“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
For the first time since she walked in, Lauren looked frightened rather than angry.
She sat on the edge of the chair near the hallway.
The folder remained in her lap.
“Blake is building a consultancy.”
“He has a website.”
“It’s more than that.”
“How many employees?”
“That isn’t relevant.”
“Clients?”
“He’s developing them.”
“So none.”
“You’re deliberately making it sound stupid.”
“I’m asking basic questions.”
“He has experience.”
“Doing what?”
“Strategy.”
“Lauren.”
She looked at me.
“What did fifteen thousand dollars buy?”
Her eyes dropped.
“Equity.”
“How much?”
She did not answer.
“Do you have a subscription agreement?”
“Blake has the documents.”
“Do you have copies?”
“He said he was finishing them.”
“Lauren.”
“Stop saying my name like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m an idiot.”
“I’m not.”
“You think I am.”
“I think you transferred fifteen thousand dollars of our savings into a company you cannot explain while sleeping with the man who controls it.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
I did not feel satisfaction.
That surprised me.
For a week, I imagined that if Lauren finally understood the consequences, I would feel vindicated.
I felt exhausted.
“Was it really about the company?” I asked.
She wiped her cheek quickly.
“I believed in him.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Another tear.
“He said if we were serious about building something together, I needed to stop being afraid.”
There it was.
Not investment.
Initiation.
A price paid to prove faith.
“How long?” I asked.
“What?”
“You and Blake.”
She remained silent.
“How long?”
“Four months.”
The answer landed softly.
Four months.
Longer than I expected.
Shorter than I feared.
“What happened this week?”
Lauren stood.
“I don’t owe you details.”
“No.”
“You’re right.”
I stepped back.
“You don’t.”
That answer unsettled her more than another question would have.
She began pacing.
“Blake and I needed time to understand what this was.”
“And?”
She stopped.
“He has things to resolve.”
“His marriage.”
“They’re separated.”
“So he says.”
“They are.”
“Okay.”
“He has financial issues because of the separation.”
That explained more than she understood.
I remained quiet.
Lauren’s voice became defensive again.
“This isn’t about Blake.”
“You took our savings and gave it to his company.”
“It wasn’t giving.”
“Fine.”
“Investing.”
She looked at me.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth would be new.”
Her face hardened.
“That was cruel.”
“Yes.”
It was.
I knew it immediately.