Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Although for all intents and purposes this was a business dinner, privacy was required, and it needed to look romantic.
I arrived only a few minutes after she did, and she was already seated at a table in the back corner.
“Catherine, you look lovely tonight.” I greeted her appropriately.
I wasn’t wrong. She did look lovely in a white sheath dress with gold earrings and necklaces. Perfectly understated. Demure, delicate, and expensive. It looked like my mother had dressed Catherine herself. Perhaps she had?
I didn’t know which thought was more terrifying, that Catherine’s taste was so in line with my mother’s, or the distinct possibility that she actually had my mother pick out her outfit for the night.
We ordered the first round of drinks and appetizers and got down to business.
It started simply enough, talking about events and charity obligations, those that she would be able to do on her own, others that she would prefer having my presence at, and a few where my presence was not optional. All things considered, it was very reasonable. Most of the events she would handle herself, and the non-negotiable events so far were on dates that I was able to make work.
“About your secretary,” she started as she finished her third glass of wine.
“Not my secretary,” I said.
“Whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively. “About the girl that was at your desk and any other girls on your desk or whatever after her.”
“What about her?” I asked, not liking where this conversation was headed.
“You need to stop seeing her.”
“Excuse me?”
“Look, I don’t care who you sleep with, but it needs to be more discreet than someone at work. I don’t expect you to treat this like an actual marriage because it’s not one.”
I knew she was right, but how she was so cold and dismissive about it made me a little sick. And I had to wonder, was this what I wanted? Did I want the same contract marriage that my father and mother had, or did I want more?
“Well, that girl, Ms. Carmichael, is no longer on my desk.”
“Oh, good. I was worried that you were going to keep her on even after everything, but Mary assured me you wouldn’t and that you have a very low tolerance for incompetence.”
“What do you mean, everything? You mean the altercation where my mother assaulted her?”
“Well, that and that other thing. Your mother is so bad.” She laughed and set her glass down roughly on the table, sloshing the dregs of the champagne around the glass.
“Oh?” I smiled at her. “What did she do this time? She always gets up to the most interesting things,” I said, playing along.
My stomach twisted, and I had a feeling I knew exactly where this was going.
“Well.” She leaned in like she was going to tell me some scandalous secret or let me in on the latest gossip. “While I was waiting for you and your mother, I started looking through the girl’s desk, thinking she might be up to something or she might have something of yours or something incriminating, but I couldn’t find anything. It was all work. Then all that stuff with your mother happened, and when you took that girl back into your office, your mother went into her desk and grabbed a couple of files.”
“She stole evidence?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. She just took a couple of files, just some work things. I’m sure they were nothing. She just wanted to make sure that the girl got in trouble and got fired so she’d no longer be a threat to what we were doing here. Really, Harrison, you should know to be more careful with who you sleep with. I mean, having an affair is fine, but does it have to be as cliche as to have it with a secretary? That’s almost as bad as sleeping with your yoga instructor. At least have it with somebody on your same level. If you’re looking for a little discreet hookup, I’m sure I can find someone who would be interested. However, the more I think about it, we should probably start having kids right away, so maybe it’s best if you don’t stray, at least until we have our first child.”
How could I have been so stupid? I knew that Eddie wasn’t stupid. I knew she wasn’t incompetent, and she understood how important those documents were. I owed her an apology. And she shouldn’t accept it. I had fucked up so royally there was no way she was going to forgive me.
Although, Amelia forgave Luc for being absolutely terrible. Olivia even forgave Marksen for kidnapping and then trying to blackmail her. If they could forgive their partners for that and still love them, could Eddie forgive me for being an asshole earlier?
Even if she couldn’t, did I want to deprive myself of the chance of finding a relationship like my friends had for this cold, icy woman?