“No, thanks. I’d honestly rather sell my soul to the devil and try to overhaul the entire IMF, before I joined an asset management firm. Or academia, for that matter—the departmental politics and struggle of it isn’t for me. I refuse to be an adjunct professor who can barely afford healthcare exploited by the ivory tower.”
“So, urban farming?”
She frowns, taken aback. “Why would you think that?”
“You seemed passionate about it, that night at the office.”
“Yeah, well—we’ll see.” She shrugs, uncomfortable. “It’s not like it’s really a viable career choice. My adviser definitely wouldn’t think so.” Kerr’s words ring clear:You have immense potential with your career, don’t waste it on something small.“How about you?” she asks, trying to move on fast. “Did you enjoy polluting the world with the gospel of trickle-down economics on your trip?”
“I did.”
Lili scowls. “You’re a capitalist monster.”
“Thank you,” he says, with an entirely too-satisfied smile.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Lili takes another sip of her wine. It’s almost empty, and as she sets her glass down, Aleksandr refills it, twisting the bottle slightly with a motion of his wrist. His watch gleams, the time set too far ahead. Remnants of his trip.
“You travel a lot,” Lili comments.
“It’s a necessary part of the job.”
“Don’t you find it excessive? Being both chairman and CEO?”
“Why on earth would I work with someone over my shoulder?”
Lili does roll her eyes, then. “Is it difficult, greasing the wheels of capitalism all on your own?”
“I have a firm faith in the power of the individual,” Aleksandr replies, grinning.
With a huff, Lili leans back in her seat—but this, she missed this. She’s done her due diligence to clarify, nothing more than a shared dinner; she can relax into the sexual tension of argument.
“Does Michael’s wife mind how much you two have to travel?”
Aleksandr looks confused. “Wife?”
“Yes—I’ve seen his ring?”
Shaking his head, Aleksandr laughs. “Michael’shusbandworks at the firm, one of our managing directors—and you just met him. Andrew, the man you almost made cry at that party.”
“Oh.” Surprised, she recalculates how she’s assessed Michael. It’s disarming to think about him—cold, disapproving—married to Andrew, with his kind smile, who she’d unintentionally eviscerated. “Oh—oh, that wasn’t... shit, I should apologize, I didn’t mean to do that tohim.”
“He’ll be fine.”
Then, she remembers what Aleksandr said earlier:Not just women, Lili.
“Have you—have you and Michael ever, you know—”
Aleksandr pales, clear horror. “Christ, no. Michael’s like my brother, that’s—no. Absolutely not.”
Lili leans in, grinning—she wants to enjoy the sight of him as close to distressed as she’s ever seen him—but their first course arrives then, a team of waitstaff descending on their table with bright salads, all delicate frisée and extravagant radicchio. One of the waiters’ white-blond hair shines in the candlelight; the topic of friendship, brothers, makes her think of James. Back at the party, he’d laughed when she apologetically told him she was sneaking out, with Aleksandr waiting downstairs.Don’t be sorry,he’d said.Just fix your hair and have fun for me, too.
She clears her throat now. “Just so you know,” she says, looking at Aleksandr. “Jamie and I, um—years ago, we did almost hook up, back in undergrad. Like, when we first met. It was a disaster, we made out, nothing happened—we accidentally spilled beer all over the invitation for his mother’s memorial, I found out his mom had just died, and we just talked the rest of the night, because, you know, my parents...” She lets her hands flutter, then fall, leaving the rest unsaid. “But that’s why I was at the party tonight. He pretends they’re not, but family things are hard for him, with his mom gone, and how his dad got remarried so fast. Anyway, I love him, a lot—he’s one of my best friends, but there’s nothing romantic between us. Got it?”
Aleksandr smiles, as if warmed by her rambling sincerity. “I appreciate the clarity.”
“Just, you know—in the spirit of transparency,” she mutters; she doesn’t owe him an explanation, but it feels warranted: cards on the table, no miscommunication, after what happened at the party. “How about you and Michael? How long have you two known each other?”
“We grew up together.”
