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“That bad, eh? I mean, I remember that you don’t have the best relationship with your family.”
“That’s putting it mildly. Her latest thing is trying to marry me off.”
Margo’s brows rose. “Marry you off? To solidify an alliance for the family?”
I was glad one of us could see the humor in it. Because all I felt was anger and disappointment. “Something like that. It’s always the same with my parents. Get married, Andrew, join the family business, Andrew.” I shook my head. “Today was the beginning of the end. I’m going to tell them I’m done with it all.” My tone was casual but the finality of it still ate at me. Would my parents have any use for me if I refused to listen to their orders?
“What pushed you over the edge?” She was focused on me and I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t tell anyone about this, except Schwartz.
“They set me up on a really horrible date. I felt bad for the poor girl. She was almost 10 years younger than me and clearly doing it because her family wanted her there. I could even see her trying to figure out how much I made.” I didn’t want to see Margo’s reaction to this. It was such upper class bullshit. Another division between her and I. Normal people didn’t try to marry their kids off.
But when I looked over, she was frowning. “That’s really messed up. And so…antiquated.” The word held a world of contempt. “So, what, now your parents are never going to speak to you again because you didn’t want to date someone?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” My parents could be incredibly petty. “Last time I refused one of these social engagements, they didn’t speak to me for months.”
“Sounds like that might be a good thing,” Margo grumbled. “Screw them.”
I laughed at the fire in her voice. “I’d like to see you go toe to toe with them. They wouldn’t know what to make of you.”
Suddenly, she looked vulnerable. “Yeah, maybe. I probably wouldn’t even register for your parents. I’m too nouveau riche.”
“You know I don’t think of you that way, right?”
She looked away and fiddled with the chopstick wrapper.
“Margo. Look at me.” I reached out and tipped her chin up. Her pulse thrummed under the pad of my finger. “I don’t think less of you for not growing up rich. How could I when I’ve seen how money poisons people?”
“Could have fooled me.” Her words were sharp and I felt each one of them like a stone.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. You called me country girl a million times over the years. And you made it pretty clear how much you wanted to belong with the rich kids after we stopped being friends.”
My gut twisted. She had taken it as an insult. It had been meant as an endearment. But I had never considered how it might appear to her. No wonder she was ashamed of being with me. She thought I was fickle and shallow.
“Besides, actions speak louder than words.” Her eyes flicked away from mine but I still saw the hurt in them.
“Please, explain to me. I can’t apologize if I don’t know what I did.” My voice came out rough and I hoped she heard the emotion.
She steeled herself. “I can’t believe how oblivious you are. You chose Caroline and Ben as friends, each of whom looked down on me for being poor when I joined the firm. You know Caroline mocked me for not knowing how to use chopsticks when the firm took us to Nobu for dinner?”
I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t known. Caroline and Ben had been safe. They would never have seen me the way Margo had and would never have cut me off the way she did. My family was too powerful and they had very much cared about appearances. “I had no idea.” I feathered my thumb along her cheek. “I’ve never meantcountry girlas an insult, Margo.” Her eyes went wide. How honest could I be with her? “I found your lack of pretension refreshing. I still do.” The words hung in the air between us and I could see the wheels turning in her head.
“All this time, you called me country girl as a term of, what,endearment?” She sounded incredulous and I gave her a half smile. I so badly wanted to confess.I’ve never hated you. I will never hate you.But I held back. She wasn’t ready and if I pushed her now, she would run. I could wait. I had waited eight years for her, what was another day, another week?Would she meet me halfway?
23
Margo
It was official. I couldn’t get any work done because I kept picturing Andrew naked. We would be sitting down to revise the purchase agreement for Bankman later today, and I desperately needed to compose myself before then. He was, of course, totally unaffected. Last night he was soft eyes and friendliness, today, a shark in a custom suit.
A shark who had brought me a coffee this morning and whose smile made my heart beat faster. He didn’t seem to feel it though. He was perfectly cordial and pleasant, nothing more.What did you expect? Him to pin you against the wall?Well, maybe. What would it feel like to have his hips seated between my own? Would he brace an arm over my head as he took me? I thought back to the fantasy he had spun for us and I shuddered. If he fucked like he kissed, Andrew Markman was one hell of a prize.
Just a few minutes ago, he’d taken a call and hastily left. I let out a sigh and stretched. Now that he was gone I could finally relax. I pinged Cynthia to come by and she showed up just a few minutes later.
“Nice digs. Bigger than I expected.” Her eyebrows rose under her mass of fiery hair, her skin freckled more than usual. She’d been out for the past few days, on her annual holiday trip to Miami, when she turned off her phone and basked in the sun.
“It still feels too small.”
