Page 78 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Who the eff would turn Maya down? He’s an idiot.”

“She sexually harassed him!”

“Let’s see this Piper chick! Is she as hot as Maya?”

“Hey Vinny-baby, I’ll fake date you next!”

I closed my eyes. According to Amanda, the TikTok ecosystem existed on a different plane, meaning things could catch fire there but never leak out to the rest of the world. I doubted that would be the case here. I checked The New York Post gossip section next and sure enough, they’d stolen a still from Jerry’s video and managed to create an entire article about the fight, highlighting the fact that it happened at the Evermore launch party.

Which meant that now the rest of the world would be treated to theories and speculation about the health of Summit, why the owner of the company opted to fake date an employee, and then rehash my breakup with Maya yet again. It was only matter of time before legitimate news outlets picked up the story and spun it to meet whatever narrative they wanted to create about Summit. I’d been the subject of a few hit pieces over the years, from articles saying I was nothing more than a nepo baby to quite a few suggesting that my “relentless innovation” was actually a bad thing for our storied brand. This new and unwelcome spotlight thanks to Maya would provide them with endless opportunities to trash me.

Fuck. Things had gone so badly when I’d split with her way back when. She’d loved exploring the best of everything on my tab, and she wasn’t about to let the access it provided slip away. Not to mention being with me—and convincing me to make her the face of some of our most notable brands—got her face out there across the world. It was her dream to star in Summit campaigns while dating me, and ending our relationship meant she’d lose both. She’d found a dozen different ways to talk shit about me in the press, going so far as appearing on talk shows about women in toxic relationships.

The only thing toxic about the two of us was her, but Summit had taken a hit thanks to her endless trash talking.

And here we were again. Matters of the heart had led to a messy complication that would reflect poorly on the only thing that really mattered: Summit. Even while avoiding marriage, I’d still managed to fall into the same trap as my father, letting my personal relationships blow up all over everything, tarnishing the company in the process.

I’d inherited his inability to be satisfied. Was I also going to be chasing down happiness, taking drugs in a jungle just like him, thirty years from now?

I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that, as I had far too many pressing, real-life concerns to face.

A company thrown into crisis yet again.

A vengeful ex back on the warpath.

And Piper…well, Piper had walked away. And as much as it hurt, I could see now that it was for the best. Our relationship had run its course, and now it was over—just in time for my life to get the hard reboot it clearly needed. No more romance, no more complications.

Lesson learned.

Never again.

23

PIPER

“Let’s go. Get up.”

I could feel Darcy staring at me from the doorway of my bedroom, but I refused to open my eyes.

“I know you’re not sleeping,” she continued. “I heard you go to the bathroom three minutes ago. So get up, get dressed, and let’s go to the farmers’ market. Saturday ritual.”

“This isn’t a regular Saturday,” I grumbled back at her with my eyes still closed, like a little kid pretending to be asleep.

“You’re right, it’s the morning after our triumphant partnership with Mercedes. Life is good.”

I knew she was trying to spin the evening and focusing on the positive to make me forget about the end of it, but Vincent’s cold dismissal was all I could think about. Yes, I was thrilled about sealing the deal with Mercedes, but despite what she told me, life wasn’t just about business.

Maybe she and Vincent believed it, but my heart wouldn’t allow me to.

“Are you still standing there?” I asked.

“Duh.”

I sat up and flung my blanket off in a huff. “You are so annoying!”

“Thank you. Now put a hat on that mop of yours and let’s go. I’m starving.”

I had zero appetite, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get it back. I had a headache, no doubt due to the combination of too much champagne, not enough food, and a massive helping of heartbreak. The last thing I wanted to do was go out into the sunshine and wade through the happy people stuffing their faces with croissants.