Page 65 of Trust Fund Baby

By the time I spoke to James, the article had already done plenty of damage. He thought Hallie had been using him the entire time, just like the other girls he’d dated in the past. But even worse than being used for money, he felt that this meant everything between them had been turned into a story at his expense. Which it kind of had. I just couldn’t believe Hallie would do that. I’d seen how she’d looked at him in the Hamptons. That kind of thing is hard to fake.

I asked him if he’d heard from her. She’d tried to call him, he told me, more than once. But he hadn’t answered. He didn’t see the point.

So I told him what I thought. That it didn’t sound like her.

That there had to be more to it than what was printed.

He didn’t argue. But he didn’t agree either.

Probably a surprise to no one that we ended up at Whiskey Locker some time later. He was quieter than usual. Not angry though, as I’d expected. Just sad.

As we sat at the bar, I knew he was thinking of all the time he’d spent with Hallie there. I didn’t blame him. My mind was on Roxie, too. I’d give anything to go back to that moment in McGuire’s and get a chance for a do-over. To finally get things right between us.

“God, I missed this,” I sighed, as the two of us sipped on our drinks during the Monday happy hour, mine alcohol-free. In truth, I hadn’t missed this. I was just trying to keep his spirits up.

James twirled his Old Fashioned in circles on the table. This should have been a day of celebration. He was on the verge of starting a new business, something exciting. But the last thing he seemed to want to do was celebrate.

A few of the men we knew from different financial firms had come up to him after hearing the news that he’d left Berkley Williams. Most of them were trying to figure out where he was going next. He kept quiet about his new position though. Mostly, he just stared at his drink, like he was somewhere else entirely. I knew the feeling, but I wanted to get him out of his funk.

“Dude, if you’re going to be a fucking bump on a log, you could have just told me you didn’t want to come,” I said. “I’ve been trying to get you to come out with me over the past week, and you’ve been turning me down left and right. Is this still about Hallie?”

“Of course, this is about Hallie. How couldn’t this be about Hallie?” he said, downing the rest of his drink. “I think I’m in love with her, Sebastian. Or the person I thought she was. How in the hell am I just supposed to get over her? Nothing makes sense. I still can’t figure out why she would do something like this.”

“And you still won’t reach out to her to find out?” I asked. “For someone so smart, I would assume you’d want all the facts. This isn’t like you.”

I wasn’t lying. It wasn’t like him to act so emotional. It was why he was a numbers guy. He decided based on facts and provable scenarios. But right now, none of that seemed to be helping him. Which was probably why he’d been ignoring her texts, calls, and voicemails. Not letting her explain herself.

But for once, maybe I was right.

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out his phone. His thumb hovered over Hallie’s contact—the one he’d blocked when he read the article. After a second, he tapped it.

Almost immediately, the screen filled with messages, and he turned his phone away from me.

As he read, his expression shifted. It seemed to get sadder, if that was even possible.

“What did she say?” I asked, leaning closer.

“She said the article that published wasn’t hers,” he replied. “She said that her boss changed the entire article without her knowledge.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Do you think she’s telling the truth? I know she really wanted that food critic position. What if her boss shot down her first article and told her to put out the one she wrote instead, without telling you about it?”

He didn’t answer. He just stared at his phone.

“I think I need to talk to her,” he finally said. “I need to understand why she did what she did, and if there’s any chance for us to move forward.”

I nodded. “Good for you, man. Go get your girl.”

He continued staring at his phone.

“Jesus, are you going to share anything?” I said. “You’re leaving me in the dark over here.”

“Hallie just published an article.”

My brows furrowed. “But you two didn’t go on another date.”

“Exactly.”

He tapped at his phone again, frowning slightly.