~{Chapter 8}~

"Miss Garner?" I look up and see my new secretary in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"That man is here for his interview."

"Which one?"

"The one who wants to be our business advertiser."

"Ah, yes, let him in. Also, make sure that you're in here with a notepad and a pen or a pencil. I want you to be taking notes," I tell her.

She nods and leaves the room. In just a couple of minutes, she is back with the man. I spend a few minutes with him before deciding that he isn't right for the job. I do the kind thing and tell him that we'll have to call him in the next few days.

I let my secretary go back to her work, and I sit and stare at my computer. I only have one book that I can edit, and I'm almost finished with it. There haven't been any books sent in to be edited. I know we just started, but I have a lot of money on my shoulders. I can't let my branch fail.

I didn't start the New York City branch. I just took over after the chief editor retired. This is a whole new world for me, and I'm scared that it won't work.

Knock. Knock.

I look up and see my secretary in the doorway once again. "Yes?"

She clears her throat and says, "I have a woman who wants to meet with you about one of her books. She's worried that you won't see her because she didn't make an appointment or anything."

It takes a lot of will power for me to not jump out of my chair in excitement. "Please, send her in immediately!"

She can tell I'm really excited, so she smiles at me and hurries out of the room. I quickly clear off the few papers that are on my desk and sit up straight in my chair.

"Miss Garner, this is Miss Anderson. She's here to talk about her new book," the secretary tells me as she brings in Miss Anderson.

I thank her for bringing her, and I ask Miss Anderson to sit. I start to ask her a few questions before I ask her to bring her book out. I glance over the book and am impressed with it. The storyline is really good, and her writing is fantastic!

I tell her that I would be happy to be her editor, but we have to draft a contract. She excitedly agrees and leaves with a huge smile on her face. I give a sigh of relief. There's still hope for this branch.

A few hours pass of me working, getting information on people who want to be interviewed, and a few phone calls. I'm drafting a contract when I get a distressed call from Beth.

"Kate? C-could y-you come o-over to my house?"

"Beth, what's the matter?" I ask her worriedly.

"I can't tell you o-over the ph-phone. Please hurry!"

"I'm on my way," I tell her as I grab my jacket and hurry out of the building.

I nod to my secretary and receptionist as I walk past. I walk out of the building and into the street, planning on running, but I'm kept from doing that. There are a lot of people in the streets. I forgot that everyone is preparing for the annual Thanksgiving parade. Loads of people have come into town just for this. This and the Christmas celebration really attracts people for the holidays.

Anyway, I hurry as quickly as I can to Beth's house. It turns into a ten minute walk instead of a five minute or less walk. As I approach her house, the door opens, revealing a saddened Beth. I hurry to her and wrap her in a warm hug. She pulls back and beckons for me to come in. She closes the door behind me and pulls me back into a hug. She sobs into my shoulder. I hold her tight and let her cry.

After a few minutes of a steady cry, she pulls back and goes and sits down on her couch. I sit down next to her and wait as she wipes away tears. She takes a deep breath and looks down at her hands.

"Beth, tell me," I tell her.

She looks up at me and softly says, "I learned what has been bothering Josh for these past few months."

I raise an eyebrow. "How? What is it?"

She takes another deep breath. "You mean who is it."

I gasp. "Are freaking serious? Beth! How could he do that to you?!"

Her eyes water again, and she says, "I found him today at his house. I had done my Quiet Time earlier, and I felt like I needed to go say an apology to Josh. I parked in his driveway and went up to the door. I knocked on the door but nobody answered. His truck was parked outside. It took me about five minutes to decide to go inside. I opened the door and walked inside. I looked in the living room, and h-he wasn't a-alone."

She begins to cry again. I take her hand in mine and squeeze it. She doesn't have to say anything else. I know exactly what she meant. I did want to know who was with him.

"Who was with him?" I ask her softly.

She barely gets the name out before I lose my temper. "You've got to be kidding me! She made my life miserable in high school! Isn't she married to some rich guy?"

Beth nods. "It doesn't seem to change anything."

"Did they see you? What were they doing?" I hesitantly ask her.

"They were just making out. It took them awhile to see me. I had to clear my throat before they saw me. When he saw me, he quickly pushed her off of him and started that stupid explanation that it wasn't what I thought. Kate, he cheated on me," she says.

I don't answer her. Instead, I run out of her house and towards Josh's house. I hear Beth running behind me. She calls my name, but I don't stop. I run most of the way to his house. I'm so angry.  When he messed with Beth, he messed with me. She's my best friend and never ever deserves to be treated like this.

"Kate! Don't do anything stupid! I'm fine!" she yells out.

I stop and turn to look at her. "Beth! You're not alright! Don't even try to protect him. He should know that he needs to stop taking you for granted."

I turn and keep going in the direction of his house. I finally get there. Instead of knocking on his door, I burst through and hurry to his living room. If he's as big of an idiot as I think he is, he'll still have that nasty woman here.

I walk into his living room and see them kissing. I clear my throat, and they both look up at me. Josh jumps up, causing his partner to fall onto the floor.

I walk up to him and give him a firm slap on the face. He steps back in shock.

"Who the heck do you think you are, Josh Tucker?" I demand.

He touches his cheek. "Why are you here? It's none of your business."

I walk up to him and shove him down into his couch. "Whenever someone dares to break my best friend's heart, it's my business. No one ever takes Beth for granted, especially her fiancé!"

The woman is now standing up and glaring at Josh. "You have a fiancé, Josh? You're an idiot and something else that I won't say aloud!"

I turn and glare at her. "How does that make a difference? You're married!"

She glares at me. "It's an unhappy marriage, stupid. Last I checked, you don't even have a man. Did he get tired of you liked I predicted he would? I always knew that you weren't his type."

