Regrets - Chapter Thirty Three
The girls show up for the engagement party in "Everything But The Crown"
Wednesday - Week 3
Part 3 of 3
Everything But the Crown - Nicole
Nicole opened the door to her place and stepped inside, heels in one hand, tablet wedged awkwardly under her arm. The house was the perfect temperature, low-lit, scented with sage and something citrusy that didn’t belong to her. Then she heard it, soft music playing low in the background, and the quiet clink of glass on glass.
Alexis.
Barefoot, already inside, already settled. She was in loose drawstring pants and a deep gray tee, her hair pulled into a lazy knot. She stood in the kitchen pouring two fingers of whiskey into tumblers like it was routine. Like she’d never left.
Nicole didn’t say anything at first. Just watched. Some part of her spine that had been locked in place all day started to uncoil.
“I didn’t expect you yet,” Nicole said finally, voice rough.
Alexis looked over, unbothered. “I didn’t expect to wait outside.”
Nicole let out a short laugh and dropped her heels by the door. She took the glass Alexis offered—cool, weighted—and let the whiskey sit on her tongue.
No thanks. No small talk. Just presence.
“Besides, someone had to prep this place, you’re horrible at hosting duties,” Nicole looked past her to the kitchen, where food and drink were laid out on the counter.
“You’re still in that suit,” Alexis noted.
Nicole glanced down at herself. “Straight from the boardroom.”
“Mm.” Alexis’s voice was light, but her eyes weren’t. “We’ll fix that.”
Before Nicole could respond, there was a sudden pounding at the door.
“OPEN UP, CEO-LADY!” Brie’s voice, already halfway to chaos. “I brought tequila and unresolved trauma!”
“She’s not kidding,” came Tessa’s dry voice.
“Nicole!” Brie again. “If you’re decent, open up. If not… still open up.”
Alexis didn’t move. Nicole gave her a look, half a dare, half an apology, then walked over and pulled the door wide.
The girls, her crew, arrived like a storm front. Limbs, laughter, the sound of too many good intentions at once.
Brie, first through the door, copper curls piled high like a crown she dared anyone to knock off. Gold hoops big enough to announce her, bangles clinking in accompaniment. Cinnamon skin, warm brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. Her T-shirt read Don’t Text Your Ex in neon pink. She hugged Nicole like she was collecting her back from the war. Brie worked in branding and PR, which mostly meant she weaponized charm for a living and flirted indiscriminately, though women were her kryptonite.
Aja followed, half swagger, half sprawl. Dark brown skin, cropped curls haloed tight, eyeliner winged sharp enough to qualify as a threat. A creative director by day, chaos engine by night. She pressed a mini tequila bottle into Nicole’s palm and collapsed onto the couch. “Couch’s mine. Fight me.” Aja dated women exclusively, though she’d once said, ‘gender’s a vibe, not a boundary.’
Tessa drifted in next, barefoot, gauzy linen skimming her caramel-toned skin, braid neat as a sermon. A pediatric nurse practitioner who somehow made gentleness look effortless. She carried a thermos wrapped in a napkin. “I brought the good tea. For transitions.” Her voice was calm enough to reset everyone’s pulse.
Leah paused in the doorway, scanning the space like she was cross-examining it. Ash-blonde bob, freckled ivory skin, slate-gray suit jacket over jeans. Corporate attorney by day, who was no nonsense and had absolutely no filter. She hugged Nicole with efficiency and gave Alexis a polite nod that didn’t linger. The bisexual part wasn’t a secret, but it was rarely a topic. Leah’s heart had been broken enough times to earn tenure.
Nicole exhaled, grateful, cautious, already bracing for the noise.
Brie pointed toward Alexis standing by the kitchen island. “Okay, serious question: is this a soft launch or a full reunion tour?”
Nicole sighed. “Play nice.”
“I’m always nice,” Brie said, spinning to the floor, bangles chiming. “Just ask anyone I haven’t dated.”
“I’m not betting against facts,” Leah muttered, already scrolling through her phone.
Aja tipped her chin toward Alexis. “Should we cue mood lighting or just pretend we didn’t see that whiskey pour?”
Tessa set her thermos down carefully. “Let the queens have their pre-party.”
Alexis raised her glass, tone dry. “Welcome back, ladies.”
“Damn,” Brie said, squinting. “You really said that with fiancé energy.”
Aja grinned. “More like lawyer energy. Look at that pour. Steady hand, hidden judgment.”
Leah smirked. “Here we go again.”
Nicole met Alexis’s gaze, sharp, private, full of what wasn’t said. “Come on,” she murmured, voice low enough only Alexis could hear.
Alexis followed without a word, her hand brushing Nicole’s as they slipped down the hall, away from the noise, from Brie’s laughter echoing like a dare.
“Back in five,” Nicole called over her shoulder.
Brie didn’t miss a beat. “Doubt it!”
Aja barked a laugh. “She’s not wrong.”
Tessa groaned. “You’re both feral.”
The laughter rolled after them, teasing and bright.
Nicole shut the bedroom door and leaned against it.
The laughter from the living room drifted in waves. Brie’s voice above the rest, Aja egging her on, the sound of corks and clinking glass. A different world just outside the frame.
