“I want to see it today. I have some free time right now.”
“Now?”
“Yes, is that a problem?”
I slow blinked, mentally rearranging my schedule to fit his impromptu appointment. “No, right now is fine. I can meet you at the hotel in thirty minutes.” I didn’t even wait for his response. I pulled the phone from my ear, pressing the button to end the call as I moved around my desk.
“Natoi,” I called, startling my assistant who sat at her desk. “I just had to arrange a last minute appointment for the Williams & Brodsky event. Can you call my two o’clock appointment and try to get it pushed back to later today or later this week?”
“Sure, girl. Everything alright?” She gave me a worried look.
“Yeah, everything’s good. I’ll just be happy when this job is over.”
Natoi laughed. “Pushy one, huh? Well, you’re good with working with the pushy clients. It’s why Nancy assigns you to ’em.” She laughed a little more, turning back to her computer screen.
You have no idea,I thought as I grabbed my purse from the drawer I tucked it in, along with the dark, navy blue blazer I’d worn that day.
“I’ll be back in an hour and a half,” I told Natoi as I moved past her desk. I heard her say something but I pushed through the glass doors, letting it swing shut behind me. I wanted to get this meeting with Gabriel over as soon as possible.
I made it down to the hotel in just under the thirty minutes I’d given him over the phone. Yet, in true Gabriel fashion he kept me waiting another twenty minutes before his arrival. He came strolling through the door held open by the concierge, hand tucked into his dark, tailored suit while his other hand fiddled with the toothpick in his mouth. He pulled it free from his mouth and greeted me with a smile that was meant to be endearing. My stomach roiled at how I could’ve ever thought I loved this man. My mind instantly began comparing him to Carter. Gabriel fell short in every way.
“I am glad to see you made it.”
“You’re late.”
His lips formed into a pout. “I was having lunch at Le Grenouille. You know their foie gras is amazing.”
I rolled my eyes. He had me waiting while he dined at a restaurant that was less than two blocks from here.
“You remember the first time I took you to Le Grenouille? You were scared to order anything off the menu.” He chuckled.
I was not about to take this trip down memory lane. “The hotel manager says we have thirty minutes to check out the space. They have an event tonight they need to set up for.” I abruptly turned, peering over my shoulder to see if Gabriel would trail me. I saw his eyes scan my entire backside before he began moving. Turning my head, I swallowed the disgust I felt seeing his gesture.
“Thank you for agreeing to this last minute meeting, Ariel,” I said to the hotel’s manager who’d come down to show us the banquet space for the event along with a few of the design themes we were thinking of going with.
“It’s not a problem at all. I have to be down here for the next few hours anyway. Let me show you inside.” She waved us farther down the hall into the large banquet room.
“This event needs to be top of the line. We’re celebrating Williams & Brodsky’s fiftieth anniversary,” Gabriel’s voice boomed with pride from behind me.
The floors of the room were white and grey marble, and shiny. They looked clean enough to eat off of. The walls were white with columns throughout the space. There was a small dance floor toward the front and a space that could be set up as a stage with a podium. It was a great space for an event and my mind began swirling with ideas to decorate and set up.
“This room can hold up to seven hundred occupants.” Ariel waved her hand around. “How many people are you expecting for the event?”
“No more than five hundred. The firm has one hundred attorneys, most of whom will bring a guest. There are ten partners, including myself,” Gabriel said with pride, his chest puffed out.
I bit the inside of my cheek but my smile still dipped a little as I focused on Ariel.
“We each have spouses.”
That one made me nauseous. The fact that he’d take that moment to throw his wife in my face was distasteful to say the least. What he failed to understand was that I was far from jealous. I actually pitied his wife, and if it weren’t for my son, I’d tell Gabriel he could fall off the planet for all I cared.
“We will definitely be able to accommodate your guest list,” Ariel responded once Gabriel quit talking. “Will you two excuse me for a moment?” She asked, pulling her walkie-talkie from her hip.
I watched as she walked away, longing for her to come back. She provided a buffer between Gabriel and I.
“What do you think of the place?” I finally questioned.
He looked around, eyes scanning the ceiling and walls before looking back at me. “It’s a little small but I guess it’ll do.”
