He grins. “Marlowe’s. The one you dragged me into a bathroom over.”
“You deserved that. You were spying on me.”
“I was in the neighborhood.”
“Luke.”
“Fine.” He holds up a hand. “Guilty.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Couldn’t pull one over on the great Claire Archer.”
This makes me snort laugh. “Oh yes, I’m amazing.”
“You are, though,” he says, his voice taking on a softer tone.
Luke’s serious voice is rare, and it always catches me off guard.
“Shut up,” I say, because I’m not sure what else to say.
“Why do you think I left Harrow & Finch?” he asks.
“You wanted to work for a douchey firm?”
He smiles before looking away, toward the television. “No. I do like working for douches. But that wasn’t why.”
“Why, then?” I ask, curious.
“Because I knew you’d get the promotion. That’s why I left.”
I go still for a second. Luke and I were considered equals at Harrow & Finch—or at least that’s what I thought. Simone has never been one to play favorites, so I never felt certain who would get the promotion. I wanted it. I worked hard for it. But knowing? I never had that kind of confidence.
“You’re full of crap,” I say.
He looks at me. “I’m serious. I knew without a doubt that senior account executive position was going to you. And so when Pulse offered me a job, I took it.”
I’m not sure how to take this. There’s no reason for him to make this up, but I can’t help but wonder if he is. This is Luke. Doing things to get under my skin is kind of his MO.
“Why is that so hard for you to believe?” he asks when I don’t respond.
“Because . . . it’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous,” he says. “You deserved it. I told you all this in the voicemail.”
“Not the voicemail again.” I roll my eyes. But then, because I’m still so curious, I ask: “Is this what you regretted saying? That I deserved it?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
I eye him, confused. “Then was it about Ella Abbott?”
He shifts on the couch next to me, folding his arms. “No. But that’s because that all happened after I left the message.”
“So what happened there? You called her up and told her about going to Pulse?”
I’ve always wanted to know how that went down. In my head, I had a whole story about Luke needing to bring someone with him to Pulse as proof that he can land big clients, and so he called Ella and charmed her into coming with him.
“She called me, actually,” he says. “I told her I was leaving and you would be her point of contact moving forward.”
