Two days a week in a pencil skirt downtown was bad enough, but with Darcy as my director? I could think of myriad ways to better spend my time. Like being waterboarded or rolling around in broken glass.
The things I would do for this store knew no bounds.
“It works for us,” Cam said, speaking for me.
I wore a thin smile of submission.
“Great. So, just to explain a little about our roles, I’m your liaison, your primary contact for the project. Anything you need, any questions you have, I’m here for you. I’ll manage pitch meetings and briefs, and I’ll come here regularly to update you between meetings, check in, make sure you don’t need anything. The owners told me you’d be the liaison here, is that right?” she asked Cam.
“That’s right. Cooper has his own full-time career, and Rose is out on maternity leave, so I’m your girl.”
“With as much money as your store makes, I’m surprised he’s working anywhere else,” Georgie said. “Honestly, I’m surprised he works at all. I still remember when he was one of New York’s most eligible bachelors.”
Cam laughed. “Billionaire playboy, all settled down and married with kids. He’s mostly just an investor here. Rose normally runs the day-to-day, when she’s not on maternity leave. Which feels like every fourteen months lately,” she joked.
“Well, I for one am excited about what we’re going to accomplish together,” Georgie said with genuine enthusiasm. “We have a big creative meeting day after tomorrow, and the team is dying to meet you, Laney. Can we count on you to be there?”
“Tell me you’ll be there too,” I practically begged.
She chuckled. “I can be.”
“Then I’ll be there.”
Darcy or no Darcy.
4
Hereditary Insufferability
LANEY
Jett and I climbed the subway steps that evening in Greenwich Village, laughing over photos from the Fabio party on social media, which had gone mildly viral.
The day had gone by swiftly. Georgie stayed until after we opened, sipping coffee at the bar in a spot that was both visible and accessible to Jett. As he went about his duties, he’d made it a point to stop and talk to her, his attempt to appear casual thin.
“You are so into her,” I teased as we headed toward Mom’s. “Super-duper into her.”
“I’m super-duper into lots of things, Elaine.”
“Like romance novels, Julius?”
“So I like a happy ending. Sue me.”
I laughed. “You’re an anomaly.”
“Any guy who makes fun of romance has never read a good one. That’s all I’m saying. Oh, that reminds me …” He reached into his bag and pulled a novel out, extending it to me. “New rom-com just came in about a group of friends who swear off men. I thought you’d like it.”
“Am I really that transparent?” I joked, inspecting the cover.
Jett shrugged. “I liked it. It made me think of you. Because of course their little pact doesn’t stick. I like the thought of being proven wrong, you know? The idea that you think you know what you want when, in reality, you have no idea.”
“You’re a hopeless romantic. I mean, you look like you walked off the pages of one. And with a name like Jett?”
“It was either that or Jules. No way was I going by Julius. Not my fault I got the worst of our nicknames.”
“Mom and her Roman names.”
“We all hate you for getting a normal name, you know.”
“Except for Marcus.”
“Yeah, well, we hate him for it too.”
“Kassius would have gotten Kash stuffed in just as many lockers as Julius would have.”
“None of us ended up conventional, did we?” he mused. “Well, except Marcus.”
“And note he’s the only one without a nickname.” I turned the conversation back to him. “Anyway, stop deflecting. Did you ask Georgie out?”
“Anybody ever tell you you’re nosy?”
“Daily. It’s hereditary. When was the last time you did anything without Mom knowing about it?”
“Never once. How much you wanna bet Luke’s already told her about Georgie?”
“I don’t take bets I know I’ll lose. I don’t think Luke’s kept a secret since he was in diapers.”
He sighed. “I’m into her, it’s true. But she mentioned something in passing that I’m pretty sure wasn’t in passing at all. Did you know they’re not allowed to see their clients? Or in this case, employees of clients?”
My frown was magnificent. “What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I think normally it’s an unspoken professional rule, but their firm has policies against it.”
I snorted a laugh. “Isn’t Georgie the boss’s niece and heir to the company? She’d couldn’t actually get fired, could she?”
Jett cast me a look. “So she should defy the rules and put her aunt in that kind of position with the rest of their employees, or worse—get fired? Come on, Lane. As romantic as that is, it’s not real life. And anyway, I’m sure their family would think it was tacky. And they’re the kind of people who avoid tacky at all costs.”
“Wouldn’t have been able to tell by Darcy’s standards. Rich as he is, he has terrible manners. I’d go so far as to declare him The Worst.”
“Look at the bright side—now you don’t have to worry about him trying to date you.”
I didn’t laugh. I cackled. “Darcy. And me.” Another rip of laughter. “He wouldn’t even agree to dance with me, I’m so beneath him. We’re not like them. As if where we came from matters.”
But Jett didn’t laugh. His lips were a sober line. “It does to them. Do you have any idea where they came from?”
“Upper East stock. Poor little rich kids. Elite prep schools and Ivy League colleges. They’re privileged. We all know the type.”
Jett shook his head. “Their aunt runs one of the top ad agencies in New York. When their parents died, I’m pretty sure they inherited more money than our upper-middle-class brains can comprehend. With their legacy? They’re New York royalty. It’s no wonder Liam Darcy didn’t put on a Fabio wig and take his shirt off. I just don’t get why you’re so pissed at him for being stuck-up. I don’t even know him, and it feels on-brand.”
“Seriously? Am I wrong to think people should treat each other with common decency and respect? Georgie is nothing like him, and she’s got to be just as wealthy as him.”
“Darcy was in college when their parents died. Georgie was in high school. I figure he had to grow up pretty quick, and I also figure Georgie escaped that burden.”
“That’s a lot to assume.”
But he shrugged. “It’s what I would have done for you, if the tables were turned. I’m not saying he’s not an insufferable dick, but give the guy a break, Laney. Just try.”
He managed to make me feel more than a little ashamed, though my irritation with said insufferable dick still held more power.