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“Obviously,” she said, throwing the door open to the small bungalow she rented. “Holy shit, aren’t you freezing? Let me get you some clothes.”
She raced to her bedroom while I curled up on her couch, wrapping myself in a fuzzy pink blanket. She emerged and tossed me a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
“What happened?” she asked. “Why aren’t you with Nathan?”
I choked on a sob as I relayed to her word for word what happened at the end of the party. How Don had made tasteless jokes at my expense. How Nathan just stood there and did nothing. How I left by myself.
“Oh my god!” Lila exclaimed, pacing her small living room. “What fuckingnerve. I wish I was there. I would have laid into Don since clearly Nathan doesn’t have the balls.”
“I can’t believe he just stood there.” I sniffed before blowing my nose into a tissue. “And then he got a drink with him.”
“It’s disgusting is what it is. A secret isn’t worth treating you like that. I told you he’s always going to put work first.”
“Oh god, please don’t give me the ‘I told you so’ lecture. I already feel stupid enough.”
Sympathy flashed in her eyes. “I would never. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just so mad at him. Did you key his car? You should have keyed his car.”
That finally got a laugh out of me. “No, but I left his keys on the ground.”
“Good! I hope someone steals them.”
“It’s a gated lot. I don’t think we’re that lucky.”
“It’s not like he couldn’t afford to buy a new one anyway,” she grumbled.
I held my breath before I admitted the impulsive decision I had made. “I sent in my letter of resignation.”
“Good,” she said.
“Effective immediately. I’m not going back.”
Her mouth hung open before she snapped it shut. “Really? Are you sure? Because we could try to fight Don’s ass. He can’t say that shit and get away with it.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want the drama. Someone else can file a complaint. I’m sure there’s a laundry list of inappropriatecomments he made tonight. I just want to be done. And you know what? It feels good—amazing, actually. I’m excited to move on.”
She sat down next to me and pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you. This next chapter is going to be amazing. Screw all that dead weight.” She pulled away and held my shoulders at arm's length. “I’m going to put in my two weeks tomorrow. While I wish I could just take the leap and leave like you, I actually still like my boss.”
I wiped my tears away. “Can I spend the night? I don’t want to go back to my place.”
“Are you worried Nathan might be there?”
I smiled sadly. “I’m not sure if I’m more worried about the prospect of seeing him or the prospect that he might not even try to come over. I already turned my phone off because I can’t deal with whatever he might say—or not say.”
“Of course you can stay here. And don’t worry about answering him. Honestly, after what he did, he doesn’t deserve a conversation. He showed where his priorities lie.”
I felt so grateful to have her right now. A best friend who had my back no matter what. She was more than a friend, she was family. I’d get through this with her and be better off for it.
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “Any chance you want to wake up early with me tomorrow? I need to drop off my badge and get my things. I’m hoping if I get there right when the office opens, I can sneak out before anyone arrives.”
“What time?”
“Five?” I asked sheepishly.
She groaned. “Five? That’s like no sleep.”
“Please,” I begged. “I’ll buy you breakfast after. I can’t handle seeing him, Lila.”
Sighing, she stood up and fluffed the couch pillow. “Fine. But if I’m going to be up that early, then I’m going to bed now. You going to be okay out here?”
