Can you come to my apartment after work so we can talk about this?
Sure, April replied. Two heads were better than one, after all.
Still, the photo wasn’t what was on April’s mind when she returned to her work. April had definitely mentioned to Vicki that she and Lexi were friends. Close friends. And she’d had plenty of opportunities to tell April that something had happened between them.
But Vicki had never said a word to her about it.
A few hours later, April stepped through the door of Vicki’s apartment. Vicki was dressed casually in a loose white shirt and jeans. Her feet were bare, and her hair was slightly ruffled, but she still managed to look incredibly sexy.
Vicki told April to sit down while she cleared her laptop and a stack of documents from the coffee table.
“Working late?” April asked.
“I was,” Vicki replied. “But I’m glad you’re here. I can’t stand to look at another spreadsheet. Do you want a drink? Coffee? Something stronger?”
“Something stronger is about my speed right now,” April said.
“Lucky for you, I have a well-stocked bar. Have a seat.”
April sat down while Vicki disappeared into the kitchen. Something black and furry leaped onto the table beside her. Sebastian. He sat there, unmoving, watching her with his usual disdainful expression. April was about to ask him what she’d ever done to deserve his scorn when Vicki returned with two mojitos. She handed one to April and sat down next to her, stretching out her long limbs.
“Looks like we were caught in the act,” Vicki said.
“Yeah,” April said. “What do we do? Try to get it taken down? Ignore it, and cross our fingers that no one notices it? I mean, it looks pretty bad. Could it get you in trouble with Oasis?”
“I’m not too worried. Men in positions like mine get caught doing far more scandalous things. At the work Christmas party last year, our VP of finance got caught with his hand up his secretary’s skirt, and no one batted an eyelid. Except for his wife.”
April raised an eyebrow.
“Not that this is the same thing, of course,” Vicki said quickly. “You’re right, it doesn’t look good. But it’ll be okay. We’ll figure out how to handle it. At the very least, we’re barely recognizable unless you look closely.”
That was exactly what Lexi had said. Lexi. April had to ask Vicki about Lexi, but she wasn’t sure if there was an answer Vicki could give her that would satisfy her.
“I looked through the photos already, and I didn’t even notice,” Vicki said. “You have a better eye than I do.”
“It wasn’t me who spotted us. It was Lexi.” April examined Vicki’s face for any sign of recognition.
“We’re lucky she found it, then,” Vicki said.
“You know Lexi, don’t you? My friend who works at the library with me.”
“She’s the event coordinator, right? She was at the meetings we had at the library.”
“You’ve met before that,” April said.
“I have?” Vicki asked. “She did seem familiar.”
April frowned. Suddenly, it hit her. Vicki hadn’t deliberately kept this from April. “You don’t remember her, do you?”
Vicki’s forehead creased. “What’s this about? You’re going to have to help me out here.”
April crossed her arms. “You picked Lexi up at Sapphire once.”
Realization dawned on Vicki’s face. “You’re right.”
“You actually forgot, didn’t you?” April shook her head. “Unbelievable.”
“I was drunk,” Vicki protested. “And we didn’t sleep together. Besides, it was years ago. It would have been back when I…”