I guess that was my first mistake.
8
揧ou have not updated your Pinterest board in ages,?Keeley informs me before she抯 even said hello. Based on her tone, failing to update Pinterest is the moral equivalent of failing to pay taxes.
揑 don抰 have time,?I reply, though it抯 not entirely true. Years ago, I was addicted to Pinterest. I had a house page, a fashion page, a travel page, a books-to-read page. It was my own version of a vision board: here抯 what my house will look like when I抦 different, these are the trips I will take and the books I will read. I抳e given up on most of them. I抦 too busy to read or travel. I抳e lost the desire for a cute cottage near the ocean with an herb garden out front桮od knows where I抎 find the time to take care of it. I still add to the fashion page, but these days it抯 mostly just clothes for work. I suppose this means I抳e given up on most of that future Gemma. Keeley and my mom are the only ones who refuse to give up with me.
揑s that why you抮e calling me on a Saturday afternoon??I ask. 揗y Pinterest page??
She scoffs. 揙f course not. I抦 calling because someone is covering my shift tonight, so you and I are going out.?
揑抳e got to go to Miami tomorrow, Keels. And I抣l be out of the office all day Monday. I really need to work.?
Twenty-four hours with Ben Tate. I picture his slightly broken nose, his crooked smile. Him saying, 揋emma, I promise there抯 nothing small or weak about me.?
Every time I remember it, it gets a little filthier.
揂re you seriously telling me you have to work on a Saturday night because you also have to work on a Sunday night??she demands, proving why she抯 my only remaining friend in LA梑ecause she refuses to take no for an answer. 揧ou抳e got to make yourself leave on occasion. And you抣l never meet anyone if you don抰 try something new once in a while.?
I suppose she has a point, and exclusively seeking out Hallmark men has not panned out for me so far. LA is not rich in farmers, small-town veterinarians or widowed bar owners. Besides, the firm抯 retreat is in early November, and I抣l need a date. Someone smarter than Ben, preferably, and taller than Ben. Though Ben抯 really tall and relatively intelligent, which narrows the field substantially.
I leave the office at 7:30, painfully early for me, even on a Saturday. I抦 not at all surprised to find Keeley is already at the bar when I arrive and already surrounded. She抯 like a tiny bottle of champagne someone shook up. Every man who meets her wants to pop the cork.
She charges across the room when she sees me. 揟hank God you抮e here. I couldn抰 get away from those two.?
I raise a brow. 揧ou didn抰 look all that troubled. If I抎 shown up five minutes later, you抎 probably be inviting them over.?
She shakes her head. 揘ever. They抮e lawyers, therefore too boring to be serious about, no offense.?
I shrug. 揘one taken. You know my stance.?
揂h, right.?She hands me her drink. 揧ou only want a guy who lives in a small town and wears winter clothing year-round.?
揟he winter clothing isn抰 a demand. More of a preference.?
揗y friend Mark wears like fifteen layers.?She抯 referring to the homeless guy who lives outside her building, the one she brings her Wall Street Journal to every morning and from whom she often seeks financial advice. 揑抣l make an introduction.?
揑抦 going to respectfully pass,?I tell her, but she抯 already on to the next thing, dragging me back to the bar and winking at some athlete in the corner before she smiles brightly at the bartender and holds up two fingers. He smiles back like he抯 won the lottery. He will now make two of every drink he knows in order to please the pretty blond.
揝peaking of FMG,?she says, turning to me, 搘hat happened with Fields?announcement? Did they make you partner? You never said.?
My laugh is a trifle bitter. 揟hey made an announcement to tell us they抣l be announcing it later.?
She rolls her eyes. She抯 been on me to leave for a while now. Like, ever since we met. 揂nd what happens if they don抰 give it to you??
My heart sinks. If they don抰 give it to me, it would be such a slap in the face I couldn抰 possibly remain. Yet, I抳e staked every single ambition on making it at FMG梐t taking their obnoxious old-boys network and turning it on its head. I refuse to contemplate any other possibility. 揟hey抳e got to give it to me.?
揟hey抮e assholes, Gemma,?she chides softly. 揟hey抳e always been assholes. I抦 not sure anything is a given over there.?
I could tell her about Margaret Lawson抯 case, the way it will probably seal the deal for me. But that would involve mentioning Ben Tate, and I抦 reluctant to do so. She抯 heard plenty about Ben over the past two years, and he抯 no less awful than he ever was. But there抯 this piece of me remembering the wrong things about him at the moment: the concern on his face when he asked about my wrist, his decency to Margaret, his mouth, shaping the words there抯 nothing small or weak about me. I know Keeley梥he抣l read those conflicted emotions before I抳e even sorted them out myself.