I stomp over to her and give her a harder glare. "He's dead. Now, I want you to get out of here before I lose my temper completely."

She crosses her arms. "No."

I grit my teeth and growl at her. Instead of saying anything back, I turn back to Josh and glare at him.

"Since she's not leaving, I might as well keep going. What is wrong with you? Do you realize how much pain you're causing because of this?" I ask Josh.

"Kate! What have you done?" I turn and see Beth staring at me like I have two heads.

"Beth, leave. I need to take care of this," I tell her.

She shakes her head. "Whatever you tell them, I should be able to hear."

I sigh and turn back to Josh. "Was me losing my fiancé not enough for you to see that you shouldn't take your loved ones for granted? Forget about Beth for a second. What is your mother going to think when she hears about this?"

His face goes white. "You can't tell Mom. Please, Kate! Please, Beth! Don't tell her."

"She deserves to know, Josh. She deserves to know that you cheated on my best friend and her soon to be daughter-in-law. You seriously can't tell me that you don't feel any guilt over what you have done!"

He stares at me. "You can tell my mom, but you can't use that guilt card on me. I was sick and tired of listening to Beth's stupid orders. I needed a break from that. I got it with my new lady."

I walk over to him and grab his shirt in between my hands. I pull his face close to mine and say, "Call her your mistress because that's exactly who she is. You're stupid, Josh Tucker. I should've known that you would've done something like this. I'm glad you didn't get married to Beth. She deserves way better than you. What's good now, is that everyone can now see that your whole life has been an act."

I let go of his shirt and turn to his mistress. "Cheat all you want. All that it'll get you is glares from the people in this town and the media. Remember, you're in the spotlight and the media watches your every move."

I turn back to Josh. "The same goes for you. The only difference is that you'll be forced into the spotlight. Be prepared."

I turn on my heel and begin walking out the door. Beth waits for a second before turning around and following me out of his house. She grabs my hand and squeezes it. I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a comforting side hug.

"Thank you," she says.

I whisper, "It's my job."

I lead her down the sidewalk and towards Mrs. Tucker's Diner. It's time she knows who her son really is.

~-~-~-~
"Mrs. Tucker, I have something that I need to tell you," I say as Mrs. Tucker sits down behind her desk.

Beth is sitting next to me. She's a nervous wreck and is worried that Mrs. Tucker won't believe what we're about to tell her. She squeezes my hand.

"What is it? What has my son done to hurt Beth?"

I look at her in shock. "How do you know that your son has upset Beth?"

"I notice more things than you think, Kate. I've seen how worried Beth has been. I've seen how strange my son has been acting. Now, tell me what you need to tell me."

I take a deep breath. "Mrs. Tucker, your son has changed. I think we can all agree on that." She nods her head, and I continue, "Beth and I discovered what has been bothering him. He hasn't been honest. Your son has been cheating on Beth."

Mrs. Tucker freezes. It's almost like she has stopped breathing. Beth jumps out of her chair and rushes to Mrs. Tucker's side. She begins to panic. I rush to Mrs. Tucker's other side and check her breathing. She's still breathing. I calm Beth down and tell her to go get Mrs. Tucker a glass of water.

After Beth leaves, Mrs. Tucker asks, "Are you certain?"

I take her hand in mine and say, "Yes ma'am. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm sorry that you had to hear about this way. I know that he's your son, and it can't be easy to hear about this."

She shakes her head. "You're right; it isn't easy to hear about this, but I'm glad that his sins have been found out. He may be my son, but he shouldn't have ever done this. I feel horrible for Beth. She doesn't deserve this, and I was so looking forward to having her as my daughter-in-law."

I give her a gentle hug as Beth walks in with a glass of water. "Kate, is she okay?"

I nod my head and take the water out of her hand. I hand it to Mrs. Tucker and motion for her to drink some. She obliges and sips a few times before setting it down on her desk and motioning for us to sit back down.

"Girls, I'll be fine. I just need to have a serious talk with my son. Beth, I'm extremely sorry about this. I thought my son was better than this, and I know that he's lost all his chances with you," Mrs. Tucker says sadly.

Beth manages to say, "I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"Me too."

I'm about to say something when I hear the diner's front door open and get slammed shut. I turn around to see Josh at the front of the diner with an angry look on his face. He spots me looking at him and glares. I glare back as he hurries to his mom's office. When he gets to the office, his mother is giving him a look of disappointment and anger. Beth is avoiding all eye contact.

"Whatever they told you, Mom, it's a lie," he tells Mrs. Tucker.

She scowls at him. "Don't feed me anymore lies. I'm tired of lies. I want the truth, and I want it from your lips. I should've known that you were lying to me. You had us all fooled."

"Mom, you know I wouldn't hurt you."

"But you'll hurt your fiancé? Josh Tucker, I'm ashamed of you. Did James' death not teach you anything? Have you seen how much pain Kate has been through? Have you not seen how hard it is to lose a loved one?"

"I didn't die. Plus, my loved ones are with me."

Mrs. Tucker's eyes turn dark. "You're loved ones are sitting in this room and listening to you're hurtful words. Son, you might as well be dead. You took Beth for granted. You lied to us all. You cheated. You caused more pain than you realize. I'm in pain because of it. You hurt me, and you can't even see it."

Josh pauses at his mother's words. I can tell that he is already feeling a little ashamed, but he's too proud to show it.

"I'm happy for the first time in forever. Why can't you be too?" he asks.

"You're happiness is through lies and selfishness. You need to realize that you didn't just lose Beth today. You lost me as well," Mrs. Tucker tells him as she motions for him to leave.

He slowly backs out of the room. It's like he expects someone will stop him and tell him that everything is fine. Everything isn't fine, and it won't be for a very long time.

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