Annihilate Me 2: Vol. 1 (20 page)

“Shut the fuck up, Alexa.
 
I told you to keep that private.”

“You didn’t tell me it was
private.”

“Well, it was.”

“Who dumped you?” Blackwell asked.

A rush of color reddened
Daniella’s
cheeks.
 
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“It was some idiot,” Alexa
said.
 
“
Obvi
,
he was as thick as the smog lurking outside this window.
 
And probably just as toxic.”

“When was this?”

“Yesterday,” Alexa said.
 
“Just as she was packing to leave, he called
her up and said that it was over.
 
That they should enjoy their summer apart, and see other
people—which pretty much is the kiss of death.
 
We talked about it on the flight here.
 
She said she was over it, but she
isn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Daniella,” Blackwell
said.

“I don’t want some damned pity
party,” she said.
 
“Screw him.
 
I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

And for once, Daniella didn’t
answer.

“Why don’t you come over here and
give your mother a hug?”

“I don’t know.
 
Maybe because you’ll give me rabies?”

Blackwell smiled at that, and then
held out her arms, which Daniella reluctantly slipped into.
 
And when she did, she gradually relaxed.

“I don’t mean to be a bitch, but I
can’t help it,” she said.
 
“That
bastard has hauled it out of me.
 
He’s been playing me for the past four months.
 
I’m sick of men, mother.
 
I’m about to become a lesbo like my
sister.”

“I’m not a lesbian.
 
And stop saying ‘lesbo’—it’s
offensive.”

“
Whatevs
.”

“
Whatevs
,
nothing.
 
Stop saying it.”

“Fine.”

“Who was this boy?” Blackwell
asked.
 
“You didn’t tell me about
him.”

“Later,” she said.
 
“I don’t want to talk about it now.
 
I’m more worried about how sick Jennifer
looks.
 
I’m thinking—mahogany
coffin.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said.

She turned to me and winked.
 
“I’m just joking.
 
Kind of.
 
But you know I love you.
 
I’m just worried because you don’t look
like yourself.”

“Maybe there’s a reason,” I said.

“What reason?”

“Your mother will fill you in when
it’s appropriate.”

“Are you and Alex getting a
divorce?”

“Hardly.”

“Then what is it?”

“As she said, we’ll talk about it
later,” Blackwell said.
 
“But
please, cut Jennifer some slack, OK?
 
She hasn’t had the best week.”

“Now I totes need to know.”

“Look,” Alexa said from the
window.
 
“Do any of you see what’s
happening to our world?
 
Since we’ve
been here, the smog has only grown thicker with everyone rushing to work.
 
If we keep allowing greenhouse gasses to
press down upon the Earth, then eventually we’ll be toast.
 
Or underwater.
 
Extinct.
 
Zip-zap.
 
Do any of you see what I’m seeing?
 
Am I the only one who is sensitive to
this?”

“Her birthday is coming up, Mom,”
Daniella said.
 
“Might I suggest
that you buy her a redwood?
 
I
suggest one that’s been hollowed out so that she can sleep in it.”

“You think it’s funny now,” Alexa
said, “but just wait until you’re as old as Jennifer.”

“As old as me?” I said.
 
“I believe I’m only six years older than
you, Alexa.”

“Exactly,” she said.
 
“The end of the Earth is coming that
soon.”

At that moment, my cell dinged in
my handbag.
 
Thinking it was Alex, I
took it out, but instead saw that it was a text from Lisa asking if we were
still on for lunch at noon.
 
I’d
totally forgotten about it.

“Was that Alex?” Blackwell asked.

“No, it was a text from Lisa,
asking if we were still on for lunch.
 
After everything that’s happened, I’m going to have to decline.”

Daniella pulled away from her
mother.
 
“What’s happened?”

“I’ll tell you about it in a
moment,” Blackwell said.
 
“But it
isn’t good.
 
There’s a reason
Jennifer isn’t herself.”

“What?
 
Did somebody die or something?”

“Yes, Daniella.
 
Somebody did die.”

“Oh, my God.
 
Who?”

“It doesn’t matter now.”
 
She looked at me.
 
“I think you need that lunch, Jennifer.”

“Now isn’t the time.”

“I disagree.
 
In fact, now
is
the time to be
with your best friend.”

“I can’t just leave Alex.
 
What I haven’t had a chance to tell you
is that something is happening in Singapore.
 
I don’t know what it is, but I need to
find out.”

“Our phone is manufactured in
Singapore…”

“That’s right.”

“Then go and find out what he
knows.
 
If it’s something significant,
then stay here and help Alex.
 
But
if it’s nothing that he can’t handle on his own, have your lunch—you need
it. I’m urging you to go and be with Lisa,” she said.
 
“See your friend.
 
Be with her.
 
You need her now.”

I stood up to leave, but not before
giving Alexa and Daniella a hug.
 
“Be good to your mother, OK?” I said to them.

“Something’s wrong,” Alexa said.

“Your mother will tell you
everything.”
 
I moved toward the
door.
 
“I’m sorry to cut this
short.
 
