Chapter 61
I watched as Barnett scooped a bite of the Spanish almond cake into his mouth, smiling at Julia. My blood boiled. I could not believe that Barnett had gone to dinner with that she-devil, just because he and I had had another disagreement.
I all but leapt to my feet and charged over to their table. I would not let this afront go unanswered.
“Anna, where are you going?” Arthur called after me, but he did not dare follow me.
At the sound of my name, both Barnett and Julia raised their heads. Julia smirked around a bite of Tarta de Santiago. Barnett lowered his fork back to the plate.
“Anna, what are you doing here?” he asked as he wiped cake away from the corner of his lips.
“I could ask you the same question,” I replied, my hands on my hips.
“I’m just having dinner and a little dessert,” he said. “Nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“There is when you’re eating with the ex that you swore you had nothing to do with anymore.”
Julia swallowed and huffed at me.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” she said.
“I’m not talking to you,” I snapped. I turned my attention back to Barnett. “So, what are you doing here with her?”
Barnett’s gaze did not leave mine. He sat up straighter in his seat, and he lifted his chin defiantly at me.
“I don’t think that you have any right to know that,” he said confidently.
“Why? Because we had one little fight?”
He did not answer me for a moment.
“Why, Barnett?”
“Because you obviously came here with a date of your own,” he sneered, motioning towards Arthur. “So, I don’t think you’re anyone to talk.”
My hands curled into fists at my sides. Gremlins began to claw at my stomach.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means, Anna.”
“No, why don’t you enlighten me? What exactly are you insinuating?”
“It means that I would appreciate it if you did not make a scene in a crowded restaurant where people are preparing to record us and send the video to any number of parasitic celebrity tabloids.”
I twisted around to see several of our fellow customers staring at us, many of whom had whipped out their phones and were preparing to or had already hit record on their video apps. I took a deep breath, trying to control the tears that pricked at the edges of my eyes.
“I hope you two have a very nice meal together,” I told Barnett and Julia through clenched teeth.
Then I whipped around and stormed back to my table with Arthur. Without looking at Arthur, I gathered my things.
“Take me home,” I demanded.
“So soon?” Arthur asked. “We haven’t even eaten yet.”
“Yes,” I replied. I clutched at my stomach as the gremlins tore a hole in the lining. “I don’t feel well.”
“Okay,” Arthur replied. His chair screeched as he stood up. “Whatever you want.”
I left a $50 bill for the staff’s trouble, and then we left the restaurant. Arthur wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we reached the door. I took one last glance back at Barnett and Julia’s table.
Barnett’s eyes did not leave us as the door closed behind us.
I slept horribly that night. Images of Barnett and Julia together haunted what little sleep I did get. My stomach did not settle at all, which made restful sleep even more impossible.
The next morning, I had to once more use makeup to cover the dark shadows and wrinkles forming beneath my eyes. I didn’t need anyone, especially Arthur, questioning my beauty sleep regiment.
I could hardly eat more than a piece of toast for breakfast, my stomach was so upset. Coffee was out of the question. I considered calling in sick, but after the scene I had made in front of Arthur the night before, I didn’t want him asking more questions than were absolutely necessary.
Besides, Arthur had a huge event to prepare for. He was appearing at an international awards ceremony for Internet stars, The WWWs, and he insisted that I had to be the one to prepare him for it. I wouldn’t let him down.
I barely got myself together and made it to work on time, but I did not let on that anything was wrong. I smiled at and greeted everyone that I passed. I even met Arthur’s fervent “hello” with what I thought was an equal amount of energy.
“Anna!” he exclaimed as I approached him.
“Arthur!” I mimicked, setting my bags on the table, as always.
“How are you feeling today?”
“All right,” I said, eyeing him suspiciously, worried that he might have seen through my act.
“I’m glad. I’ve been worried about you since last night.”
Internally, I sighed in relief. He didn’t seem to have caught on, after all.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
Arthur smiled, his overly whitened teeth flashing brilliantly.
“It’s all right. I just can’t help worrying about my little fan girl. It is a shame that we didn’t get to try any of the food at Esmeralda’s, though.”
I nodded as I unpacked my bag. A burning in my sternum caused me to pause, but I fought through it to continue my work.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that it’s delicious.”
“We could try again sometime,” Arthur said cautiously, as though he were carefully weighing each word before it came out of his mouth. “I could treat you, this time.”
“We could do that.”
The burning grew almost unbearable. I leaned over the table for a moment to allow myself to breathe through it. Fortunately, when I looked over, Arthur was too busy looking in the hand mirror to notice my struggles.
“Maybe we won’t run into anyone we know next time,” he remarked.
The comment felt like a punch to my gut, but the burning was almost too great for me to even register it. I forced myself to push down the discomfort and pick up Arthur’s concealer, though I doubted that he would really need it.
“It was a fluke,” I choked out. “I didn’t expect to see them there.”
“So I gathered.” Arthur blinked at me as I started examining his face for blemishes. “Anna, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, just fine.” I started to dab concealer on small, barely noticeable, emerging white heads. “Hold still, please.”
“You’re looking a bit pale. Are you sure that you don’t want to sit down or something?”
I shook my head, then immediately regretted the action. The burning went up into my mouth.
“No,” I grumbled. “I’m fine.”
“Anna, I don’t want you to be working yourself ragged. If you aren’t feeling well, I want you to take a break.”
“I’m fine, Arthur. I just have to…have to…get you ready for…The WWWs…”
As I spoke, I felt chunks rushing up my esophagus. I tried to back away from Arthur, but I could not move away quickly enough. His eyes widened as I opened my mouth and vomited all over his lap.
Everything in the room came to a screeching halt.
