“He was there?” she asked, catching on to what I was saying.
I nodded. “Yup. Representing Flanders, Case & Burling, the US firm that’s taking us over. Why they bother calling it a merger, I have no idea, it’s a takeover - we were about to go under. He spoke, after Frank, I think. I can’t really remember.”
“Shit.”
I nodded again.
“Did you get to speak to him?”
“No.”
“Did he see you there?”
“Yes, briefly, he looked at me.”
“Do you think he knew you would be there?”
I shrugged. “I guess. I’m sure he had employee lists. I don’t know,” I said.
I shrugged again, and drank more wine.
“So, what was it like? Seeing him?”
It had been a shock seeing him again. A wonderful shock. A confusing shock. Excitement had coursed through me as I’d stared at him as he’d fiddled with some papers in front of him. And then, as he scanned the room, I knew he’d find me. And when he did, he snatched his gaze away as if I was the last person he wanted to see. It had stung.
“Do you think he knew in New York?” I blurted. The thought had just occurred to me.
“What? Knew where you worked? No. Do you think he did?”
I drank more. The effect of the alcohol seeped through my body. Was he just playing some weird fucking game with me? Trying to get information on Allen & Smith? It was a pretty big coincidence for him to be a partner at the law firm that was taking over the place I worked, wasn’t it?
“I think he’s an asshole who was using me,” I stated.
“Why? What would he be using you for? And anyway, he can’t have known. It’s just a coincidence. It’s the universe’s way of bringing you two back on the same continent, in the same city because it knows how good you are together.” Leah looked at me hopefully.
“Shut the fuck up and drink with me,” I responded.
That’s how he knew my name in New York. He’d not guessed my real name was Anna—there’d been no connection between us, which meant he could see who I really was without me having to tell him. He’d simply known. He’d played some weird mind game on me to try and get me to sleep with him. Using what he’d found in fucking duediligence to get laid. What a prick. He knew the whole fucking time. Things were starting to make sense to me now.Thank you wine.
“Did he try and speak to you?” Leah asked.
“No.” That had stung, too. He hadn’t looked at me again for the rest of the meeting. Not even a glance in my direction and I was sure about that because I hadn’t been able keep my eyes off him. What was he going to say to me anyway? “Sorry I lied and mislead you but it was business”?
And now I was going to be working for him. He was effectively going to be my boss or my boss’s boss or something. Well, hopefully he’d be back in New York by the end of the week and I wouldn’t hear his name again.
“Well, I’m sure you two will catch up soon. This is exciting!”
“It’s not exciting, Leah, it’s a disaster.I’ma walking disaster when it comes to men.”
“You are not! This Ethan thing could work out well. How long is he in London for?”
“He’s a liar and he used me. Maybe he was trying to get information about Allen & Smith. He’s an asshole.”
“That seems pretty unlikely, Anna. You’re jumping to conclusions. Wine does not bring wisdom.”
I hadn’t told her that he’d guessed my name in New York. It was a weird thing to have happened, so I’d kept it to myself. Now I was pleased I hadn’t told her. I felt like such a fool for believing that it had been real.
The next dayat work my anger at Ethan and my hangover mixed into a mood that turned me into something that was straight from Greek myth and legend. I swear togod, I think if anyone had so much as looked at me wrong, I would have turned them to stone. I wasn’t taking any shit from anyone. I pounded through my work, refusing to think about anything but the contracts in front of me. The asshole that was Ethan Scott was not going to distract me or affect my career. Once again I’d proven to myself that I only attracted the lowest type of man. I was going to spend the rest of my life celibate. Decision made. It was easier all around, please move along, nothing to see here.
