“It’s for Mom?”
A tear stains his cheek and drops off his jaw. He wipes it away and waits for my response. My throat closes and I want to join him in sharing emotions, but it’s been a long time since I’ve even had any. I can blame this on one particular girl.
“Yes.”
“I’ll do it. No matter what it is, I’ll do it. For Mom.”
He gets up from his seat and he meets me halfway around the desk. I expect to shake his hand, but he pulls me in for a hug. At first, I don’t hug him back, but then I realize he needs this more than me. It feels almost like closure, or a promise for his new life.
“I’ve found our new project,” I say, strolling into William’s office.
“I have no doubt about that, you’re always ten steps ahead of us,” he says, throwing his pen on the desk and leaning back in his car.
I go to the minibar and pour us both a whiskey. Walking over, I hand him the glass and take a sip of mine before sitting in the chair across from him.
“It’s 10 am,” he says, eyeing the glass.
“Doesn’t matter, this is cause for celebration. This deal is going to save on costs for all future developments, and it will keep our in-house employees busy. Moving some things around makes this perfect for me. For us.”
“I’m not following here,” he says, raising his eyebrow and giving me a curious grin.
“There’s a firm, an interior design firm, that’s in the red. Deep in. They need a bailout and I want to give it to them.”
“You want to buy a company that isn’t great at business? It sounds more like a lose than a win.”
“We revamp it. Get our in-house designers to lead the company. Not only does this come with a client base, but it also comes with an office. Buying the building would make it even more lucrative.”
“Is this about Riley?”
For a second, I’m so taken aback by his keen sense that there’s something going on, I don’t answer. Then my brain kicks in.
“Absolutely not. Didn’t I make it clear when I said no getting involved with employees? I’m not about to go against my own rule.”
He studies me but doesn’t reply. Smart man.
“Have you shown Dad the numbers?”
“Emailed him this morning with everything. This will cut costs on our employee insurances and human resources tasks. It’s structured as its own company and we will filter all the money through that. They work exclusively for our developmental projects and take a limited amount of side work to float extra costs.”
“It could work. What do you need from me?”
“Go to New York while I get this all step up. It will take months for this to take off, and my office needs a leader.”
“You want me to pick up and leave? Boston is my home.”
“You and I both know that you couldn’t care less about this city. I’ll give you the keys to my apartment. You can stay there while I’m here, and it comes with extra perks that you don’t get in Boston.”
“Like what?”
“Best food in the world, night-life, and even a Broadway show or two.”
“You’re a regular salesman. It may be time for me to go for a change of scenery. I’m pretty sure New York will love me.”
I smile because I know I’ve hooked him. This deal is going to go through and it will take care of my Riley problem once and for all. She won’t work for Brook Enterprises, and I can finally get her out of my system.
9
Riley
The fundraiser is tomorrow, and I’m still dateless. Everyone in my very thin black book is busy or married. Even the one guy I met at a bar and never spoke to again. He had more to say than my ex-boyfriend of three years.
The only person I can ask now is Ross. Of course, he’ll be there for me, but it’s the convincing I’m worried about. Ross’s personality is airy, light, and snarky. He doesn’t do broody well, so he’s not the best option for making Nicholas jealous, but he’s the only one I have.
Picking up the phone, I press his profile picture in my favorites. It’s a picture of us in the tenth grade. We both tried to dye our hair red, and it turned orange. It was one of the best nights we ever had together, even if we ended up looking like flaming Cheeto heads.
“Yes, my darling. How may I be of service today?” he asks, his chirpy voice makes me smile.
“Be my date for the fundraiser,” I blurt out. Better to rip the bandaid off than to beat around the bush, I suppose.
“Why does it sound like you mean that in a different way than you normally would? We’ve gone to these things together before, but something tells me this is different. ”
“That’s because it is.” I try not to sound as dreadful as I feel. “This time, I need you to act like you’re my boyfriend. Like we’re in love, and plan on having two point five kids and building Ikea furniture together for the rest of our lives.”
“Are you shitting me right now? Does this have anything to do with Sexy Elevator Boss? You want me to pretend I love lady parts, for him?” I don’t even get the chance to respond before his screech fills the line, causing me to hold the phone away from my ear or risk a ruptured eardrum. I can’t help but chuckle when he says lady parts. He’ll say cock, dick, and hammer all day, but vagina makes him cringe. Such a boy.
“I do, and you must. It’s in the best friend code. Also, you love me, even if you don’t love my vagina.”
“Eww. Stop saying gross things. I do love you, like my sister or ugly step-cousin. But just to be clear, we don’t have to like make out or anything, right? I’m strictly dick.”
“Ross! You’re impossible. No. All we have to do is pretend that we’re dating. Maybe a little hand holding, or touching. We can leave after I’ve made the rounds. All that matters is that I don’t show up alone.” I cringe as I speak my next sentence. “I kind of told everyone I had a boyfriend.”
“This definitely has to do with Big Dick Elevator Guy. Is he pursuing you? You have so much shit to tell me.”
“If you agree, I’ll divulge all the information, but if not, then I guess you’ll never know.”
I bite on my thumbnail, a nervous habit I picked up when I was little. I don’t do well with anticipation.
“Why not? Not like I’m doing anything interesting, anyway. Besides, I’m the best actor you know. I can play the shit out of being straight. I mean, I had to pretend for years. They won’t know I like penis at all. And if all else fails, we can tell them I’m bisexual and we’re in an open relationship.”
I roll my eyes. Before I can tell him no, he asks, “Hey, do you think Big Dick will want to do a threesome? I can wear a mask or something so I don’t see your bits.”
“Goodbye, Ross.”
“Bye, darling.” He chuckles.
I hang up the phone and exhale. Shit just got real, and now I have to make sure I put on the performance of my life, because if Nicholas finds out this is all a lie, I’m never going to be able to face him again.
Now that I settled my date, I move onto the next mission I need to accomplish. I’ll need a dress, and since funds are low because of the hospital bills, something from my closet will have to do. I meander to my bedroom and open the closet, which contains my entire life, including shoes and clothing. This crappy apartment didn’t come with ample storage. Pushing a couple boxes aside, I go through my clothes, stopping once I reach the very thin layer of dresses that I own.