I took another sip of my drink, the bitterness settling on my tongue. It was my second of the night, and on a Tuesday at that, but Evie was fast asleep and I’d already filled Sasha in on everything that had happened.
Jonah was a first-class asshole, and I was glad to be done with him. No more daydreams about our night together. Instead, within minutes of leaving his office, I’d started fantasizing about spray-painting “you’re an asshole” over his door.
“I agree that he’s horrible,” I said, though my mind was still churning.
But I still found him attractive—in a way I hadn’t felt about any of the twenty-year-olds I usually encountered. Jonah had been so decisive, so confident about what he wanted, just solid. I’d admired that. It had to be the age, the experience that gave him that quality.
“Maybe I need to widen my horizons the next time I want to date,” I said, swirling my drink.
Perhaps an older man who wasn’t a wealthy prick.
“I promise you, Lexi, with younger guys, yeah, there might be more uncertainty, but there’s also room to grow together. You get to shape the life you want side by side, not fit into someone else’s established patterns.”
For the first time in my life, I disagreed with Sasha about the age aspect, but I would definitely stay away from Jonah.
I wanted the life I’d envisioned for myself and this new job was a step toward that. I was ready to fight for it. It was the future I’d imagined for Evie and me. A life with a little more ease, a few comforts we’d never had before. I wasn’t about to risk all of that by getting involved with the CEO.
“Hey, did you order those new work clothes like you wanted to?” Sasha asked, clearly trying to distract me.
I bit my lip. “I did,” I lied, knowing Sasha too well.
She’d order clothes for me if she knew my colleagues found my outfits outdated. She’d have them delivered the next day and wouldn’t say a word about it until the box arrived. I couldn’t accept any more of her help.
“This man’s a globe-trotter,” Sasha muttered, still looking at her phone. “He was in Palm Springs last weekend,” she added, showing me a picture from her screen.
My jaw dropped at the sight of Jonah in a racing suit and helmet, his visor lifted just enough to reveal those unmistakable eyes, standing beside a sleek race car. He’d spent Friday night here in New York, then flown to a racetrack in Palm Springs for the weekend, only to return by Monday morning? That was a level of financial and logistical freedom that I couldn’t even fathom.
“Look at all that wealth. The watches, and the cars. It’s almost obscene to see so much money concentrated in one person,” Sasha murmured.
I stared at the picture, my heart racing for all the wrong reasons. So this was what being rich looked like.
I’d never know.
Earlier today, I’d gotten an unexpected bill for four hundred forty-nine dollars from my landlord for a broken window in my bedroom. All because of a crack I’d made while moving furniture. I’d been considering buying a new monitor to work from home, but I was glad I hadn’t. I’d never have had the money for this expense.
“Who’s he with?” Sasha asked, looking at the picture of the blonde man beside Jonah. “I didn’t think billionaires had friends.”
“They don’t. They have business partners,” I said, taking another sip and pulling my gaze away from the phone. Jonah was too painfully handsome to look at. “Just like they don’t have personal relationships.”
Sasha raised an eyebrow and gave me a thoughtful look. “I know relationships are a dirty word for you. I don’t blame you after what Dylan did.” She sighed. “I know you swore off relationships after Dylan, and you had the misfortune of running into another jerk like Jonah. But not all men are like that. And you’re smart enough to know who to stay away from.”
“Yes,” I sighed.
I had been raised by my grandfather and my Mom, but while Mom drifted in and out of my life, Gramps was my anchor. He was the one I leaned on, the one I missed most when Dylan and I left for college. But those college days didn’t last long. Dylan slowly chipped away at my friendships, isolating me until I felt utterly alone by the end of my first semester.
When Gramps passed away when I was nineteen, it shattered me. Without him there for love and guidance, I didn’t know which way was up. So when I found out I was pregnant a few months later and Dylan insisted I leave college to have Evie, saying we couldn’t afford both school and a baby, I believed him. I trusted him when I shouldn’t have. Looking back, I could see how he had manipulated me, but at the time, I hadn’t had anyone else to guide me.
Dylan and I had never gotten married, though I’d always assumed we would.
But after discovering that Dylan had tampered with my birth control, I walked out on him.
For a while, Evie and I stayed with my mom, who helped with the baby, but then I discovered she’d been stealing from me to fund her gambling addiction. That was the last straw. I didn’t know who to trust anymore, so I moved into my own place and found a roommate to help with rent. I went through several roommates, none of whom stayed long, until I found Sasha through work. She loved Evie, and I was grateful for her understanding and patience on nights when Evie was fussy.
Sasha had a loving fiancé, and they were planning to move in together soon. I knew her time with me was limited, and I would be forever grateful for the days she chose to spend supporting me, giving me the kind of friendship that felt like family.
With Sasha, I never had to pretend to have it all together or apologize for Evie’s moods or mine. Living with her had given me peace, even if I couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that something was missing in my life.
“Where’s Dylan now?” Sasha asked.
