☼ two ☼

                                    

                                          
Days passed in a blur of chores and typing up reports and answering emails.
Violet sent an intricate thank-you note. Reece included a message of his own. Axel's secretary wired all the final checks for vendors, as well as a slight bonus for me, "for working in trying times." I had no idea if Axel was the one actually sending me this—he never spoke of a secretary—but I gave a generic response and continued on with my day.
On the third day after coming home, when the jet-lag finally subsided, I agreed to go to coffee with Chi.
I knew what was coming—the dreaded explanations—and it broke me down to see Chi so enthusiastic as I met them at our usual haunt in West Hollywood. It was ten in the morning, and while I was fairly awake, Chi had much more energy than I could muster.
"Why the long face?" they said, seeing my half-hearted attempt at a smile as I joined them at a table. They'd ordered me a latte, and savored something that looked like a mix between a cappuccino and an iced mocha. "You should be jumping up and down. The wedding was a fucking smash hit."
I smiled, though I was sure it ended up as more of a wince. "It was. Got a little bonus for it, too." It wasn't anything significant enough for me to quit L.A. Love Wedding Planners and find a better place to work. But it would fit nicely in my near-empty savings account. "Great reviews. Violet was thrilled."
"Okay, so?" Chi sipped on their drink, leaving a foam mustache above their plump lips. They looked so refreshed, in contrast to me. Hair sleek with water from their shower, high-waisted blush pants, a ruffled top with a high neck. They were fresh off a New York City runway, dashing and gorgeous as ever. "What's the issue?"
I'd struggled to throw on a pair of acceptable jeans and a t-shirt and tie up some Converse shoes. Nights of tossing and turning, nightmares and sex dreams about Axel, a few horrifying images of Olivia prying back into my life...I wasn't in good shape.
It'd taken me half an hour to somewhat conceal the bags under my eyes, and to put on a decent enough coat of mascara to not appear sick. And twirling my messy dark mane into a passable bun was more excruciating than I'd ever expected brushing hair to be.
But if I didn't agree to see Chi, they'd have shown up at my studio and dragged me out of bed.
"Baby girl," they said, reaching across the table, their palm warm atop mine. "What's going on? I expected you to tell me you were moving in with him by now. You're free to be together, and I know you both wanted to try something." I hadn't given Chi the full details, but I'd hinted in a message when landing in L.A. a few days ago that Axel and I were trying something out. "So what happened?"
I cringed, and their hand wrapped tighter around mine. "I'm...still working for him." The coffee rushed down my throat, burning it, but I was too numb to react. Too many nights of yelling at the top of my lungs in my dreams had taken a lot of my physical feelings away. "His other sister, Estelle, is getting married, too."
"What?" Chi's eyebrows raised as they leaned backward. "And how does that—" They gasped, smacking a hand to their mouth. "Oh, shit. And Estelle wants you to plan. And he's paying, so..."
I crumbled in my seat with a heavy sigh. "Exactly. He's my boss again, and the rules are back in application."
Chi tutted and fished inside their bag, coming out with a rose-gold flask. "Here," they said, unscrewing the top and handing it to me. "You need some of this."
"Please," I shook my head, "you have no idea how much I've consumed in the past few days. I can't."
They insisted. "It's Baileys. Not rosé or vodka, which I know are your depression go-to's." Before I could stop them, they poured a few drops into my latte. I closed my eyes and shook it off, choosing not to protest. If Chi wanted me to diffuse my feelings with some booze, so be it. "Trust me. It'll take the edge off. A little. Temporarily, but it's better than nothing."