I liked her immediately. “Well, to be fair, if they choose him for you, he probably won’t be poor.”
She winked. “Neither am I.”
It turned out that Zara was one of those people who could make you feel like you had known them for years within just the first few minutes. She spoke with her hands and laughed easily, telling me the highlights of her entire life story, asking me questions, and listening like she was genuinely curious about the answers.
“I’m a fashion designer,” she offered without even having to be asked. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty big in the art scene in Chicago right now too, so I split my time between studio work and gallery openings. How’s Alex handling being marriedto an actual powerhouse instead of just some meek girl who swoons whenever he looks at her?”
Surprise rippled through me, but I laughed. “Girls swoon when he looks at them?”
She pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow. “Girl, have youseenyour husband? Panties have been known to spontaneously go up in flames when he walks into a room. He doesn’t even need to look directly at the women wearing them.”
More laughter bubbled out of me, my cheeks flushing as I finally nodded. Just a little nod as my teeth sank into my lower lip for a second. “Yeah, okay. I can see that being true, but to answer your question, he’s been great. Honestly. I’m not just saying it. He really has been a superstar about this whole thing.”
She pretended to fan herself. “You’re lucky. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not into your husband or anything, but a girl could do much worse. Especially if he’s not being a gigantic tool about it.”
“Agreed.” I laughed again, genuinely enjoying having her around in a way I truly hadn’t expected when I’d realized I wasn’t alone in here.
It had been years since I’d made a friend, but after less than two hours with Zara, I felt like I’d found a kindred spirit. A true friend I would have in my life for years to come.
“Oooh, there’s a party in Lake Forrest next weekend,” she said. “You should come. Bring Alex.”
“I will,” I said, and I meant it. “Thank you for inviting us.”
We chatted a while longer, the conversation drifting from art to family to the strange, shared understanding of what it meant to be born into expectation. It felt easy. Uncomplicated. Luxurious in its own way.
Eventually, I climbed out of the pool and went to get dressed. My skin felt warm and loose, and my mind was calmer than it had been in months. Zara disappeared into a shower, but beforeI left the spa, I reached into my purse for my phone and sighed when I saw I had six missed calls.
All from Colin. There was a voicemail too, and although I would have liked to cling to the feeling of peace for a while longer, my brother wasn’t a drama queen. If he’d calledthatmany times, it meant something urgent was happening.
I pressed play, and the tranquility of the spa cracked instantly as his voice filled my ear. “Jane, I need you to get to the office. Right now.”
The bubble burst.So much for taking the rest of the day off.
By the time I arrived at Thayer Steelworks, the faintest trace of mint still clinging to my skin, I could hear shouting echoing down the marble-lined corridor and it told me all I needed to know. The brief reprieve from being me really was over.
I wasn’t a girl who floated around in stone pools that were the perfect temperature all day long, sipping champagne at nine in the morning and giggling about art and society. I was the girl who was trying to hold together a company that was over a hundred years old with duct tape and cable ties.
Following the noise that seemed to be coming from the executive conference room, my heels clicked with purpose. Irritation sharpened my focus.Man, I was having such a good day so far.
I rounded the corner and walked straight into the conference room without knocking, and as I walked in, every man on the board turned to look at me. The room went dead silent, but I took it all in with the detached clarity that always came to me in moments like this.
My uncle’s seat was empty, as usual. My mother’s chair sat vacant as well, untouched, her nameplate gleaming under the lights.
Along the far wall, where executives usually hovered during meetings they weren’t meant to speak in, Alex and Nate stoodshoulder to shoulder. Alex was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, but he seemed utterly at ease as he smirked at me.
The board members, on the other hand, were sweating. Literally. One man had gone pale. Another was gripping his pen so tightly, his knuckles were white.
I’d just interrupted something big. I could feel it humming in the air, the remnants of raised voices and bad decisions wafting through the room like the smell of an open sewage line.
“Honey,” Alex said smoothly, pushing off the wall and crossing over to me. “You’re here.”
As he reached me, he slid an arm around my waist, pulling me to him, and he leaned in and kissed my cheek. It was brief, just a polite peck, but it burned just as searingly as our kiss at the gala. My skin tingled where his lips had touched it. The warmth of him enveloping me was as comforting as the hot water in that pool.
Through sheer force of will, I managed to keep my expression neutral as he pulled back, his hand briefly settling at my lower back, soothing and possessive all at once. The board watched us with wide, fearful eyes, like they hadn’t believed the news was actually true until this exact moment.
Alex turned back to them, as casual as a man discussing quarterly projections, and pointed at one man in particular. “Did you want to repeat what you said about my wife a few minutes ago or should we call this meeting adjourned? You all have some decisions to make as it stands.”
The man in question turned beet red, opened his mouth, closed it again, and then he began rapidly gathering his belongings, papers shoved into his briefcase with shaking hands. One by one, the others followed suit, chairs scraping back as they shuffled out of the room.
