She thought of checking up on her, but then, it wasnât like she cared about Livvy that much. And it looked more like a case of not being able to hold oneâs liquor.
Jade looked at the other side and saw someone coming in from the balcony door, tears in their eyes. Well, I guess Lauren did show up after all.
She turned around to grab another glass of champagne before making her way to the balcony herself. She opened the door and saw her standing at the end, her used-to-be role model for pretty much everything in life. She walked closer.
âI knew if I just followed the tears I would get to you sooner or later.â
Lauren raised an eyebrow at that familiar voice, smiling with delight as she spotted Jade. âOh, you know me so well, darling,â she said, wrapping an arm around Jade and kissing her on both cheeks. âYou look amazing, being a doctor clearly suits you,â she said. âGod, itâs really been too long. So, come on, tell me everything thatâs been happening. With you and with everyone else, I want to make sure I havenât missed out on any potential dirt,â Lauren said with a wicked smile.
Jade was happy to meet the greeting and returned the kisses. As she received the compliment on her looks, she stepped back and circled around, showing her dress off. âWow you must have changed as well, if you need me to get any dirt on people.â she replied with a cheeky wink.
âOh well, not sure how much news I have in any case. You must be up to date. Julian went to jail, iâm sure you knew that...â she started listing their old friends on her fingers. âNate died, Robyn cried. Gabriella pretends to be off drugs.â Then she held her hand next to her mouth and continued the line in a whisper. âbut Iâll make sure thatâs not going to last.â
âOtherwise..uhm.. Erin just carried in Livvy like the latter canât use her legs anymore, wonder what happened thereâŠ. Decâs still a dick⊠and..oh, watch thisâ Jade grabbed her phone from her purse and scrolled through the pics till she pulled up one of herself with a little girl. She held the picture in front of Lauren. âGuess who this beauty isâ she said smiling.
Lauren had to force a laugh as Jade implied that Lauren somehow needed her, as if she wasnât just trying to find out how much the other woman knew. âNobody talks to me any more,â she pouted as an explanation. Nothing that Jade said was news to Lauren, although she was amused by her comment about Gabriella.
The only thing that caught Lauren off guard was when Jade showed Lauren a picture of her with Flor. Something about that felt wrong. But Lauren didnât dwell on it.
âThatâs Adonisâ kid, right? Canât believe he was so careless as to get somebody knocked up,â she said with an exaggerated eye roll. âCome on, Jade, is that really all youâve got? I would have thought that my right hand woman would have been able to find out more spicy gossip than that for me, I knew about all of that already,â she said, allowing a little bit of displeasure to seep into her voice in the hope that might make Jade spill the good stuff; if she actually had any.
Jade made a sound in disbelieve. âWait, you canât believe he was that careless? Do you know him at all?â Jade rolled her eyes at Lauren. If anyone of their group would get a person knocked up, it would always be Adonis. Or maybe Dean, but at least Jade made sure he wouldnât do so with her.
âOf course thatâs not all I got, but itâs all Iâm sharing.â She turned and put her back against the railing and crossed her legs. âWe hardly saw each other the past few years, and you still believe I am just here to feed you information? I kind of stepped away from that oversharing I used to do for you.â
Laurenâs smile was beginning to become difficult to keep in place. Jade had clearly gotten a little too big for her boots. But she kept that intrigued smile on her face, right up until Jade refused to tell her anything else. Lauren raised an eyebrow.
Jade could see the smile fading from Laurenâs eyes, just the plastered on smily lips left. Lauren used to be her role model, but had become the step to bring Jade herself to greater heights. She felt pride dwelling up in her chest, standing just a bit straighter than before.
âThatâs a shame, you know. I really loved our old friendship,â she said, her smile fixed in place but no longer reaching her eyes. âAnd, you know, Jade, Iâve been keeping an eye on you. Just making sure my former bestie was staying out of trouble. And I got my hands on something really, really interesting. I have friends in the hospital; did you know that?â She asked, pulling her phone from her bag and tapping into a video. She tapped play, and held the video out to Jade.
