Free The Millionaire Myth by Jennifer Taylor

maybe that's true, but we still saw it coming.  Mick has had his eye on you ever since...well, for a while.”  She looked guilty as she sipped her water.
                  I smirked and looked at the menu.  I knew what she meant.  I almost pressed her, but she seemed uncomfortable already, and I didn't want to make things worse.
                  Gina took a deep breath.  “Look, Estelle.  I know it's not my place to mention this, but...you should be careful with Mick.”  She looked around as if he might be lurking in the bushes before continuing, “Sometimes he can be ruthless.  I've seen him walk over people to get what he wants.”
                  I was surprised that Gina would caution me against him.  Admittedly, she seemed nicer than Tess, but I always had the impression that they were in a tightly-knit club.  Was she really concerned about me, or was this just another attempt to sway me away from Mick?
                  Only one way to find out.  “Gina, is this about my inheritance?  Are you saying Mick's sleeping with me to get a fat commission?”
                  She winced and shook her head.  “I'll be honest with you, Estelle.  Yes, I think it's about the money-” she continued rapidly, “and I'm not trying to say that you aren't good enough for him...not at all.  I just want to make sure you go into this with your eyes open.”
                  “I appreciate you saying that.”  And I really did appreciate it.  I took a sip of my drink and tried to ignore the feeling in my stomach.  It was that unsettled feeling I got whenever I was feeling guilty.  I'd finally come across a drawback to my little charade; I was lying to someone who was genuinely decent.
                  Hoping to shake off my guilt, for the moment anyway, I turned the conversation toward Gina.  “I've been wanting to ask...how you're doing?  I mean, I know you may not want to talk to me about...things.  I just felt for you the other week when you were talking about your husband.”
                  Her face fell and instantly I regretted bringing it up.  “Oh, that.  Things have been tough with Steven.  I'd hoped we could work it out, but he actually moved out this weekend.”  She covered her face, her voice quivering, “I never thought he'd really leave me.”
                  “Gina, I'm so sorry.  I never should have mentioned it, I didn't mean to upset you.”
                  She shook her head and tried to smile.  “I'm actually glad you mentioned it; it's nice to have someone to talk to about it.”
                  “Well, you've got Tess too, right?  You seem so close.”
                  She shrugged.  “Yeah, but lately she's been distracted.  Sometimes I feel like she's sick of hearing me whine.”
                  “Why?”
                  “Oh, because she never thought I should marry Steven in the first place.  And now that we're breaking up, I feel like she's always dying to say, 'I told you so'.” She sighed and mixed her iced tea with a straw.  “Lately I've just tried to avoid talking about it.”
                  It was a horrible thought.  I immediately thought of Kami and how she was always supportive of me.  To me it was always the best feature of a best friend; they were always on your side.  At least they were always supposed to be.  I looked over at Gina, feeling more connected to her than I ever expected.  It occurred to me that maybe I was looking at a new best friend.
                  “Hey, Gina?  What do you say we make this a weekly thing?”
                  “What's that?”
                  “How about we go out for lunch once a week?  Lately I've been feeling distant from some old friends, and I'm thinking what I need is some new ones.