Violets Are Blue (G)

“We're so excited to work with you, Grace.”

“Good morning, sir!”

“Ah, Fabi! This is Grace. She's our newest client!”

The woman oozed the confidence I wish I had. Her outfit was polished, professional in a way I couldn’t touch in my nicest dress. The gaze she wore spoke of experience, of understanding, and despite all my fears, I found myself relaxing before it.

“Why do you look so nervous?” She smiled. “I can already tell we’ll get along great.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Fabi and I had spent so much time together, and I truly thought we were friends. Not that I had much of a reference on that. I’d found it rather hard to forge connections when everyone and their grandmother often wanted something out of the deal. That said, I cherished every relationship I could secure.

“Ms. Skybain? Are you alright?”

“Girl, don’t even worry about it. I’ve got you covered.”

Yeah, you’ve got me covered alright. I mean, how could I miss the fucking knife you stuck in my back?

“I’m fine,” I told the officer. “Is she here?”

“They’re booking her now.” He led me to a waiting area.

What would I say when I saw her? How could I express the pain of this with simple words? I could write a song about this. If I got to my studio now, I could make a hit with all the things I was feeling. It’d be easy, too:

“Wow, Gracie,” Fabi is saying, “I can’t believe you actually thought I liked you.”

But. . .” My voice breaks. “What about the talks we had? You told me—”

“For fuck’s sake, Grace!” Fabi rolls her eyes. “You’re a client and a pop star. Of course I was nice to you!”

“Grace?”

“Jasper!”

I ran into his arms, letting his hold chase the demons away. He wouldn’t want me to go back to the way I used to do things, but it was just so hard to let it go. I’d made countless songs using this method, and it really felt good when the tears stopped. But I didn’t want my Sunshine to worry, so I was willing to suffer.

He brushed a hand across my cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused.” I let him wipe a tear. “Horrified. And just. . . sad.”

He took me back into his arms, and we just stood there for a while. God, I loved it when he did this. There were so many things he could have said, but we both knew they wouldn’t help. The silence helped more than words, yet it told me so much.

“I’m here for you.”

“We’ll get through this.”

“Together.”

“Ms. Skybain?” The officer met my gaze evenly. “You can see her now.”

I thought it would be satisfying to see justice, but nothing felt right about this. Shouldn’t she look frazzled, her perfect outfit at least a little off? And what about her demeanor? Why was she so calm after everything? She could have ruined both him and me, and her work definitely caused damage that might not ever be repaired. Fabi was the reason Jasper was having panic attacks. She was the reason I had spent so many nights worrying that he would leave me over this, that it would be too much.

“Why.”

There were no tears, no ‘Where did our friendship go’ or ‘what happened to the Fabi I knew’. Those were empty questions, and I wasn’t going to bother with them.

“They were going to fire me,” She started, meeting my eyes. “They said my services might not be needed anymore.”

“But you do so much for them.”

Fabi laughed. “I can’t do shit, Grace. They never give me the work!”

Oh, that was just bullshit. “You were Mr. Hanes’ right hand.”

She directed a glare at the floor. “You know what they said when I first started working? ‘You’re such an asset to our team, Fabiniella. Thank you for all the help you’ve given us.’”

“Next year, they brought you in.” She sighed wistfully. “That was such a good year. I went to work, got shit done, and even had someone to hang out with when it was over.”

“A few months ago, Mr. Hanes called me into his office. Said he was running out of things for me to do. ‘You work too fast. I’m afraid Della Dynamics isn’t a good fit for you anymore.’ Unless there was something to keep me busy, I was out.”

She could have come to me. I could have talked to Mr. Hanes, or maybe even hired her myself. I would have done anything to keep a friend like her.

“You and Jasper really do talk a lot,” she said. “The most important things in this business are connections and information. All I had to do was listen and use what you gave me.”

“I really did consider you a friend, Grace.” Then why couldn’t she look at me anymore? “But I wasn’t going to lose my job for you.”

Yet here she was.

“But why Jasper?” I asked. “Why not me?”

“I needed something that would have the press talking. Then I’d be sent to deal with it.” She bit her lip. “I tried to warn him, you know.”

That was what had gotten her caught. While she’d been smart enough to buy a burner, the cops were able to find the people who sold it to her, and the cameras put the rest in the history books. Was that proof of her regret? No, none of that changed the past. It didn’t erase the stress both me and Jasper had gone through.

“So those updates on the website,” I said. “That was probably when your workload went down, huh?”

“You got it.” She chuckled. “I can’t believe you guys never questioned me once.”

“Why would we have?” I snapped. “To us, you were a reliable person—a friend, even. Both of us admired your ability to make time for us, regardless of how much work you had. When you took us to the beach, when you agreed to take Jasper home that day, I was so grateful that we meant enough for you to do that! I thought the world of you, Fabi. I worked harder so I could be like you: confident, capable. And now you’re saying all our time meant nothing!”

“It wasn’t nothing! I really did care, Grace!” Fabi insisted. “All those late-night talking sessions, the tea times, the bunny thing, were the proof of that!”

“And you did this shit anyway!”

“I don’t regret what I did, Grace.” Her gaze sharpened. “I told you this was a cut-throat industry, and I was willing to try anything to not leave it behind.”

Even if the cost is a friendship.

I wished I could make her understand, to show her how stupid she’d been. I wanted her to feel remorse for what she did, but I knew she wouldn’t. Salvaging this friendship was as impossible as holding Mittens in my arms again. If I could have gone back, I would have told my past self not to trust her so much, to question how she could be there every time we needed her. I’d have me wondering how much work there really was.

But I wouldn’t have helped Fabi. Someone willing to fuck with people for the sake of a paycheck didn’t belong in any work setting. Her name: Fabiniella Charlotte—with two ‘tt’s—S. Panini was written in solid ink. She’d willingly signed her life away for a chance, and she lost.

I rose. “I’m done with you. Your machinations, your manipulation, I’m out. Maybe the old me would have given you a second chance, but I’m working on cutting out the toxic bitches from my life.”

“Bye, TT.”

Jasper was on the phone when I came out, but I only caught the tail-end of the conversation.

“But you really got it, though?” He smiled. “Thank you, man, I owe you big time.” He hung up the phone.

I quirked a brow. “What was that about?”

He blushed. “Not important. Let’s go.”

What was he planning?