To worry.
Neither of us says it out loud.
The cold hits us the second we step outside. Me in silk and heels. Alex in layers that actually make sense for February.
But I’m not thinking about that.
I’m thinking about how my body doesn’t want to get in that car. How every step toward this fundraiser feels like walking toward something I can’t come back from.
Alex unlocks Nikko’s sedan. We climb in. She starts the engine, cranks the heat.
It isn’t until the car is warm and my brain comes back online that I confide in her.
“I feel like I don’t belong there.”
“What?” She glances over at me while pulling onto the street. “Why?”
“I didn’t earn it.” I shrug, fighting the emotions bubbling up from my throat. The words need to come out and yet they feel stuck. “I’m going there because Marcus sees this as a date. Not because someone acknowledged my work. I’m going because Dom and Marcus have me between a rock and a hard place.”
Silence.
Alex’s hands tighten on the steering wheel.
“Bullshit,” she finally says.
“Alex—”
“Okay, yes.” She cuts me off. “Marcus is a predator and Dom is a monster and this whole situation is fucked six ways to Sunday. But you?” She glances at me. Really looks at me beforeturning back to the road. “You’ve earned everything you have. Five years of late nights. Five years of being the best paralegal in that firm. Five years of Dom relying on you for every single thing that matters.”
“That’s not?—”
“You think Marcus picked you because you’re pretty?” She snorts. “He picked you because Dom talks about you. Because you’re competent and sharp and you scare powerful men. That’s why he wants you on his arm. Not because you’re arm candy. Because having you there makes him look better.”
I don’t know what to say to that.
My phone buzzes.
With shaking fingers I pull it out of my clutch.
Marcus: On my way.
Then, immediately:
Marcus: Be ready. I want us to arrive together.
The serpent at the base of my spine stirs. Not fully awake. Just... aware.
“What?” Alex asks. She saw my face change.
“He’s on his way. He wants to arrive together.” I pause. “You think he’s on his way to the apartment?”
“Good.” Her jaw tightens. “Let him wait. Let him wonder where you are.”
I type back: Running a few minutes late. See you there.
Send.
Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.
