The Risk Takers

Part 22 | Virginia

I have a hard time focusing all through work and I continuously check my phone for messages from Liam or Teddy. After sending them Rebecca's picture, I was hoping to hear some news but I haven't received any messages from them yet.

Emma was much more relaxed combing through bins of file folders but I found the work mundane and very much beneath me. Tristan continued to think so little of me throughout the day that I almost bit my tongue off trying to keep all my nasty comments to myself. He doesn't hide much of what he truly thinks of me, it's just annoying to hear his voice and his thoughts all day while doing bitch work for him.

At five o'clock, I dump the case files I was sorting back into the bin and I don't bother telling Tristan I am leaving. I know they expect late nights and early mornings, but my pregnancy is making me absolutely exhausted. I scoop my purse off my desk and continue right on out to my car. I try calling Liam on my way home but I don't get an answer. He must have been busy all day or he would have at least called on his lunch break. I decide I can't handle thinking any more about Topher or Tristan so I decide to call Harper. She answers on the third ring and for once, it doesn't sound like she's in the midst of chaos

"Why Eleanor Adler, I was just thinking about you."

I laugh and reply, "Well you must not have been thinking too hard if you forgot I'm Eleanor Greysor now. And have been for what, five years now?"

"Psh, you two were long married before that. Try you've been Eleanor Greysor since highschool." I roll my eyes at her even though she can't see me and I reply, "So anyway, what's new with you? Why were you thinking about me?"

"Well, I have some juicy gossip for you," she says and usually only half of what Harper thinks is juicy gossip is juicy gossip.

"Oh, well I'm all ears." I'm now parked in my parking garage at home but I continue to sit in my seat while Harper talks to me.

"Okay, well I talked to Lily last night and...she caught Ben with their nanny! In Kason's bed!" She says excitedly and instinctively my hand flies up to my mouth, "What?! In his kid's bed? Are you serious!" I ask and she responds, "Mmmhmm. But get this, Lily is going to turn the other cheek. She doesn't want to do a damn thing about it."

With my jaw still dropped I ask, "Why not? Why is she staying with his cheating ass?"

"She said she doesn't want to start over. She says she likes her life and she wants to keep her family together. Like Kason would even notice if they were divorced, Ben is never in New York anyway."

I shake my head as I think of my old friend Lily. Over time we kept in touch less and less and I only saw her when I visited New York during law school. Harper and I were bridesmaids in her wedding, but her life suddenly was all about taking care of Ben. She even dropped out of NYU when she got pregnant with Kason her junior year. She acted like it was a surprise but both Harper and I think she plotted it to happen that way. She got her dream guy in her dream house and she always told us everything was perfect when we talked to her. I had a little less patience hearing how amazing and perfect everything was so I am shocked she even admitted this hiccup to Harper.

"I'm not all that surprised she's staying. She wouldn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't Ben's wife." I tell Harper and she quickly says, "I'm not surprised either but I do think she is sad. And not like boo hoo sad but like, girl you need to a reality check sad. She deserves better after she made her life all about him. What a shit way to repay her."

"Harper, all she has to do is glance down to her Cartier wedding ring and her thirty thousand dollar tennis bracelet to be reminded that that's how he repays her. She loves the life of luxury and being a New York socialite so I don't see her going back to pinching pennies like her parents." I feel bad talking bad about Lily and it comes out harsher than I intended. I was glad Lily found Ben but she refuses to see past his wallet. Suddenly I hear a beep on my other end and I see Liam is trying to call me.