I nearly choked on my tea. “I’m not sure I?—”
“You’ll go,” she interrupted, her eyes twinkling like she’d already won the argument. “I’ve already booked the jet to take us to New York to go shopping for outfits next week. It’s exactlywhat you need right now, good old retail therapy with your mother. It’ll be fantastic, an opportunity to reset and get ready for your life outside of that office.”
I pursed my lips, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m not sure I can go to New York next week, Mom. I also have plenty of clothes. I’m sure there’s an outfit that?—”
“Nonsense.” She cut me off again, waving her hand like I was being ridiculous. “You’re not wearing some old rag to this event and you’re not working anymore either, so why wouldn’t you come with me?”
Telling her about my deal with Harrison would be a monumentally bad idea right now, yet the words leaped to the tip of my tongue and I only just managed to hold them back. Regina tilted her head, smiling indulgently, the way people did when speaking to a child.
“Well?” she asked.
For just a moment, I struggled to find an excuse she would accept, but I came up empty. The fact was that I didn’t have work to hide behind, and since I couldn’t tell her about Harrison, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place—in this case, my mother and a private plane.
“Sure,” I finally agreed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Maybe it’s just reflex for me to say no. I haven’t been able to jet off at the drop of a hat for a shopping spree in so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have the freedom to do it.”
“Oh, darling, I know. That’s one of the reasons why this is so great. You’re free now.” She gave me an understanding smile even though she would never really be able to understand.
Not what I was going through right now or why my job had meant so much to me. My mom had never worked a day in her life and she never would.
Sure, I’d always wanted to be a wife and mother one day, but I loved my job too. I loved the thrill, the chaos, and the high stakes.
It just wouldn’t help to tell her any of that or even to bring it up at all because she really wasn’t able to fathom it. I’d tried in the past, but I’d learned it was best to just accept that she and I thought very differently about women in careers like mine.
Frankly, she thought it was foolish for us to even try. Especially for women like me and her. Women who had the means that allowed us her version of freedom.
“It’s settled, then,” she said, folding her hands on the table after pushing her plate away. “We’ll go shopping next week and you’ll find the perfect outfit for your re-entrance into our society.”
Internally, I sighed, but I also nodded. “Yes, Mother. I’m looking forward to it.”
Until the deal Harrison and I were doing closed, New York would be just another stop, another obligation I had to fulfill for now. Because I still wasn’t out on my own. Soon, I would be, but for now, I had to do what I had to do, and I had to do it without saying a word that could jeopardize the only shot I had at finally becoming really and truly independent.
CHAPTER 11
HARRISON
Istared at the polished walnut table in our executive conference room for so long that I could see my own reflection in it pretty clearly at this point, and it was no surprise that all I saw were frown lines and dark circles under my eyes.
It wasn’t exactly the image of a man about to make the deal of a lifetime, but today was the day we were finally meeting with the heir, which meant that if we played our cards right, today was the day the broke bastard would sign on the dotted line.
Aurelia and I would be responsible for making that happen, not my father. When I’d replied to the attorney’s email, I’d simply made it clear that I was representing W&S on this deal and that, as such, I would be taking the meeting on behalf of the firm.
A few minutes later, they’d agreed and no one had even questioned why the mighty Harlan Westwood wouldn’t be joining us. It made me wonder why they’d even asked for him to be there in the first place, but I hadn’t bothered asking.
The only thing that would’ve achieved was to make me look weak and insecure.
Besides, that was the least of my worries right now. Ever since that night Aurelia and I had ridden out the ice stormtogether, she’d taken up way too much of my mental real estate. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t get her out of my head or why the fact that she’d mentioned marriage had stuck to the inside of my brain like chewing gum.
This wasnotnormal for me but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wasn’t even sleeping properly because I kept wondering if she’d been serious when she’d thrown out that suggestion. She’d managed to say it as easily as if she’d been asking whether we should get takeout for dinner.
In the days since, we hadn’t spoken about that at all. Whenever I had heard from her, all we’d talked about was the deal and our strategies for this very meeting. I glanced at my watch again, realizing that I’d been staring at the table for almost thirty minutes.
I cleared my throat, sitting up a little straighter and smoothing out my jacket. The last thing I needed was for any of them to walk into the conference room and see me sitting here like a lovesick puppy.
A soft ding suddenly pierced the silence and I nearly fell out of my chair. It was only my phone alerting me to a new message. It buzzed loudly on the table afterward, three vibrations that made it clatter on the wood as if it hadn’t already almost given me a heart attack.
I grabbed it immediately, my heart pounding unreasonably hard for absolutely no good reason. Except that I did have a good reason. Sort of.
However unlikely, it was possible that this was a message from Aurelia finally acknowledging what we’d talked about during our drunken night together. As I swiped into my messages, I didn’t really know if I was hoping it was her or not, but when I saw a message from my mom waiting for me instead, I groaned out loud.
