“Better by a lot.”
“That has not escaped my attention.”
“Oh.” Gavin looks uncomfortable, like only the privileged can when confronted with injustice they can’t do anything about. “Well, that’s stupid then.”
“Yeah.” Now that I put it out there, I want to collect all the words back and hide them under my shirt. It’s not something that I’ve vocalized with anyone else besides Sonia and Ajay, and I don’t like the resulting vulnerability.
“It’s not right. You’re amazing at this. And any boss that can’t see that isn’t using his resources accurately. And anyfatherthat doesn’t see that...” Gavin shakes his head in disapproval.
That’s a nice reaction. I’m getting more comfortable with my split-second decision to tell him.
“Yeah.” I start getting worked up on my own behalf. “It’s really messed up!”
“What are you going to do about it?”
I deflate. Someone should tell him that I need to vent, and this isn’t a problem with a solution.
“If I knew that, I would have done it already,” I say in my bestduhvoice. “And my current front runner for ideas is to wait Dad out and then steal the company from Ajay. Depositing his cut into his bank account at regular intervals. As long as he stays away from my decisions,” I hurry to add in case he thinks I’m heartless.
“That seems like the best outcome,” Gavin says carefully, trying to give the diplomatic answer. “But that seems like a long time from now?” He makes the statement into a question, pointing out the one flaw in my master plan.
“A very long time from now, probably. But in the meantime, there’s still work to be done.” I incline my head toward Harrison.
“Yeah, when I get Harrison’s collection, you’ll have so much time for all that work.”
My mood immediately lightens with Gavin’s words. He’s surprisingly astute when he wants to be, knowing I don’t want to talk about the subject anymore and making me comfortable with our old dynamic in the same sentence.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about my schedule. But when I get the Harrison sale, you can focus on going to the French Riviera, or watching lacrosse, or the art of making your hair look effortless, with effort. Whatever you do in your spare time.”
Gavin lies down next to me, his feet by my head and his head by my feet, doodling on my leg with his finger. The sensations his languid motions cause work their way up my body, making me shiver at the teasing touch. That combined with the gentle sway of the boat help me relax fully for the first time in a while.
“Seriously, how much time do you spend on your hair?” I ask, a question I’ve been wondering about only whenever I see him.
“You like it?” He preens, craning his neck toward me so I get the best view.
“So nice...” I sit up and lean forward, ostensibly to take a closer look. “Especially this part.” I reach up to his head and then violently run my hands through his hair, making it stick up on its end. “Ew. How much product do you put in your hair?”
“A lot. Looking this good doesn’t come easy.” Gavin laughs as he closes his eyes to the sway of the boat, leaving his hair in all its wild glory.
“It doesn’t even look like you have anything in there.” I look closer at the mess on the top of his head, inspecting it like I’m a scientist or a particularly thorough detective.
“That’s because they’re expensive products.” He continues drawing the lazy pattern on my leg.
“Apparently.” I wipe my hands on his shorts, not caring if it ruins them. He deserves it for getting all that shit on my hands.
We spend the rest of the trip watching the coast go by. We talk a little about the art market, but mostly fall into a comfortable silence. The others don’t come back to the bow, leaving us in our own little world at the head of the ship. I forget they were even there, to be honest. And forget I have to worry about them judging us.
Since Harrison’s blocked all talk of the sale until he reads the proposals, and I didn’t bring my laptop with me on the boat, I can enjoy the closest thing I’ve had to a real break in a long time.
Maybe I can convince Dad to buy the company a boat. But then he’d just expect me and Mom to host parties on it for potential clients.
Maybe not, then.
Instead I’ll have to enjoy this one quiet moment of rest I get, with a man who is still as wrong as he can be for me.
I’ll soak it all up while I can, knowing that it won’t be around for very long.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
