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“They invited me to dinner. Not in Dominic’s suite, but in one of the restaurants downstairs.” Wait, I shouldn’t gloss over the details; Piper is a chef. “At Dalian. The chef there is debuting a fifteen-course summer tasting menu.”
“What’d you eat?” she asks automatically, and then chuckles ruefully. “Never mind, that’s not important. They asked you out, and I’m hoping you said yes?”
“They asked me out,” I confirm. “And more. They told me they wanted to date me. Be in a relationship with me.”
Piper squeals. “That’s wonderful. Gabby, I’m so happy.”
“There’s a ‘but.’”
“Oh dear. That sounds ominous. What is it?”
“We were at dinner, and they’d both stepped away to take phone calls.”
“Tell me you’re not grumbling about that, Gabby, because I will call you a hypocrite. You’re on your phone all the time.”
“That’s because of work,” I defend myself. “And no, that’s not what I’m grumbling about.” I swallow hard. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but it’s going to make you judge me.” The words come out in a rush. “The money I was saving to start my own business? I lost it all in a poker game.”
“What?”
“I was trying to win big, and instead, I lost it all.” What must Piper think of me? Here she is, struggling to keep her business afloat, and I’m gambling away thousands of dollars without a second thought. “It was stupid and reckless, and I hate myself for it.”
“That’s why you’re staying on at your company even though you hate it. Oh, Gabby. I’m sorry. That sucks.”
Not a word of reproach. Gratitude surges through me at her ready acceptance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—I don’t deserve my friends and family.
I blink back the sudden rush of tears. “Anyway, Dominic and Carter know I want to start my own company. More than once, Dominic has offered to help, and I’ve told him again and again that I don’t want him to interfere.”
“What did he do?”
“One of his friends called me this afternoon. He wants me to teach his daughter how to use social media responsibly.”
“Oookay. I’m not seeing the problem.”
“He interfered. Piper, I’m starting to fall in love with them. Maybe I’ve already fallen in love with them. But what kind of a relationship can we hope to build if they don’t respect me?” I sigh heavily. “Feelings are the worst.”
“Do you want to know what I think?”
“You’re going to tell me that love conquers all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous; that’s a cliché. Dominic ignored your wishes. There’s only one thing to do. Break things off with them.”
That’s not what I thought she’d say at all. My mouth falls open. “What?”
“I don’t believe in curses,” Piper continues. “But I’m starting to think that you might be right. You are cursed. You have terrible luck with men. Even when they look like they’re good guys, they’re just waiting to let you down. Stan, George, Dominic, Carter. All the same. The moment you develop feelings for them, they fuck up.”
“That’s not true,” I retort, stung by her words. “Dominic and Carter are nothing like the others. They didn’t cheat on me. They’re good guys. They’re kind and decent and trustworthy. I don’t know why Dominic told his friend about me, but I’m not going to jump to concl—” Realization dawns belatedly. “Hang on. You’re baiting me.”
She laughs. “Oh yes. And you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Reverse psychology for the win.”
“Piper, you’re being very smug right now.”
She laughs again. “For the record,” she says, when her giggles have died down. “I think you’re being irrational about not accepting help. Sure, you only got your job because of your parents’ connections, but you’re keeping your job because of how good you are. If you were hopeless, you would have been fired by now. Instead, your boss keeps throwing more and more responsibility at you. You’re managing Nicky Z’s PR. You’re coming up with a marketing plan for the Los Angeles soccer team.”
“San Francisco,” I interrupt. “Not Los Angeles.”
“Whatever. The point is, a helping hand doesn’t guarantee success, Gabby. Your achievements are your own. Do you think that when Aunt Vera left me a restaurant in her will, I turned it down? No, of course not. Running a restaurant is my dream. I’ll do anything to make it come true.”
“Should I just ignore what he did, then?”
“The effects of my reverse psychology are fading, I see.” Her voice softens. “Gabby, you’ve had some terrible experiences with men, and they’ve made you gun-shy. You don’t want to get hurt again. I get that. But like you said yourself, Carter and Dominic aren’t George.”
Someone knocks at the door. “Hang on,” I tell Piper. “That might be Dominic.”
It’s not Dominic. It’s a white-clad waiter who wheels a cart into my room.
I open the bamboo steamer to discover a dozen fish and leek dumplings.
Piper is right. Carter and Dominic aren’t George. And I might be gun-shy after my past experiences, but I’m not stupid. I’m not going to run away from them.
Some things are worth fighting for.
