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“Act like I'm the only one who works.” I motioned across the table to Maple. “This one is running her own salon. It's not like that comes with soft hours.” I glanced at Sophia. “And neither does managing one of the largest hotels in Manhattan.”
Sophia and Maple gave over-exaggerated proud looks before bursting into laughter.
“I know you're not suggesting that just because I have an unconventional work schedule that I have soft hours,” Jesse said in a perfectly snarky tone.
I gasped in faux shock, laying my palm over the center of my chest. “I would never.”
We all laughed again just as the server came to our table and we placed our drink orders.
After he left to put in the order, our little table descended into the delightful chaos that came with catching up with friends. As each second ticked on, my heart filled with a much-needed warmth and energy I hadn't realized I'd been missing.
There was something to be said about having a group of friends that didn't need constant maintaining in order to stay healthy. Maple and Sofia knew my schedule and respected it. They knew that sometimes I worked double shifts, barely making it home with my eyes open before crashing into bed. Hour-long phone conversations for check-ins or daily texts in the group chat were often missed by me, but they never faulted me for it, and I loved them all the more because of it.
And whenever we did catch up like this, it was like no time had passed at all. It’d taken me years to believe it was real,because I’d been so used to people bailing the minute they found out I had toxic family history and a one-track-goal when it came to survival.
So many friendships before I met Sophia, Maple, and Jesse had been superficial when I thought they'd been genuine.
Not this group, though. They knew me, knew my history, knew my trauma, and still loved me for me. It was something that I never took for granted even if I couldn't tell them every day how much I appreciated it.
“Oh, come on,” Jesse said, his tone pleading. He even flashed Sophia his best version of puppy eyes for good measure. “You can't tell a story about a celebrity demanding the entire floor be cleared of guests without actually telling us who it was!”
Sophia shook her head, stirring the ice in her cocktail with a little golden stir stick. “That's the line I draw,” she said, shrugging. “I can give you the tea, but no specifics.”
Had to give her credit, managing the hottest hotel in Manhattan, she saw her fair share of celebrities. It was almost so regular to her now that she was barely starstruck by anyone. And while I loved myself some good tea, I respected her for upholding the privacy of the guests that stayed in her hotel.
“Such a tease,” Jesse joked before taking a sip of his cocktail.
I’d opted for a soda water and lime, knowing that I had a ridiculously early shift tomorrow. But there’d been no way I was missing out on this dinner. Especially with my now unknown schedule, being the subject of Crossland’s whims. I had to take any time I could get with my friends.
“What about you, Aspen?” Sophia asked. “Anymore thoughts on opening up that coffee-bar-bookstore you've been dreaming about?”
I spluttered out a laugh, shaking my head. “You know I have zero time to entertain that right now.” I waved off my friendsconcerned looks. “All I want to do right now is get Brecken through school. After that, we'll see about me.”
Our chatty little table fell quiet, each of my friends’ eyes glued to me with concern.
My cheeks flushed, and I swallowed hard. I didn't particularly respond well to pity, and it took everything in my power to swallow down my trigger response—rambling about how content I was with my life the way it was.
They knew me. They knew I was fine with my life, but they also knew it wasn't exactly a dream. Guilt sliced through me at the thought. I was putting Brecken through school. That should be enough for me.
I shouldn't need more.
“Okay,” Maple said. “Then tell us about this new man in your life. Crossland McClaren? He's like a gojillionaire.”
I laughed softly at that, loving her for the change in subject.
“Yeah,” Sophia said. “You said in the group chat that you weren't dating, but you've been spending a ton of time with this guy over the last few weeks. We’ve seen you pop up in tons of posts with him. What's going on?”
Jesse and I shared a look, and another little sliver of guilt burrowed deep. Jesse had been present when the deal took place, or at least the beginnings of the deal, and he had to sign the NDA just like me. I knew I could trust Sophia and Maple, but as much as I wanted to tell them, I couldn’t break contract just to ease my guilt.
“We have a complicated relationship,” I said, breathing a little easier at that truth. “One I'm not exactly ready to talk about yet.”
“That’s fair,” Sofia said.
“Can you talk about how hot he is?” Maple asked, and we all laughed. “Becausedamn.”
“Seriously,” Sophia said. “I haven't seenonebad picture or clip of that man. He wears a suit like he was made for it. I can't imagine how hot he is in person. Not to mention sleeping with him.”
“He's not really like that around me,” I said. “I mean, it's not really like that between us. Right now.” God, I sounded as unsure as I felt. But it was the truth. Despite our arrangement, despite my role in his life right now, Crossland never really danced around that line with me. As much as I thought he would. Except...
