The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,75
the time. They had two boys. She’d dragged them downtown with her. After telling me off, she stormed out of the building. Tony tried to stop her but she got the kids in the car and drove off. Except she hadn’t buckled the younger one into his car seat. She ran a stop sign a few blocks from the office and her car was T-boned by a delivery truck.”
Meredith cursed under her breath.
“The four-year-old was severely injured. He had to undergo emergency surgery and was unconscious for almost a week. They thought he wasn’t going to pull through.”
“But he did?”
“Yes, although as I understand it he has a long road to a full recovery.” She turned to the other woman. “I almost killed him.”
Meredith’s small hand wrapped around Avery’s upper arm. “You had no responsibility in that accident.”
“I destroyed her family,” Avery protested. “I drove her to that level of heartbreak.”
“Would you have been with him if you’d known?”
“Of course not.”
“Did you end it when you found out?”
“If I never speak to him again it will be too soon.” She shrugged. “Not that my moral compass or the fallout I endured means anything to a heartbroken wife and mother.”
“You said the two of you worked together?” Meredith released her arm but stayed close. “I assume that’s the real reason you left your job?”
“Not just my job.” Avery tried for a smile but found her mouth wouldn’t move in that direction. “I lost my life.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.” Meredith frowned.
“Unfortunately, it showed me the quality of the life I had. I was a little bit obsessed with my career. The people I thought were my friends were also my coworkers. They wanted nothing to do with me or the repercussions of the situation. Tony wasn’t exactly my boss, but he was way higher up on the food chain.”
“He cheated.” Meredith threw up her hands. “How could anyone take his side?”
It was a question that had plagued Avery in the weeks after discovering Tony’s duplicity. “I think it’s partly the age-old double standard. And partly he had an injured kid in the hospital. He also made it clear that I’d seduced him. That he’d confided in me about a rocky period in his marriage and I took advantage of the situation. You can imagine how that went for me.”
“Did they fire you?”
“The HR manager took pity. I think she could tell I was shell-shocked by the whole situation. She allowed me to resign and promised not to divulge the details of my termination with any potential employers.”
“Your married superior cheated on his wife with you. The wife made a huge scene at your workplace. They branded you with some sort of modern-day scarlet letter.” Meredith slapped a hand on the porch rail. “It sounds like a bad made-for-TV movie.”
“Without the happy ending,” Avery added. “I was on my second week of couch potato-ing when I got the letter about Niall.”
Meredith blew out a breath. “So this is a case of cutting yourself, then breaking your leg? Suddenly the finger doesn’t hurt as badly.”
“Something like that.” Avery shuddered. “I know it’s not the same situation, but the look on Gray’s ex-wife’s face when she found me with Violet brought it all back.”
“Gray and that overinjected ex-wife have been divorced for a while. I heard she’d even moved on from the guy she cheated on Gray with.” Meredith’s focus on Avery intensified. “Did you tell him all this?”
Avery bit down on her lower lip. “I haven’t told anyone.”
“No one?”
“Not even my mom.”
“But you told me.” Meredith pointed at her own chest. “It’s like we’re really sisters or something.”
“Yeah.” Emotion bloomed in Avery’s heart, delicate like the first flowers of spring. But she knew that fragility was a misnomer. This connection she had with her sister was deep and true, a crocus able to withstand the snow or wind or whatever nature threw at it and still retain its beauty.
“This is why you’re avoiding Gray?” Meredith bent to