Aurora

Chapter 1 | Bobby

"I still don't get how you got married in Vegas at your sister's bachelorette party without a ring and forgetting it!" Sophia shakes her head. "You are supposed to be the responsible one of us! You are the one to never get drunk, to never hook up with guys, to always pick the good boyfriends-"

"Yeah, and I thought just for one night I could let go because my sister is the responsible one of my siblings."

"Apparently you can't." Sophia turns on the toaster. She takes a quick hop and perches herself on the counter. The ponytail finally gave up and her hair falls over her shoulder. "Did you find out any information about the guy?"

"Apparently he lives in Chicago. His last name is Graff or something." The only reason Jen found out his name is because he scribbled it on the marriage certificate. It's somewhat readable, but it was more like a doctor's signature than a name. My first attempt was

"Graff?" Sophia immediately grabs her phone. Her thumbs aggressively type on the screen and her eyes widen at every little movement.

"I guess? Why?"

She grins. Knowing Sophia, grinning could mean a lot of things and most of them are devious. My stomach twists whenever Sophia grins. You never know what is going on in that head of hers.

The last name must mean something to her, but it's more than she's letting me know.

"What's your plan?" Sophia asks.

For the first time in my life, I actually do not have a plan. When my sister got married, I was her maid of honor. I was the one to plan the bachelorette party. I was the one to buy the tickets to the liquor tasting in one of the hotels and then I got the tickets to the strip show in another hotel. I can't blame my sister for being drunk and not paying attention to what I was doing when I was drunk.

It was her party, not mine.

"I don't know." It comes out more as a whisper. Funny how I'm irresponsible once, I get consequences and suddenly I'm clueless how to fix it.

"Do you trust me?" The grin is back on Sophia's face. And for the first time ever, I feel like that grin might be the only thing to fix this issue. "But do you think the divorce will make Jared want you back?"

"I don't know what this divorce will get me." Right now, I do want Jared back. I also know what Sophia thinks of him so talking about the situation isn't in the cards for me. Not with Sophia.

Sophia puts her phone on the counter and she watches me. "I just booked us flights to Chicago for tonight." I laugh and shake my head, turning back to my breakfast. But her voice is different than what I'm used to. She sounds serious. "So pack your things, we're going."

I guess time flies when you're anxious to meet the man you've apparently been married to for years but in reality you've never actually met him. The time between breakfast this morning, then the flight and now my suitcase falling onto the baggage belt at Chicago O'Hare feels like two blinks of an eye.

"Should I get an uber?" I ask while pulling the suitcase off the belt. I put it down and adjust the handle so I can roll it comfortably.

"Yeah, sure," Sophia answers. We found out on the plane that she got plane tickets but forgot to get us places to stay. Plane wifi still isn't a free thing, so booking something wasn't something we could do. She opted to stay at the Graff hotel, but I don't think that's a good idea.

I can't ask for favors and at the same time get divorced.

Sophia didn't agree. But at the same time Sophia can't hold herself accountable when she makes a mistake, so she's reacting not getting a hotel onto me not wanting to stay at the Graff hotel. I know it's not personal. But if she keeps this up, it will be personal.

I'm in the middle of a breakup and a divorce with two different men, I think I have the right to be overdramatic. Not her.

We manage to get our belongings and make it outside. The uber was already waiting for us and the driver helped us with getting our stuff in the car. Sophia seems to relax more as time passes.

"So are you from here?" Sophia asks the driver, whose name is apparently Jackson.

"Illinois, yes, but not from the city," the driver answers. "I came here because I thought the city had more job opportunities, but here I am driving people around."

I laugh quietly. That's probably the most realistic answer he could've given the both of us. "What do you do for work?" I ask him.

"I'm a lawyer," he answers truthfully. I instantly look up, my ears catching every single word that comes out after. If he's a divorce lawyer, I could use him in my favor. I have his name and phone number anyway thanks to the Uber app. "What about you girls?"

"We're from San Francisco, my friend here had something to finish here." Sophia laughs at her wording. Technically she's not wrong, I do have something to finish. I appreciate her not spilling all my beans on the table though.

"Ah the sunny state." He hums. His fingers tap on the wheel as he drives. "People say Florida is the sunshine state but those people have never been to California."

"Maybe Southern California, but up here we get our fair share of rain." I laugh. "How's Chicago?"

Jackson explains the weather in Illinois. I listen, but as we get closer to the city center, my attention starts to shift.

What would he be like? When I walk into the hotel, would he be there? Is he the type of CEO to work in the hotel with his employees? Or is he the type to angrily type on his computer, yell in the phones, fire people for not getting enough cream in his coffee-

I grab my phone to google him again. Archer Graff. Son of Tobias Graff. Tobias retired and now lives on a ranch with his current wife who's younger than half his age. Archer took over the company 6 years ago, when he was only 20 years old.

Assumptions flood my brain. I bet he was raised into the position, which is why he was fit to take over when he was so young. I wonder if he's still in touch with his mom.

'Archer Graff sets up health care insurance for all employees of Graff Hotels and Resorts'

I click on the article and read how Archer did something so great for his employees. The effects of that initiative on the work floor are, according to the article, huge. Over eighty percent of the employees are happy to be working at the company. A hint of relief washes over me when I realize he's a good CEO.

If he treats his employees good, maybe I'll have a chance to go through this divorce in one piece.

"We're here," Jackson says. My attention immediately jumps back to the driver and my best friend. My side of the car is on the pavement side, so I get out and Sophia gets out on my side as well. Jackson helps us get our luggage. We say our goodbyes and he leaves.

I turn around and look at the towering hotel in front of me. I try counting the different rows of windows to find out how many floors this building has, but I can't figure it out.

"Stop stalling, let's go inside." Sophia snaps me out of my thoughts. She's scanning my face. I wonder if she'd fly back to San Francisco if I gave her the signal right now. I couldn't do that. Even though I want to.

We go inside and make our way to the desk. 'Harper' is what her badge says.

"Harper." Sophia noticed because she says the name with such firmness that it scares even me. "We're here to see Archer Graff."

"I'm sorry, mister Graff is currently unavailable." She smiles politely and then goes back to her computer, typing in something.

"That won't do," Sophia says. "We need to speak with him now."

"I just said: He's not available." Harper looks up at us from her computer, but she doesn't stop typing. It's impressive.

Sophia sighs and she turns to me. Any other person would take that sigh as giving up, but I know Sophia. She's not giving up until Archer Graff walks through that door.