Free Over. (This. Is. Not. Over. #2) by Shannon Dianne

chances are she’s dumping an entire bag of potato chips in her mouth as we speak. “But Jacob,” I turn back around to face him, “let me talk to you privately.” He nods and stands to meet me. “No offence Nat,” I say as I see a look of annoyance on his face, “but I think it’s best if you don’t handle this one. You know, with Dena and … the conflict of interests.” Nat nods and then turns away to look out of a window. He’s hurt. Ah, he’ll be okay. Jacob walks over to me and I nod for us to leave the hotel suite. I plan on telling him the full story because I need help with this and let’s just say that Jacob will get a job done, no matter what. Nat’s a good guy. Jake’s a bad one. You can’t have one without the other; both men are my right hands. “Let’s use our phones for business unrelated to this fire only. If we need to speak about the fire, we'll speak about it in person. Absolutely no discussion about Laura and that fire over cell phones or landlines.” Everyone nods. “Let’s all plan on meeting for lunch tomorrow, bring your wives. Be mindful of cameras and the media. Smile, joke, laugh, look happy … you know the routine.” I pat Jacob on the back and we both turn to leave.
    “Lola’s been blowing up my phone for the past hour.” Cadence says from behind Jacob and me. “She’s been texting me about the fire, saying that her mother is nervous because no one can find Laura.” I stop walking and turn around to Nat.
    “That reminds me, Nat, turn Lola’s phone off and freeze her accounts.” Lola’s on restriction from everything and everyone, especially Red, until we can clean this up.
    “Alright.” Nat mutters while still looking out of a window. I guess I should say a word of encouragement here.
    “Oh and thanks for calling in that favor on Red’s passport.”
    “Yeah.” He mutters again.
    “ Nat–”
    “Conflict of interest s, I know.”
    “I’m just going to tell Lola that I was asleep and didn’t hear the phone go off.” Cadence says, like someone actually cares.
    “Where does she think you are?” I ask as a courtesy while I turn around to head out with Jacob.
    “Houston, of course.”
    “And she’s been calling you nonstop for the past hour?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Cadence, call your wife.” He really is a dumb shit. “She’s worried about you.”
    “Why?”
    “She wants to know if you survived the fire.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Laura
    4:55 a.m.
     
    Dear Diary,
    I’m at the Starbucks on Tremont St., waiting for the bank to open. If you’re wondering why I’m here it’s due to the following reasons:
Cadence is a pussy.
I refuse to go to my parents for any kind of help whatsoever.
Dena is out of town.
All I have is $43 bucks in my pocket. I figured that was enough to buy me a small coffee from Starbucks. You never know with them these days.
    If you’re wondering what happened to me earlier this evening, I’ll tell you: Lola has burned me out of my home. But I’m not as shocked as you probably think I am; I’m used to her trying to bug me. She’s ‘borrowed’ and never returned dresses, makeup, and even IDs to get into 21 and over clubs. That last one was a doozy for me; I was pulled over while driving one day and had no license to present to the officer. I received a DUI and a fine for driving without a license. If it wasn’t for her, I would have just gotten the DUI. She’s a rotten person. Now, most recently, she burns down my home. I think she may have taken things to an entirely different level, don’t you? I’ve come to the conclusion that my sister is trying to kill me and Cadence is obviously too weak to thwart her efforts. This would have never happened with Malcolm, he would have been ahead of the game. He would have never allowed my home to burn down.
    No w do you see why I always call Cadence a dumbass? He’s a weak dumbass and his wife is smarter