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“I… don’t know.” It’s a lame response, but I can’t untangle the truth myself. How can I explain it to Vanessa? “I find her infuriating. The night we met, before I even knew who she was, she acted so… above me.”
Vanessa laughs. “Ah, yes. So you decided to put her in her place? And how’s that going for you?”
But no, that wasn’t it. Not really. “I wasn’t aiming for that, Vanessa, it was just… I could tell she was having a hard time. Still is.” I shrug. “I thought that night, we could distract each other. She could forget for an evening about how she gets treated at her firm, and…”
I don’t have to explain whatIwant to be distracted from. Despite the fact that I’m looking at inheriting one of the country’s leading construction businesses, I don’t have what I truly want in life.
While I hadn’t gotten the full story of what was happening at the firm yet, I was pretty sure it was a classic situation: a woman works her ass off for a position they never intend to give her. Although one of the lead lawyers, Cowdery, at least seemed like a decent guy.
I try to explain that to Vanessa, and her frown only deepens. Then, her eyebrows shoot up.
“So you… see something in her, then?”
“Well, yeah. She’s obviously good at what she does. Shrewd. Smart.”
“…Is that all?”
Is that all?My mind runs wild with all the things that Blair is: beautiful in an understated way; kind; always up for any opportunity to give me shit; a fantastic listener.
Now, instead of her naked body, I picture her serious face as I explained the situation with my family. My father’s cold precision in cutting his own daughter out. Vanessa’s loss. My part in it, where I’d stepped in to try and fix the mess I’d had a hand in creating.
“Listen,” Vanessa sighs as the girls storm back into the house, “I think you should just try to… be nice. I know, I know,” she rolls her eyes at the look I give her, “but, big brother, you do a good job of putting up walls. Maybe too good a job. You probably offended her, so let her in a little. Let her see that you’re not just some bigshot looking to take advantage of her. When she feels safe, she’ll be more comfortable, and you can get this whole thing wrapped up.”
I nod slowly, mulling over her words.
Blair has been more than honest when it comes to how she feels about money and power. Unimpressed is the word that comes to mind. Maybe Vanessa is right. Maybe I need to take a step back from the physical, and treat her the way I wish everyone else would treat her…
And yeah. Sleeping together should probably stop happening. Mixing work and play is almost never a good decision.
“Thereisthat networking event coming up,” I suggest in a moment of brilliance. “Maybe introducing her to some more big-wig clients would serve as a peace offering…”
If Blair needs to see the good side of Weaver Industries to nudge her in the right direction, so be it. I’m on a deadline, and I refuse to have Dad on my ass about this, telling me how I’ve fucked up once again.
I have to win her over.
Chapter 10
Blair
Aftercancelingthethirdmeeting, my assistant Mitch sticks his head into my office with a pained expression.
“Blair, I’m sorry, but… I can’t keep doing this. Mr. Weaver is…”
He trails off, looking at me with a pleading expression. My headache starts pounding again. I take a slow, deep breath.
“I’m sorry Mitch. I’m just not feeling well.” Feeling nausea rise in my throat, I know I can’t keep putting this on Mitch. He’s a good kid. A few years into college and a hard worker. Nick was polite the first time but borderline belligerent the second time, apparently. “Was it bad?”
Mitch hesitates. “Well… not too bad. But I could tell he was holding back.” Glancing both ways, he steps into my office and asks, “What if he decides to go to another firm?”
The talk over the last month has been about some of our larger, newer clients, and Weaver Industries is definitely one of them. Ethan has been bragging to his team that if I get through the estate process without a hitch, they might bring on company legal work. That’s a huge, lucrative sector for us.
“Okay,” I sigh, “why don’t you call him back and schedule something for next week?”
Mitch looks relieved and nods. His eyes skirt down my pale face, probably noticing the sweat collecting on my upper lip and my limp hair. “You okay? Can I get you anything?”
I politely decline his offer and take a look at myself using my phone. I look horrible. If I’ve calculated right, I’m just over a month pregnant. Never having been pregnant before, I have nothing to compare to, but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go through this.
The nausea is one thing. This morning, I was only able to eat a bagel with nothing on it and I could barely keepthatdown. But now heartburn is tagging along for the ride as well as having to pee way, way more often than I have time for.
