Page 150 of The One I Hate

Hope to see you then.

Best,

Simon Banks

P.S.: I don’t know how I made it fifteen years without you because this past week has been absolute hell. I love you and miss you. I hope your shower is the best ever.

Rest in peace, my makeup.

I tear through the tissue paper, but all I see is a rolled piece of paper. I flatten it, only to see that it’s not just any piece of paper—it’s a bank statement.

A statement for an account that currently has twenty-one thousand dollars in it.

What are you up to, Simon?

Chapter 36

Charlie

Ithink I set a world record for how fast I opened my baby shower gifts.

I took pictures with every guest in an impressively short amount of time.

And now after what feels like hours later, with Simon’s letter, and bank statement, burning a hole in my purse, I’m walking into the home I’ve missed more than I realized.

“Simon?” I say as I step through the front door. “Hello?”

I look around, slipping off my shoes as I walk down the hall. When I enter the kitchen, I see a sprawling bouquet of flowers on the island, and a card in front of it that just says “Bug.”

Happy Baby Shower Day. I love you.

For a man who has made his name for being over the top, it’s the simple things that hit me in the heart the hardest when it comes to Simon.

I take in a whiff of the beautiful arrangement of roses before continuing to walk back to his office. The living room hasn’t changed—not that I expected it to in three and a half days—but seeing the dark gray furniture in contrast with the light gray walls somehow gives me a sense of calm.

I’m not sure what to expect when I walk into Simon’s office. So when he slowly turns around in his expansive executive chair, in a full suit and glasses on, I’m somehow not surprised.

Though I am surprised at one thing.

“Since when do you wear glasses?”

“This is the last of my secrets,” he says, making a show of adjusting them. “I use them when I’m reading contracts and going over the small details.”

I smile. “Is that what we’re doing today?”

“It is.” He stands up and comes around the desk, putting his hand on the small of my back as I sit into the chair. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

He kisses the top of my head before sitting back down.

“So, Miss Bennett, is it?”

I smile and laugh, realizing this is the bit and apparently I have to go along with it. “Correct. Charlie Bennett.”

“Charlie? That’s an unusual name.”

“It’s short for Charlene. Not many people know that. I’m actually quite guarded with my name.”