Brian closed the refrigerator door and put the bottle down. He came to her and took her hands, his eyes searching hers.
“Jack told her all along we were getting divorced. And that I was literally insane.” Too humiliated to choke out the worst part. He married her in Mexico.
“Jesus, Holly. I don’t know what to say.”
“The crazy thing is that I feel almost as sorry for Jessica as I do for myself. She was completely blindsided.”
“Most people wouldn’t be so understanding,” said Brian.
“I’ve already spoken to a lawyer, but if Jack finds out, he could outmaneuver me. Hide assets.”
“You can’t let him.”
“Believe me. I won’t.”
“You’re incredible.”
“Can I get that drink now?” she asked, squeezing his hands and letting go.
“Of course.”
As he filled two glasses with ice and mineral water, she reached into her tote and took out the hard drive, setting it down between them.
“What is that?”
“Jessica thinks there may be some big problems with the Revelate technology.”
“Do you think she’s right?” he asked, eyeing Jack’s handwritten scrawl.
“Possibly. She’s asked me to give her any information I can find. This could be nothing, but . . . we could also be talking about the end of more than my marriage.”
“That’s scary. Do you trust her?”
“All I know is neither of us trust him.”
“If he brought her to Chicago and got involved with her based on a lie, he’s obviously hurt both of you very much. It would be good if you could help each other.”
Holly finally took a drink of her sparkling water, savoring the icy bubbles in the back of her throat.
“Everything’s just moving so impossibly fast,” she said.
“Some things are,” he agreed. “But life is long. You and I are both going to be around for quite a while.”
She was so grateful she almost cried.
When he walked her outside, he wrapped her in a hug that lasted for several long, soul-restoring minutes. They kissed once before she got behind the wheel.
“Could my life be a bigger shitshow?” she asked, smiling and wiping away a tear.
“Yes, and I’m glad it’s not,” he said. “This seems unimportant now, but I do have one small piece of good news. I’ve been looking into Larry Yadao’s business for a while, and I discovered he’s had a strip mall on hold in Oswego for a long time due to an arcane zoning issue: the access road the city requires would be on land where a neighboring farmer still owns an easement.”
“Pretending I understood what you just said, how is that good news?” asked Holly.
“In another life, I actually negotiated with that farmer, on behalf of a client who bought another piece of his land. He’s a crusty character, but he’s honest, and we got along pretty well. I was able to sit him down with Larry at the local Starbucks and help them understand each other’s needs. Larry’s going to pay market rate for use of the land, and the problem is going away.”
“Well, I’d say I’m happy for Larry except—”
“I did make one condition of my own.” Brian put his hand over hers on the open car door. “Larry said he and Theresa would drop their objection to the equestrian path running in front of their home.”
Holly turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his.
“Thank you,” she said. “That’s not small at all.”
Chapter Forty-One
LARK AND JESSICA
Do you have a safe space? A place where you can go to get away from it all?
—“How I Lied about My Name and Discovered My Truth,” a TED Talk by Jon M. Wright
Lark’s thumbs hovered over the screen. Déjà vu. Once again, she’d landed in Chicago without Trip’s knowledge. Again she was about to alert him.
But not with the words, You free?
The brightly lit Blue Line train clattered down the middle of the Kennedy Expressway, packed with weary commuters. Having learned her lesson about Chicago rush hour the last time, she’d decided against either a rented car or an Uber. A quick google, a couple of questions for the orange-vested CTA attendant, and she was on her way downtown to a station just a few short blocks from Trip’s building.
Or Jonathan’s.
I need to see you so we can talk, she wrote.
Just say when, he replied. What about?
Tell you when I see you. Are you at your apartment?
A slight delay. Then: Wait, are you in Chicago?
Yes. Are you home?
Longer delay. Stuck in a meeting outside the city. Might be a while. Need you to sit tight. Where are you?
On my way to your apartment.
No answer.
I’ll wait for you there.
Eventually: OK.
The train moved so fast she almost wished it would slow down.
Jessica was only able to talk herself into playing the part of her gullible, trusting, love-blind former self because of her certainty that, if Jon had even an inkling of what was going on, she’d find herself homeless, unemployed, and in need of a different career.
The two glasses of wine she’d downed for courage since he’d texted to say he was on his way home helped a little. So did the mostly one-sided conversation she was having with Marco, who’d called on the pretext of business but had begun complaining about his attorney husband.
“He turns into the Incredible Hulk when he’s in trial. And not in a good way.”
“I wasn’t aware there was a good way,” Jessica said.
“Those abs . . .”
“Touché.”
“I swear, if he’s going to be in this funk until closing arguments, I may have to make an excuse to go to Omaha just so I can hide out in the apartment there.”
Which reminded her of something Holly had said about New Year’s Eve. “Isn’t there a corporate apartment here?”
“Theoretically,” Marco said with a laugh. “The whole time the Heritage at Millennium Park was going up, Jon raved about the view it would have from the twenty-seventh floor and how we’d use the apartment to wow visiting VIPs.”
“What happened?”
“I can never book it.