The whiskey buzz was fading; Aaron’s touch still lingered like a bruise she hadn’t earned.
Alexis didn’t hesitate. She crossed the room, deliberate and sure, the kind of control that came from practice, not pretense. Her hands went to the buttons of Nicole’s shirt like it was second nature.
“I can do it,” Nicole said, though her voice came out rougher than she meant.
“I know.” Alexis’s fingers paused, gaze steady. “But let me help. Just this once.”
Nicole didn’t move. The first button slipped free. Then another.
“That little show with Aaron…” Alexis’s tone was quiet, surgical. “Don’t give him that stage again. He wants to make you look handled.”
Nicole exhaled. “It was for Elizabeth. A performance.”
“Exactly.” Alexis undid the next button, calm but cutting. “And he’ll keep performing if you let him. You’ve worked too hard to hand him a prop.”
Nicole’s shoulders eased under her touch. “You saw it all?”
“From the glass.” Alexis’s mouth curved, dry. “I thought about coming through it.”
Nicole gave a small laugh, tired but real. “Would’ve made quite an impression.”
Alexis didn’t smile. “You shouldn’t have to hold that line alone.”
Nicole turned toward her, searching her face. “I’m not.”
“Then tell me,” Alexis said, voice soft but precise. “Do you have a counterstrategy for this delayed vote?”
Nicole hesitated. She’d known that question was coming. Alexis knew about both plans going in, but she hadn’t told her about the other one. About the quiet moves with Charles, the new funding channels, the restructured leverage she hadn’t decided how to play yet. Not until it was more than a theory.
“I’m working on it,” Nicole said finally. “We’re going to the spa tomorrow…Sorelle. I have the room. I’ll build it out there.”
Alexis raised a brow. “A spa retreat as a strategy session?”
“Strategy,” Nicole answered. “A woman with a facial appointment doesn’t look like she’s plotting a coup.”
Alexis tilted her head. “You’ve thought this through.”
“Enough to know timing’s everything.”
“Good,” Alexis said, finishing the last button, and pulling open the shirt. “Because if you wait too long—”
“I know,” Nicole cut in. “That’s why it has to look effortless when it lands.”
They heard a knock at the front door through the chaos.
Nicole caught her wrist. “It’s okay. It’s Charles.”
Alexis squeezed her hand once, then left the room, her voice floating ahead, steady and calm, already diffusing whatever chaos waited in the living room.
Nicole stayed where she was for a moment, the quiet wrapping around her like armor. She peeled off the blouse, pulled on a soft white T-shirt and jeans, and looked at herself. Her reflection in the mirror didn’t look like a CEO or a fiancée. Just a woman standing in a room, deciding between what was expected and what she wanted.
Tomorrow would start the next move. The spa, the strategy, the lines she’d have to cross.
But for now...just this breath. Just the sound of her friend’s laughter behind the door.
She stepped back into the hall, pulling her hair loose. Voices rolled toward her like an unruly jazz quartet.
Brie was sprawled on the rug, already halfway into the tequila, narrating her week like a bad rom-com. “He texted me at midnight, I said delete my number, then I called him back at two. Growth!”
Aja was in the kitchen, sleeves pushed up, raiding snacks. “Your pantry’s a crime scene, Nic. Who lives like this?”
Leah perched on the arm of a chair, eyes flicking up just long enough to say, “Closed a merger this morning worth more than your liquor cabinet. And yes, I’ll take wine now.”
Tessa, steady amidst it all, had lined up mugs and was patiently preparing tea, ignoring Brie’s dramatics and Aja’s crunching. “One cup each before the night ends. Balance, ladies.”
Nicole leaned against the doorway. “The vote’s Friday. Noon. So you’ve got two days to corrupt me. And…” her eyes cut to Charles standing at the front door, sleeves rolled, bourbon in hand, pie balanced like a peace offering, “be nice to him.”
Alexis closed the door behind him.
Brie clocked him first. “Uh… are we letting men in now?”
Nicole smirked. “Play nice.”
Brie tipped her chin. “Nice-ish.”
Aja didn’t look up. “Depends. Is he cute or confusing?”
Nicole stepped into the room to greet him. “Friend. Family-adjacent.”
Charles raised a brow. “Gay, sharp, and bearing pie. I’m the safest man you’ll meet tonight.”
Aja brightened. “Oh! From the pastry chef with the green awning? I love her. Okay, fine. He stays.”
The others didn’t wait—questions volleyed from every side.
“So, Charles,” Aja drawled, “what’s your worst decision on record?”
“Favorite ex?” Brie chimed.
“Net worth?” Leah, flat as stone.
“Do you meditate?” Tessa called from the kitchen, pouring another cup.
Charles handed off the bourbon and dropped onto the rug with a grin. “All right. Which one of you do I answer first?”
Laughter broke across the room like glass tumbling, messy and bright.
Nicole leaned back against the counter. She didn’t have to host. Didn’t have to lead. Didn’t have to explain.
The room was full. And for once, so was she.
Author Note:
So how do you feel after the board meeting and what do you think is ahead for Nicole? Just curious about how you think this will turn out?
Go back to the beginning and find out how we got here