I hope you understand that
right now I need to see my husband.”

“Jennifer,” Daniella said.
 
I turned to her.
 
“I didn’t know something was wrong.
 
I was only joking earlier.
 
I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“That’s just it,” she said.
 
“I think that I did, and now because of
this weird energy in the room, I regret it.
 
I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m
sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry.
 
You just went through a break-up, and
you’re upset.
 
I’ll see all of you
soon.
 
I promise.
 
We’ll have martinis—remember the
last time we had one of those?
 
I
thought you would.
 
But do me a
favor in the meantime, OK?
 
Sit down
and spend time with your mother.
 
Really talk with her.
 
Anything can happen to us at any point in our lives.
 
You’ll soon find that out.
 
Your mother should never be taken for
granted.
 
No one ever should.”

And with that, I left them behind
and moved down the hallway toward the bank of elevators that would bring me to
Alex.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

When I arrived at the forty-seventh
floor and saw that Alex’s office door was closed, I went immediately to Ann.

“Is it all right to go in?” I
asked.

“He’s still on the phone with his
contacts in Singapore.
 
He asked not
to let anyone disturb him.”

“How long has he been on the line?”

“Since he arrived.”

“But that was an hour ago.”

A troubled look came over her
face.
 
“Don’t concern yourself with
that just yet,” she said.
 
“There’s
something I need to show you first.
 
I put it in your office, so Alex wouldn’t see it.”

See what?

Ann stood, and I followed her into
my office, where a bouquet of a dozen black roses sat on my desk.

“Who sent them?” I asked as we
walked over to my desk.

“I didn’t look at the card.”

I plucked the small envelope from
the bouquet, opened it, and removed the card that was tucked inside.
 
Three words summed it up:
 
“Fuck you, bitch.”

Stephen Rowe
, I thought.
 
Who else?

I turned to Ann, who looked at me
with concern.
 
“How about if this
remains just between us?”

“Of course.”

“Would you mind tossing the flowers
somewhere where Alex won’t see them?”

“I’d be happy to.
 
Are you all right?”

“Actually, I’m rather amused.
 
There’s nothing to be concerned about
here.
 
It’s just a reaction.
 
A grown man trying to pull my pigtails.”

I showed her the card.

“That’s some reaction.”

“Let’s just say that a certain person
obviously believes that I deserve it.
 
And if I were in his shoes, I’d probably feel the same way after the way
I crushed him last night.
 
But
that’s enough of that.”
 
I handed
her the card, which she immediately ripped up, and then I bent down to smell
the dyed roses.
 
“Pity,” I
said.
 
“They do smell lovely.”

“I’m sorry about what happened last
night, Jennifer.
 
About all of
it.
 
Especially with how the
Post
played it this morning.
 
I was
furious when I saw the front page.
 
I wanted to kill them when I read the story.”

“Then you handled it better than I
did.
 
What did I do?
 
I threw up—classy of me, don’t you
think?”

“You’ve been under a lot of stress
lately.
 
I’m worried about both of
you.”

“Don’t be,” I said.
 
“Wenn is going to be fine.
 
You’ll see.
 
This is temporary.
 
Before long, things will get back on
track again.
 
I haven’t had a chance
to check.
 
Do you happen to know
where our stock is now?”

“It’s not as grave as it seemed earlier—now
we’re down seventeen points.”

“You see,” I said.
 
“Things will right themselves.
 
Alex gave at least a dozen one-on-one
interviews to key members of the press.
 
People are starting to digest what he had to say.
 
They know that Wenn is much more than
what it cost in R&D to make our phone.
 
And then they’ve seen the brisk sales of that phone.
 
I’m telling you, it’s temporary.
 
I’m convinced it is.”

She looked relieved when I said
that.
 
I put my hand on her
shoulder.
 
“But thank you, Ann.
 
You make things a hell of a lot easier
for both Alex and me.
 
We’d be lost
without you.”

“Well, I don’t plan on going
anywhere anytime soon.”

“Good, because I’d chase after you
if you did.”

When we left my office, Ann went to
her desk, found a plastic bag in one of her drawers, and stuffed the roses into
it.
 
Then she shoved the lot of them
deep into the silver trashcan that was behind her desk.

“That should do it.
 
He’ll never see them there.”

“No, he won’t.
 
And that’s good, because he has enough
on his plate.”
 
I looked over at
Alex’s door and wondered if it was possible to interrupt him, even for a
moment.
 
I decided it was.
 
“I’m supposed to have lunch with Lisa in
two hours, and I need to get back to her about whether I’m going, which I’m not.
 
Alex needs me here.
 
Let me just stick my head inside for a
moment and let him know.
 
I’ll be
back in a minute.”

When I cracked open the door to
Alex’s office and peeked in, I could hear him talking.
 
But when he saw my face, he waved me
inside.

“No, Mr. Wei
Jei
,
I’m afraid that’s not good enough.
 
Certainly, you have other companies at your disposal to help you meet
our contractual demands to properly manufacture our phones without holding up
stock, such as companies that manufacture and supply the memory chips you claim
you lack.
 
