He laughs. 揘o. Your family is more likely to have come here than mine, rich DC girl.?
I shake my head. 揗y whole life was ballet, and a vacation like this would have meant a week away. My parents would have had to drag me kicking and screaming, and it wasn抰 worth the effort.?
揃allet??His mouth curves slightly, as if he抯 just solved a puzzle. 揥hat happened to that??
揗y mom had to move out of the city after the divorce, and she was killing herself trying to work school and all my activities around an entry-level job. So I quit.?
He pulls me closer. 揧ou抮e still upset about it.?
I give the tiniest shake of my head. 揟hat was almost fifteen years ago. It just makes me mad.?
I can抰 imagine having to work for my father抯 firm after everything he did, and my God but he抎 use it to his advantage. It wouldn抰 simply mean doing work I hate梚t would mean having him as my boss, demanding I appear by his side at charity functions, sending me out of town on Mother抯 Day or my mom抯 birthday.
揌e棓 I take a deep breath and start over. 揗y dad used to call my mom all the time when it was going on桮od, the shit he said to her. He抎 just left her penniless so he could shack up with a twenty-four-year-old, but anytime he didn抰 get what he wanted, he was telling her she was a loser and worthless, and a terrible mother. And you know卙e抯 good at what he does. He抯 convincing. A part of her believed every word of it.?
揑s that why you went to college early??he asks quietly.
揝ort of.?I rest my face against his chest, oddly soothed by the smell of his soap, the feel of him there. 揗y father went back to court and won custody, just to punish her. My mom would have let me live with him full time if I抎 wanted it. She抎 have gone out of her way to make me feel like it was okay. He just did it to prove he could.?
I really can抰 believe, after everything he抯 done, and after everything I suffered to defy him, that he might win all this in the end anyway.
揑抦 so sorry,?he says.
I shake my head. 揥hat you went through is so much worse, yet somehow I抦 the only one of us who hasn抰 recovered.?
He laughs unhappily. 揇rew thinks I haven抰 recovered either, if it makes you feel any better.?
揙h??
揝he says I only date women I can抰 care about because I抦 scared of getting attached to someone. She抯 probably got a point.?
It feels like a knife to the heart. I never wanted him to care about me, but it hurts anyway. I sit up and set my wine carefully on the table, needing distance. 揟hat抯 the kind of thing you should probably keep to yourself when you抮e with a female.?
He pulls me against him before I can rise. 揋emma,?he says with a quiet laugh, 揑 would have kept it to myself if you were one of them.?
I look up, studying his face. His eyes are soft and sincere. I want to believe him. I really do.
揌ow can you not already know that??he asks as he presses his lips to the top of my head.
Because you never know. You never know until it抯 too late. I抦 starting to think Ben might be different, though, and that抯 terrifying in its own way.
36
Ben and I are at the office late the following Tuesday, comparing the expense reports Fiducia provided us against the receipts acquired from the strip clubs. If they falsified reports, we can have them charged with fraud. But we will also need to somehow prove these were company-sanctioned events, not one or two rogue employees billing the company for their shady extracurricular activities.
We抮e sitting at the table in his office in front of a mountain of expense reports when my mother calls.
揌i, Mom,?I say, with a cautious glance at Ben. I haven抰 told her about him, and don抰 really want to. She抎 just get her hopes up.
揇erek is married,?she says, before I ask if I can call her later.
揥ho抯 Derek??
揟he neurosurgeon on Grey抯 Anatomy. Poor Meredith finally gives him a chance and then his wife shows up. Can you believe it??
I laugh. 揗om, I haven抰 seen it, so yes, I can believe almost anything Meredith and Derek do. I thought we were talking about real people. How抯 everything else? You抮e home kind of early.?
揈d, my boss, made me leave. He was worried about my car making it down the hill梬e抮e supposed to get freezing rain tonight.?
My chest tightens. 揇id you salt the walkway? Because you know that asshole apartment manager isn抰 going to do it.?
She sighs. 揑 hadn抰 even heard about the rain 抰il Ed told me, so I don抰 have any salt yet.?
I climb from my seat and head for my laptop, still sitting on the chair by Ben抯 door. 揑抣l call the front desk. They抮e liable for any injuries that take place on their property if they can抰 show they took proper precautions.?