“Where’s your boyfriend?” I ask Benny.
“Pssh. What boyfriend? I’ve been playing the field since college.”
“Oh. Rich mentioned one.”
Benny frowns and puts a hand on my shoulder. “He flirted with me once while he was waiting for you to come back from a meeting. It was harmless, but I said I had a boyfriend just to make things easy.”
Rich hit on her? He rarely even attempts to flirt with me. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “That must’ve been awkward, getting seduced by boss’s boyfriend. You should’ve told me.”
She waves me off. “I handled it fine.”
“Who’s Rich?” Cara asks. “The guy you just broke up with?”
Benny nods. “Her dad likes him.”
Cara cringes.
“That’s supposed to be a good thing,” I point out.
“Not in your twenties. Now’s the time to get back at dad for all the ways he fucked you up, and the men you date are your best weapons.”
“Huh.” I pick up my fresh martini. “I never thought of it that way.”
“So our mission is to find you a guy Mr. Fox would hate,” Benny says.
I’ve already accomplished that. Finn’s several years older than me and a struggling artist with an ex-wife. He also doesn’t put me in a box. Nothing about that would appeal to my dad. I shift on the barstool.
“Or maybe she’s already found one?” Cara asks, eyeing me.
I smile into my drink for a full second before I remember how Finn blew me off. “Actually . . .” I look up. “I need advice.”
“Youalreadymet someone?” Benny gasps. “You were fooling around on Rich! And that’s why you broke up. Did he catch you in the act? Were you buck naked, sprawled out on some burgundy leather couch I’m sure Rich has in his apartment—”
“No, no, no,” I sputter, trying not to laugh. I’m supposed to be pissed at the men in my life, but Benny’s right—Richdoeslove burgundy leather. “I didn’t cheat on him.” For the first time, I’m glad Finn had the sense to stop me so I wouldn’t have to lie about it. “This guy’s been pursuing me, but—”
“Sleep with him,” Benny says. “Those rules about waiting are bull.”
“I would,” I say. “In fact, we . . . we had this amazing night last night.”
“You whore,” Cara cries.
Benny shoves her so hard, she almost topples off the stool. “You don’t know her well enough to call her a whore, and by the way, she’s my boss.”
I force a smile. I think Cara’s teasing me—she’s laughing. But nobody’s ever called me a whore, joking or otherwise. “It’s fine. I can take it.”
“So, you banged,” Benny urges me on. “Then what?”
“I stayed over, but we didn’t bang. We just had a great night, like reallyreallygreat.”
Cara nods knowingly. “Good call. Keep him on his toes.”
“Was it, though?” I ask. “We made plans for this weekend, but he just canceled on me out of the blue.”
Cara and Benny exchange a look. “Are yousureyou didn’t sleep with him?”
I scoff-laugh. “Of course I’m sure. I think I’d know.”
“Hmm.” Cara plants her elbow on the bar and her chin in her hand. “Does he have a girlfriend?”