Why don’t I put you on
hold for a moment so we each can take a short break to think about the
consequences.
 
When I come back, I’m
certain that you will have come up with at least half a dozen companies right
in Singapore that have in stock the exact sort of memory chip we need to outfit
the
SlimPhone
.
 
If it happens to be at an extra cost to you, that’s also in our
contract.
 
I’d hate to get lawyers
involved because I know that we can work this out over the phone.
 
We’ve always had a good business
relationship.
 
So, let’s take five
minutes, take a breath, and privately consider our options.”

And with that, Alex pressed the
‘hold’ button on his phone, put the receiver down on his desk, and leaned back
in his chair.

“Come over here,” he said.

I walked over to him, and he swept
me into his lap and kissed me hard on the lips.
 

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

“They’re claiming it isn’t, but it
will be.
 
Apparently, they’re
‘dangerously short on memory chips,’ which could hold up production of our
phone.
 
Obviously, with demand as
high as it’s been, that can’t happen.
 
Wenn doesn’t need any more negative press, especially surrounding our
phone.
 
It’ll get worked out.
 
Wei
Jei
is
just going to have to cough up the money to buy the chips elsewhere.
 
He’s balking now as only Tan Wei
Jei
can, but I just mentioned the dirtiest word of
all—lawyers.
 
He’ll get in
line.
 
So, what’s up?
 
How are you feeling?
 
After this morning, you haven’t left my
thoughts.
 
I hated that you got sick
earlier.”

“I’m fine,” I said.
 
“And I didn’t mean to interrupt.
 
Ann told me that you wanted to be left
alone, so this isn’t on her—it’s on me.”

He ran his fingers through my hair
and smiled up at me.
 
“I’m happy for
the interruption, not that I consider it one.”

“I know you need to get back on the
phone—”

“Let him wait.”

“—but I wanted to let you
know that I’ll be staying here today.
 
I can have lunch with Lisa another time.
 
She’ll understand.”
 

“Why?”

“Because now isn’t the time to have
lunch with my girlfriend. I’m going to write a personal note to Henri, and you
can either sign it or write a note of your own.
 
Whatever you want.
 
I’ll take care of the flowers now, and
have them sent to him.
 
So, if you
need me, I’ll be just beyond that wall.”

“Why isn’t it a good time to have
lunch with Lisa?
 
Look, Jennifer,
you’ve been under a lot of stress.
 
Go and have lunch with Lisa.
 
You haven’t seen her in a good week.”

“And during that week, you’ve been
under far more stress than I have.”

“I believe you took some of that
off me last night when you had your dance with Rowe.…”

“Still.”

“Come on—do your husband a
favor.
 
Go and have lunch with
Lisa.
 
This conversation isn’t
ending any time soon, I can tell you that.
 
We’ll be duking it out for the next few hours, so don’t hurry.”

“But there are things to do.”

“And those things can wait.”
 
He kissed me on the neck, and then again
on the lips.
 
“So.
 
Lunch?
 
With Lisa?
 
Will you do that for me?”
 

I moved to speak, but he put a
finger to my lips.
 
“If you would,
it would make me feel better.
 
I’ll
tell you everything about the phone call after lunch, assuming I’m off the
phone at that point.
 
Don’t count on
it.
 
But I’ll share it all with you
at least by this evening.
 
How’s
that?”

“I don’t know, Alex.
 
After what happened to
Audric
last night, the press this morning, and the entire
week in general, I think if I went to lunch with Lisa, I’d be nothing but a
downer.”

“Another reason to see her.
 
She’s your best friend.
 
She’ll lift your spirits.
 
Am I wrong about that?”

“No.”

“Then will you just do this for
me?”

“All right.
 
But I should be here.
 
With all that you’re handling now, I
need to be working, not having lunch.”

He ignored that and picked up the
receiver.
 
“My five minutes are up,”
he said to me.
 
“Now, give me a
kiss.
 
That’s right.
 
I’ll see you after lunch.
 
And just so you know, I love you.”

Before I could respond to that, he
pressed the ‘hold’ button and launched back into his conversation with Wei
Jei
as I got off his lap, and left the room.

*
 
*
 
*

“Apparently, I’m going to lunch,” I
said to Ann when I left Alex’s office.

“Good for you.
 
Jennifer, you need it.
 
Are you going with Lisa?”

“She’s the one.”

“Try your best to enjoy
yourself.
 
Where are you going?”

“We were planning to go to Per Se,
but not after this week—it’s too public.
 
I’m going to ask Lisa if she’d meet me
at La
Masseria
instead.
 
No one will recognize either of us
there, so we can just be ourselves.”

“Sounds perfect.
 
Is there anything you need me to do
before you leave?”

“I’m good.
 
If you need me, I’ll have my cell.”
 
I started to leave for my office to
order the flowers for Henri and to write my note to him, but then I stopped and
nodded toward her trashcan, where the black roses were buried.
 
“Thanks for ditching those, Ann.”

She lifted her chin at me and
smiled.
 
“It was my pleasure.”