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"You’re talking about Sir Gladstone?"
Now his tone turns brutally bitter "Aye That worthless piece of shit Thought he could run roughshod over anyone because he was rich He treated his house staff like slaves, allowing the theot the kind of attention a broken soul can confuse with love He used her for years, until a younger house Then he acted like he never knew my ers "I saw the whole thing coainst hihts a week and letchildren, that meant he loved her But he didn’t And when she found out, it killed her She went up to the roof and threw herself off without even tellin’withshut "Oh, Cah his hair, exhales a hard breath "Aye Me too"
He looks so wrecked, so sad and lonely, that I abandon the sunflowers and go to hi you a hug"
He stands, and I go up on tiptoe, throw my arms around his shoulders, and hide my face in his neck He winds his arle above the floor
I resist the iht, and just breathe into his neck with ainst my chest and his ar," he whispers into my hair
"What?"
"No matter what happens with Michael, we’ll still be friends"
"I thought you didn’t want to be friends"
His sigh is a big gust of air "God, you’re an idiot"
"That’s probably not so you should say to soainst ain, but this time it sounds impossibly sad "Aye, but you know I say it with love, lass Alith love"
My face is starting to cruain I nod, unable to speak
We stand there like that until Mr Bingley decides it’s getting weird and starts batting at ently setsthe hug didn’t happen, eating dinner and talking and dancing around the word love that lingers like a ghost in the air
TWENTY-SEVEN
From: Michael Maddox
To: Joellen Bixby
Date: Dece with the head of our European distributor, aby comparison I’ve already had three cups of coffee just to try to stay awake The only thing keeping ht of you in one of those tiny ruffled skirts on the squash court The word flounce cos
M
From: Joellen Bixby
To: Michael Maddox
Date: December 15
Subject: Re: Squash
Terribly sorry about your a the obscene amount of money you make I hate to disappoint you, but tiny ruffled skirts and I are not on the best of terland You left at the right time: Denny has debuted his Christht I had no idea the baby Jesus was so gassy
From: Michael Maddox
To: Joellen Bixby
Date: Dece cruel Leggings are eventhan tiny ruffled skirts I lost at least five hours of sleep last night picturing your bottom encased in Lycra
How do you knothis job for the perks For all you know, I could be donating ht of you in the office Sharing a sressively as you’ve been doing for the past ten years
M
From: Joellen Bixby
To: Michael Maddox
Date: Deceood sense of hu your last e It was so robust II don’t kno much you rocery bill, and that’s a lot
I haven’t been ignoring you I’ve been ad from afar Go look up the word unrequited in the dictionary You ht be surprised to see a picture of me beside the definition