Jade rolled her eyes once again at Laurenâs so-called friends at the hospital. If this was Decâs handy work, he would pay for it dearly. Jade looked at the phone, seeing herself in doctorâs uniform. It was clearly CCTV footage taken during one of her shifts. Looking around before opening a door with a card key that could not have been hers. It was a medicinal storage unit and as a resident, she was not allowed in those.
Jade could see the time skip on the clock that was ticking away on the screen. Seeing herself get out the door, you could just recognize how she placed a few bottles of pills in her lab coat. The footage was quite old, and Jade remembered the day this happened. She had only just started there and she did not have any contact with the suppliers she had now. However, this video with the right, or wrong, people could be the start of a nasty inquiry she was not prepared to face.
She kept her face stoic, trying to show no reaction to it. âSo you got someone to send you the security camera images from my place of work. Wow Lauren, you really have lost your touch. And this is supposed to impress me somehow?â
Lauren could recognise some of her own mannerisms in Jadeâs face as she tried to hide her reaction to the video. To give the other girl credit, Jade did a good job of covering up her reaction.
âI wouldnât say I was hoping to impress you. See, Jade dearest, I donât really care about impressing you. But you know, this really did trouble me. Because well, stealing is wrong, Jade, especially from a hospital. So, letâs talk business, shall we?â She said, She took a step closer to Jade and dropped her smile. â40% of all your earnings from your sales. Or I send this to all of your supervisors, and possibly even some of my friends in the police. And you back the fuck off and remember which one of us is, and always will be, the queen.â She said, fixing her smile back on her face, as if sheâd just made a casual offer.
â40?! 40 fucking per..?â her face was no longer one of calmness. She could not even finish the sentence at the same time as processing it. âYou must be out of your goddamn mind to ask for 40%.â Jade pushed her finger in Laurenâs face. âIf you really kept an eye on me, like you said you did, you know that is a fuck-ton of money. Earnings you yourself wouldnât be able to explain.â
She lowered her finger, but she was still seething.
âYou are no longer the only one with friends in nice places, Lauren. You want money, fine, Iâll get you 5% and I wonât send the hounds after you.â Jade threw up a smile of absolute sarcasm. âYou know what, let me be generous, Iâll get you 7% if you will buy yourself a wardrobe that didnât go out of fashion before even you did.â With the last comment Jade touched Laurenâs dress at the shoulder.
Laurenâs smirk didnât drop, even as Jade began to rant at her. It was adorable, really, and in some strange way, Lauren was almost proud of her for the venom with which she attacked Lauren. Sheâd clearly taught her well. But that anger, that fire, was her flaw. Lauren didnât respond at Jadeâs attack on her dress sense, knowing that it came from a place of desperation.
â40%. Or I ruin you, and your career. Who knows? Maybe I might even drop in the fact that I know you were the one to drop Gabriella off to the hospital. That you were the one who was nearly responsible for her death,â Lauren said, her smile held in place. âYou know what, Jade? Iâll give you some time to think about it. Just donât take too long, okay?â
Jade was left behind as Lauren walked away from her, still smirking. Jade couldnât leave it like that. âIf you âruinâ me, you can be damn sure Iâll drag you down with me!â
Others were looking at them as Lauren left the balcony.
Jade looked over at them with a death stare. âWhat the fuck are you looking at?â
As the two quickly looked back in front of them, Jade made her own way off the balcony.
In the apartment, she grabbed her phone from her purse again, quickly looking through her contacts. As soon as the phone rang, her face put back on the more familiar sweet smile. âHi sweetie, I miss you, are you on shift tonight?â As she exited the building she whistled for a taxi and got in quickly.
âLenox Hill HospitalâŠ, get me there in 5 minutes and Iâll pay you triple.â