The Assistant

Chapter 22

"Tina is faking her pregnancy."

There was a moment of silence in the room as Savanna gaped at Winona. She had her hand on her chin, lost in a deep thought. When she blinked, Winona knew her mind had returned to the topic of discussion.

"That's good, but I think you need to add some tears. Really sell this." Savanna turned to the freezer to grab an unopened bottle of wine and began removing the cork.

"This is stupid," Winona said, rolling her eyes at her roommate who was now struggling with the bottle. She took it from Savanna and stabbed the cork. "I shouldn't have to rehearse what I heard. Immanuel will believe me because I'm his girlfriend."

"Did he say that?" Savanna frowned when Winona shook her head. "He loves you. There's no doubt about that, but he must be all over the place with his emotions. He went from chasing after Tina to falling madly in love with you and then became a father to Tina's baby. You have to convince him that you overheard Tina admitting to faking this pregnancy. Otherwise, his loyalty remains with her."

Winona furrowed her brows. She had completely stopped twisting the cork at this point. "You think he's still loyal to her?"

"It's not my place to say."

"No, say it. What do you honestly think of my relationship with your brother?"

Savanna sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Being forced to be truthful was giving her a headache. "You are the greatest thing to ever happen to him, but I'm concerned he jumped into this too quickly."

Winona didn't react right away. She wanted to hear the rest of her piece.

"He was in bed with Tina days, if not hours, before the trip. Then he rolled right over, said he had a little crush on you, and you ate it up." Savanna shook her head disappointingly. She was surprised that Winona didn't try to argue. "I love you, Winona, and I love my brother. I love you together. But I'm speaking to you woman to woman. You should have made him fight harder for you."

Winona swallowed hard, unsure what to say, so she remained quiet. The silence made them both uncomfortable, so Savanna said, "Part of me is glad you didn't push him too far away though because I've never seen him happier. But he doesn't deserve your never ending patience."

"Tina has been pretending to be pregnant so you would want her back," Winona said with her nose in the air. She spoke more confidently and looked right at Savanna as she did.

"That's good!" Savanna exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "You're going to see him at Queen and Kyrie's rehearsal dinner tonight. You can't freeze up. So, what are you going to do to keep this same energy?"

Winona paused. She wasn't sure how to answer that question. "I don't know."

Savanna smacked her lips together. "You tell that bitch that she comes clean or you'll tell the whole wedding party."

"Wait, what?" Winona tugged at her ear to confirm she had heard her correctly. "I did so great just now. I'm just supposed to give her the chance to tell him?"

"She won't," Savanna said, shrugging her shoulders. "That's when you become the hero and tell him yourself just like we rehearsed it. So, what are you gonna say to him?"

Winona took her deep breath before speaking. "Tina's been pretending to be pregnant so you would want her back."

The front door slammed shut, causing both women to flinch at the sudden noise. When they turned simultaneously to see who had caused the ruckus, Savanna gasped, not expecting to see Immanuel in front of the door, stunned in disbelief.