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It seemed accusatory, but there was an element of awe in her voice, as if I had somehow managed to accomplish said feat by tricking someone rather than because I was wealthy.
“That’s actually why I’m here,” I said. “I haven’t heard from Julia in a few days. Have you seen her?”
“I saw her,” Sammy said, looking a bit grimmer than the others. “But I can’t tell you nothin’.”
“Why?” I asked.
“’Cuz she said you broke up with her,” he said. “Said you broke her heart, even.”
“Huntah….” Rosa said, shocked and sad at the same time. “Not poor Julia! What did you do?”
It was interesting how they immediately assumed I did something wrong. Me, the billionaire, not the girl from Southie who was dating me. They immediately assumed she broke up with me because of something I did wrong.
I kind of liked that. They were loyal. Outside of Sean and Leo, Bobby, and Wade, I didn’t have anyone I would describe as actually loyal. Not enough to keep me hidden if someone came looking for me, and certainly no one who would assume I did nothing wrong if they heard I was upset with someone. Even Leo and Sean thought that I must have done something when I told them about Julia. And they were my best friends.
“I messed up,” I said. “I said some things I shouldn’t have. I’m trying to find her to apologize.”
“Well, if she shows up, we will tell her that,” Sammy said. “But I think you should probably leave now.”
“Don’t be so mean, Sammy,” Slim said.
Sammy didn’t acknowledge him, his eyes still focused on mine.
“I’m not being mean,” he said. “I’m just saying no one here takes really well to Julia being upset. Not after what her family’s been through. So, you probably ought to get out of here before other people who aren’t as nice as us three find out you’re here and decide to be mean.”
I nodded. “I got you,” I said. “Can you just tell her I came by?”
“I can do that,” Sammy said.
“Thanks,” I said.
When the rest of the night and the next morning passed without any messages from Julia, I decided to try again. But again, I was met outside by Sammy. He almost seemed to be waiting on me.
“Evening,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go inside.”
“Is Julia in there?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Nope, but her mom is. She’s not exactly fond of you right now. Says you screwed up her and her daughter’s life. I’d probably get going again if I were you.”
“I need to talk to her, Sammy,” I said. “It’s important.”
“I’m sure it is,” he said. “But if the lady doesn’t want to talk, you can’t make her. No matter how rich you are. Understand?”
I nodded. “I get it,” I said.
Truth was, that crack angered me, but I understood it. He thought, and probably a lot of people did, too, that because I was rich, I thought I was entitled to other people’s time. And he might be right. When it came down to it, I had acted like that before. I recognized it in myself. I was used to getting my way and getting people to listen to me or at least give me the time of day because of who I was.
But with Julia, it was different. She had every right to be mad. Especially now that I had figured out who the mole really was.
I went home that night trying to figure out what to do next. The only thing I could think was to keep trying to track her down. I kept going to the bar a couple of more nights until I started feeling like a stalker. I needed another tactic. I didn’t know exactly what, but I needed something else I could do to get her attention.
Meanwhile, I decided to make an example of the receptionist.
Katrina had been called into my office the next Monday morning and I went over the facts of the matter. When I explained that there were only a few people who knew about the attendees to the meetings, and how those names leaked out in the exact order they had signed in up front in the lobby, she broke down and admitted her guilt.
She cried and tried to guilt me into keeping her, saying that she was tempted by the money the reporter was floating around for her, even though the money never surfaced. That just made it worse. She had essentially done all this damage for nothing.
