Rude Awakenings: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 2)

Chapter Fifty-Three: Lauren, Friday

Lauren had to leave work early to pick up Joe from the hospital. He'd been cleared. She didn't mind cutting out. It had gotten awkward in the office.

Rachel had returned to work, and Ralph had been effusive in welcoming her back, treating her to an unsolicited hug. Lauren had been in the group of coworkers welcoming her, and she couldn't ignore the sidelong glances they threw her, like they were wondering what was going through her head seeing the wife of the man she'd been inappropriate with that Saturday night. Oh, if they only knew how inappropriate she'd gotten since then; they might chill her out from the firm entirely. She wasn't sure if she wasn't already walking a tightrope over the end of her own career; she might be okay economically, as Joe's business pulled in money enough to keep the roof over their heads, but she loved her job, it was just that the people she worked with suddenly weren't the cordial crew she'd known before last weekend.

The awkwardness continued, to her dismay, when she found herself sitting across from Rachel in her own office, going over the numbers on the Pryor file as Ralph had hoped she would earlier in the week. Suddenly they didn't know what to say to each other; they didn't fall into the easy banter and name-calling as they usually did while working. It was all business today. Maybe Rachel was just eager to catch up on work that had been piling up all week, but Lauren had a sinking feeling it was more than that. As wonderful as last night had been, the light of day shone on realities that somehow they'd ignored in the heat of their three-way passion, and it left them struggling with how to address them.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, and she placed a hand on Rachel's. Rachel stopped her detailed explanation of the deposits and withdrawals and looked up at her.

"Are we okay?" Lauren asked.

Rachel blinked in surprise. "Of course we are."

"Sorry, I just feel like... something's different."

Rachel sighed. "Sorry, I'm just preoccupied. Ralph is just down the hall, for one thing."

"Tell me about it. I still don't know what to do about him."

"I think we just have to wait for the cops to work up a case against him if they can."

"I saw he also gave you a hug."

"Yes, and my skin hasn't stopped crawling."

"Yeah. I was the same on Wednesday.  So, just to be clear, you still fucking love me?"

Rachel chuckled. "Of course I do."

"No regrets about last night?"

Rachel's mouth twisted. "No, but..."

Lauren's stomach dropped. "But?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "I want to be clear about this. I invited Al in. I accept the consequences of that. It's up to me to deal with my feelings about it."

"No," Lauren said. "That's where you're wrong. If you love me, you can feel free to tell me anything. You can tell me that you never want him and me in the same room together again." The very thought of that made her feel like a puppy abandoned on the street, but Lauren felt she had to offer it to make Rachel feel better about them.

Rachel shook her head stubbornly. "No, I wouldn't want that any more than you do. I love you both, and I want you both in my life, and in each other's life." She sighed. "I think... maybe last night we went too far. Don't get me wrong, I loved being with you, but as for the rest... fantasy is one thing, but having your fantasies fulfilled isn't always what it's cracked up to be. I always thought I was scandal proof, but I find I can't be as glib about this as I thought."