Chapter 4
Her excuse was pretty far-fetched.
Jenny never drank Coke.
She always said it was way too sweet and left her throat feeling uncomfortable.
She'd much rather have juice, coconut water, or coffee.
Work was the last thing on her mind.
Back when I was worried her numbers would tank, I'd try to walk her through a presentation step by step, but she'd just brush me off.
"Please, Claire, I don't want to look at this stuff. My head hurts," she'd groan.
"Ugh, I just want to be a total slacker. Get this work junk away from me!" she'd moan, shoving the papers aside.
But just now, she said she wanted to pick up a few tips from me.
I kept quiet, biting my lip and staring at her, and searching her face for any sign she was hiding something.
Could she really be the one who posted that?
If that was true, then I had basically been raising a snake under my own roof.
She had been living in my apartment and eating my food, yet all this time, she had been scheming against me?
But what if I was wrong about her?
What if I was just accusing her for no reason?
We had been best friends since our first year of high school.
Now, it had been a full decade of friendship.
From 15 to 25, she had been there for me through every chapter of my youth.
This friendship meant the world to me.
Jenny was not just my best friend. She was one of the most important people in my life.
Maybe I should just keep watching and see what could happen.
Once I'd made up my mind, I took a deep breath and gave Jenny a nod.
"Alright," I said.
"Tomorrow, you're coming with me to finance, and we're paying for the laptop," I said, keeping my voice firm.
Jenny just stood there, eyes brimming with tears, like she couldn't process what I'd just said.
After a few seconds, she buried her face in her hands and started bawling her eyes out.
"Claire, you're really mad at me, aren't you?" Jenny wailed.
"This is the first time you've ever been this mean to me," Jenny choked out between sobs.
*****
Ever since I started doubting Jenny, every little thing she did started to seem suspicious.
First off, I wasn't even mean to her.
Plus, she volunteered to pay for the laptop herself.
She broke company property, so paying for it is just common sense. Why was she acting all hurt about it?
Normally, whenever she started crying, I'd go out of my way to comfort her.
But this time, I wasn't going to.
Jenny's sobs grew quieter and quieter.
She looked up, and when she caught my expressionless gaze, a flicker of panic flashed across her eyes.
"Claire, I'll pay for the laptop, okay?" Jenny said, her voice still shaky.
"Please don't stay mad at me, alright?" she begged, her eyes pleading.
"Let me make it up to you. Dinner's on me tonight," she said, forcing a little smile.
"But... I'm kinda broke right now. Can we pick somewhere that's not so pricey?" she added, looking embarrassed.
I gave her a long, searching look, then shot her a small, easy smile.
"Alright," I said.
Jenny let out a huge sigh of relief, patting her chest like she'd just dodged a bullet.
"Thank God you're smiling again. You totally freaked me out," she said, still a little shaky.
"Seriously, I haven't seen you look that serious in forever," she added.
Jenny grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
"Come on, let me give you a gorgeous makeover," she said, trying to cheer me up.
"I'm so sorry for today. I was such a klutz. Ugh, I totally regret it!" she whined, shaking her head.