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“I have to think about this,” I told Kaito.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Kaito said. “My team and I are getting on the jet and going back to Japan. I don’t expect you to be on the jet, because you’re not a rash man. You think things through, like me, and I respect that. But I’m going to want an answer.”
“You’re not staying for four days, like you planned?”
“There’s no point. We understand each other, I believe, and neither of us is interested in wasting time on small talk. So take some time for consideration, as I would in your place. But I want an answer in one week.”
My voice was choked. “That’s the only offer?”
“Yes. I don’t want Tower’s money, Dane.”
“No. You want one of the partners instead.”
“I ask for what I want, no matter how big it is. It gets me far in life.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. I was sober now, and I wished I wasn’t. I wished I was drunk, so drunk I could pass out and forget about everything I had to think about.
“One week,” Kaito said. “And then I want an answer.”
Twenty-One
Ava
* * *
I met Samantha in Central Park, on a bench along one of the wide boulevards. I was wearing yoga pants—okay, fine, they were designer—and a long, flowing top that Versace had discarded from its spring line two years ago because it didn’t sell. I’d bought it at a crazy discount, which was a shame, because it was one of my favorite tops I’d ever owned.
It was eight o’clock on a weekday morning, so Samantha was wearing a dark pencil skirt, a slim blouse of subtle blue, and black heels. My brother’s wife—the love of his life and the owner of his cold, cold heart—was a beautiful woman, but it wasn’t the kind of beauty or sexiness that hit you over the head. She was classy and professional, her hair worn up and all of her body discreetly covered. It was only when you took a second or third look that you noticed her body was flawless, her waist snug and tiny without shapewear, her legs long and slender. She’d started as Aidan’s executive assistant, but when they fell in love and became unable to keep their hands off each other, he’d married her and made her one of the executives at Tower VC. She was smart, organized, brilli
ant, and in regular circumstances, intimidating to someone like me. But I knew Samantha, I liked her, and these weren’t regular circumstances.
“You’re looking me over,” she said as she took the seat next to me on the park bench. “What do you see?”
“You’re perfection, except for one thing,” I told her.
She sighed. “You always say it.”
“Because I mean it. I’m begging, and I mean begging, you to accessorize.”
“I have accessories.” She pointed to the tiny gold studs in her ears.
“You’re killing me,” I groaned. “I’ve got hoops that would look so good on you. And a belt. I’m thinking thick, a little chunky, bright red.”
Samantha looked amused. “I don’t wear red to the office, Ava.”
“You could, though,” I argued. “Or leopard print. Fabric with a knot at the hip. It would be so sexy.”
“I go to the office to work. I don’t go to look sexy.”
“Why not look sexy? You work with your husband now.”
Samantha smiled. “Aidan wears black to the office every day. He always has. We do sexy in our off-hours.”
I clapped my hands to my ears. “Stop, please.”
That made Samantha laugh, which was a little rare for her. Not because she was miserable, but because she was naturally reserved. So was my brother. But since they’d gotten together, I’d seen both of them laugh a lot more often. It was good to see my brother, who had grown up in the same awful home I had, find someone who made him happy. I was absolutely positive that he deserved that.
I wasn’t so sure that I did. I was working on it.
