into that one. She couldn't even blame it on the wine.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe you're right."

"You know damn well we are." Trista slapped her leg.

One of the first things Monica had done, the second they walked through her door, was shed her work attire. Now, they were all curled up, on her giant couch, in sweatpants and oversized shirts among the throw pillows. The Chinese food was forgotten and even the wineglasses were now resting on the coffee table.

"I missed you guys."

There was a reason she didn't drink wine often. As an emotional drunk, with each glass she consumed, the higher the probability there was for tears.

Like now.

"I mean it. You both moved away to Texas and left me here all by myself." She waved Ash off when her friend tried to speak. "I know I told you to go, and I know my dream was to run your father's company, but sometimes it gets lonely. I get lonely."

Three years of sadness suddenly flowed out of her. She had done her best to work so much that there was no time to think about how she felt, but right now, with her best friends squeezed in on either side of her, she couldn't hide it any longer.

"Oh, honey." Ash pulled Monica's head down into her large milk-filled boobs. Her best friend had a decent rack before she got pregnant, but now the damn things were something she envied. "I'm such a shitty friend for not realizing how lonely you were before this. I should never have let it drag out this long."

"That makes two of us." Trista smooshed herself into her other side and wrapped her arms around the two of them. "At least Ash has an excuse. She was busy making a baby and then taking care of the small human. I'm just a shitty person who got busy."

Monica sniffled. "Neither of you is shitty. I've been saying things are fine for months because I figured if I said it enough, I could manifest it to be true."

It sucked when reality smacked a person in the face.

"Well, we're here now, and we aren't leaving until we make sure things are made right. That includes at work and with this Luke fella. First thing tomorrow you're going to call him and apologize for ignoring him. Then you're going to finish work on time for once and go out on a real date."

A real date sounded like heaven.

"I'm not . . ."

The doorbell ringing cut her off.

"I wonder who that could be?"

Trista was pushing off the couch before she could tell her friend that she never got visitors. The front door was on the other side of the living room wall, so instead of seeing who it was, all she had to go off of was Trista's charming voice when the door opened.

"Well, hello there, sexy. And just who might you be?"