揑 see some guys I know over there,?Ben says, nodding to the right. 揕et抯 get a drink and I抣l introduce you.?
I follow his gaze and stiffen. A partner from Stadler is among that group he抯 indicating. I can still see him as he was on my last day, sitting behind that glass wall, condemning me with his eyes.
揧ou go ahead,?I say, taking a sharp left. 揑抦 heading this way.?
I don抰 give him a chance to object as I push my way forward, wishing fervently that I hadn抰 come. But that抯 always the risk, isn抰 it? You might run into something from your past, and discover the shame of it all hasn抰 improved in six fucking years.
For lack of anyone else to speak to, I find a group of female attorneys I know only vaguely and insert myself into the conversation. They抮e older than me, more secure in their fields. None of them were at Stadler, obviously, or I抎 have to run from them too.
揌ow抯 the shark pit??Emily Greenfield asks dryly.
I smile, and it抯 a relief to have it come naturally for once. 揑 think sharks are unfairly maligned.?
揟ell me if you think that in a decade when they haven抰 made you partner,?she replies. 揑 was there, you know, when I was just starting out. My career went nowhere until I left.?
My stomach tightens. I want to think I抦 different somehow, but she抯 really good at what she does. 揟hings are changing. I抦 not sure any firm can get away with only promoting men these days.?
揊MG will,?she says, and her certainty shakes me a little. Does she know something I don抰？ 揅ome talk to me when you get tired of the boys?club there.?
I accept the card she hands me with a polite smile, though I have no intention of using it. I抦 not interested in giving up on the boys?club桰 want to sit at their table. When they抮e holding men to a different standard than they do women, I want to be the one who tells them no.
I walk away, wondering what the hell I抦 going to do here for another two hours. From a distance I see Ben smiling his best glib, square-jawed smile at a woman who is probably the next Miss Universe or Vogue cover. He glances around him, his eyes finding mine for half a second before they return to hers. It shouldn抰 bother me as much as it does.
I head toward the bar because only a second glass of wine will persuade me to work any harder at this than I am, then find myself talking梤eluctantly梩o some wannabe rock star. I hear Keeley in my head saying, 揼ive him a chance? but that抯 because he抯 exactly what Keeley wants梙ot, under-dressed and over-confident. If she were here, the two of them would already be making plans to escape. She抎 know of a better party, or he抎 suggest a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam, and she抎 be saying, 搇et me just grab my passport.?
揧ou want to get out of here??he asks. 揂 friend of mine is having a thing at this club in West Hollywood.?
That抯 when I see Ben, still across the room, but staring at me and Machine Gun Kelly or whoever this guy is, as if he抯 about to kick someone抯 ass.
揝orry, I think I抦 probably too boring for you,?I tell him. 揃ut you need to meet my friend Keeley.?
I get his number for her and then cut through the crowd again卆nd discover I抦 heading right toward Tim Webber.
I hate what he got away with. I hate even more that he抯 looking at me now with that self-satisfied smile, as if he likes what happened. As if he stole something from me that night. We are, perhaps, twenty feet apart. We are in a public space, but my pulse explodes anyway, as if he抯 just cornered me in a dark room. He抯 closed the distance between us before I can make my escape.
揊ields told me you抎 be here,?he says, which I guess explains why Fields honored me with the invite, because no matter how good I am at my job, Fields still thinks my vagina is my best asset. 揑 was hoping I抎 run into you tonight.?
揊unny,?I reply, 揑 was hoping the opposite.?
I turn, thinking find Ben, and Webber grabs my arm. His expression is mild, but that hand on my arm is just as unyielding as it was the last time he grabbed me. 揕et抯 go talk somewhere. I think you抎 be very interested in what I have to offer.?
揕et go of me,?I hiss.
揧ou could at least let me explain,?he says, and then Ben is there, grabbing Webber by the lapels.
揗aybe you can explain why you抮e grabbing her like that first,?he growls.
揥ho the fuck are you??Webber asks.
揑抦 the guy you answer to when you grab my棓 he stumbles over the last word. 摋colleague.?
揅olleague??Webber repeats. 揧ou抮e at FMG? Well, Fields and I go way back. He抣l be very interested to hear how you treat a potential client. Security??he calls, looking past Ben. 揅an someone get security over here??
Ben could probably talk his way out of this just fine, but I抦 not sure he will. He抯 looking at Webber right now like he can抰 decide what to punch first.