Blame it on the Champagne (Blame it on the Alcohol 1)

My determination came in waves, split up by doubt, and I needed to squash it. Digging in my purse, I clutched my phone, pulling it out and opening my group chat with Rae and Nova.

Me: 911. Who’s in town?

Nova: Sorry, babe. I’m in North Carolina.A picture of her red hair blowing in the wind with the mountains behind her came through.

Raelynn: I’m in London.

Me: What? When did you go there? Why?

Raelynn: When the opportunity strikes, you take it.Her message was quickly followed by a man’s muscular back down to a perfectly firm ass barely covered with sheets in a bed.

Nova: Your pic is way better than mine.

Me: FOCUS!! I need an emergency FaceTime

Raelynn: What’s up?

Nova: Are you okay??

Raelynn: Do I need to kill anyone?

Me: I’m fine… physically. I can’t dive into it right now. I just need to know you guys are waiting for me when I get off work.

Nova: Always. I was planning on a stop tonight anyway.

Raelynn: You two are my number one. I’m always here. And I’ll be up anyway. ;)Knowing I’d be able to talk to my best friends tonight had my heart rate slowing to a fast gallop over a rushing freight train. Not great, but I’d take it.

I just wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to make it through the next few hours. I considered feigning sickness but quickly shot down that idea. That’s all I needed, for Nicholas to think I was running. He’d probably assume I was off to plot a new plan to take over his company.

“Hey, guys,” Debra, one of the marketing executives, called from the front, pulling me from my woes. “It’s that time of the month to do the grunt work. Old projects need to be taken down and filed. Also, the research for new vision boards needs to be organized and put up. I know it’s busywork, and we try to rotate, but if someone could volunteer so I don’t have to ch—”

“I’ll do it,” I almost shouted, jumping out of my seat and flinging my hand in the air. I may as well have reenacted the scene from Hunger Games; I was so dramatic. I got a lot of wide side-eyes, but the grunt work was done two floors below, and no one went there unless they needed to. It was the perfect escape to get through the day.

“Thank you, Verana,” Debra said slowly, probably gathering her wits after I almost threw myself at her.

Before I could follow her out, I remembered Nicholas’s demeaning order.

“I just have to talk to Angie, and I’ll head down.”

I may have to pass my ideas off to someone else, but everyone in that meeting knew who they came from, and I’d keep showing up with more. Nicholas couldn’t block me out completely. Eventually, someone would request my presence on a team for what I brought to the table. Consistency always won.By the time I walked into my house, I could have collapsed. The work hadn’t been hard, but the mental battle I’d waged on myself took its toll.

I dropped my bag and trudged to the kitchen, popping open a bottle of wine. I didn’t bother to wait for a glass. I lifted it to my lips and let the rich berry flavor explode in my mouth. I took a solid three swallows before I finally grabbed a glass and took both to my living room, where I set up my computer for my much-needed FaceTime.

They picked up immediately. Nova had the mountains behind her through the open doors of her van. Meanwhile, Raelynn sat in an oversized chair, the London Eye shining in the dark through her windows.

They wasted no time with greetings and small talk, instead pushing me to spill what had me calling this emergency meeting. The more I explained, the wider Nova’s eyes got, and the bigger Raelynn’s smile grew until she was almost bouncing in her seat and laughing.

“Oh. My. Gawd,” she practically squealed.

“You did what?” Nova screeched.

“Don’t worry, Nova. I can hook you up at the next party we’re all at,” Raelynn joked. Nova’s face scrunched up in disgust, and she shuddered.

“You guys,” I whined, flopping back on the couch. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I know I still want to work there and show up every day, but hooooow am I supposed to pull it off?”

“Keep going,” Raelynn said with a shrug like it was so easy.

I shot up from the couch, grabbing the bottle of wine to top off my glass, looking like a crazy woman with wide-eyed panic. “I can’t keep going. Are you kidding me? Hello? Camden?”

“What about Camden?” Rae scoffed.

“You’re not even dating yet,” Nova added softly.

“He was actually…kind of sweet this weekend. My mom said that she hated my dad when they first met, but they ended up falling madly in love. What if this weekend was the beginning of Camden showing me a more affectionate side? And I ruined it? What if I ruined our future?”