Baby Be Mine

44  
    ‘I’m so sad you’re leaving,’ Lena says to me on Friday evening, just before she leaves for the weekend. We won’t still be here on Monday when she arrives for work. ‘Are you really going to go?’
    ‘Yes,’ I nod. ‘We have to.’
    ‘But do you?’ she presses. ‘Do you really? I thought all this was just a smokescreen.’
    ‘A smokescreen?’ I’m confused.
    She looks away, edgily.
    ‘What?’ I press.
    She shrugs. ‘I thought maybe to get Dana out of the picture.’
    I laugh sharply. ‘Dana’s going nowhere, and why you keep saying things like that is beyond me. It’s like you think Johnny and I are somehow, ooh, I don’t know, destined to be together.’ My tone is sarcastic and I expect her to smile, but she doesn’t. ‘Lena?’
    ‘I do think you’re meant to be together.’
    ‘Oh, stop it,’ I brush her off.
    ‘I do!’ she insists. ‘You’re good for him.’
    I look at her seriously. ‘Well, he’s no good for me. You know that, don’t you.’ It’s not a question.
    ‘I thought he might’ve been,’ she says quietly. ‘It didn’t work out the way I thought it would.’
    ‘The way you thought it would,’ I repeat with a roll of my eyes.
    ‘The way I planned it,’ she adds quietly.
    ‘What?’ I glance at her.
    ‘If he hadn’t had that stupid party,’ she spits.
    ‘What are you talking about?’ I don’t know why I suddenly think of the car seats in Johnny’s supercars, but there they are: a picture in my mind. Then it hits me. She wanted me to drive Barney around in his cars . . . She wanted me to be spotted by the press . . .
    ‘You were the one who leaked the story,’ I whisper with horror.
    She doesn’t deny it.
    I cover my mouth with my hand. ‘How could you do such a thing?’
    She looks deflated. ‘I thought it would work out differently,’ she reiterates, more dully this time.
    I sit down and put my head in my hands.
    ‘Please don’t tell Johnny,’ she begs.
    ‘I can’t believe you did that.’
    ‘I’ll lose my job.’
    I look up at her. ‘I know you will. How could you violate his privacy like that?’
    ‘I had good intentions.’ She sits down next to me.
    ‘Which were?’
    She sighs. ‘I thought if it was all out in the open . . . I don’t know, that you and Johnny might get back together . . . I can’t stand Dana!’ she adds bitterly.
    ‘Oh, Lena.’ I look at her sadly. ‘How did you do it?’
    ‘Anonymously. I put the thought out there and the journalist pieced together the rest. Except he didn’t piece together the right facts.’
    ‘I can’t believe you expected him to.’
    ‘I was naive,’ she admits. ‘Oh, God, I’m going to lose my job. Katya will kill me.’
    ‘Katya will forgive you,’ I say. ‘And Johnny will too.’
    ‘You’re going to tell him?’
    I stare at her. ‘I think you should. But I won’t.’
    ‘You won’t have to,’ he says from the doorway. ‘I can’t fucking believe it!’ he shouts at Lena. ‘I trusted you!’
    She looks terrified.
    ‘Get out of here!’
    ‘Johnny,’ I interject.
    ‘GO!’ he shouts, his chest heaving.
    I jump to my feet. ‘You’re being too rash! Think about it.’ I turn to Lena. ‘Go home for the weekend. Johnny will be in touch.’
    ‘No, I fucking won’t,’ he says angrily.
    ‘Yes, you will,’ I reply firmly, putting my hand on his chest. He glances at me sharply. ‘Let her go home for the weekend. Talk about things on Monday.’
    I feel his chest shudder under my touch as he takes a deep breath. He nods. Lena is out of there like a shot, murmuring sincere apologies and leaving the two of us standing alone in the office staring at each other.
    ‘I’ll make you a coffee.’ I take my hand off his chest. He follows me into the kitchen. Eddie has already left for the day. Johnny slumps down in a chair and stares ahead dejectedly. I know this will hit him hard. Lena has worked for him for over two years. That’s a long time in Johnny’s world.
    I turn around and put his mug on the table. He gazes up at me. He looks broken.
    ‘It’ll be okay.’
    ‘Don’t go,’ he says quietly, reaching for my hand.
    ‘We can’t stay,’ I reply. ‘Not like this. We both need space.’
    ‘But I need you.’ I’m shocked to see his eyes glistening.
    ‘Don’t fire Lena,’ I implore. ‘Whatever she’s done. She’s good for you. She’s the best.’
    ‘No, you were the best.’
    I squeeze his hand gently and let it go. ‘Do you think Davey will