Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 123579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Thurston and I lock eyes across our overpriced hotel food briefly before sharing a guarded smile. Henrietta further steers the conversation in a different direction with a few anecdotes from the last Collective gala, which eases more of the tension until we’re all laughing, finishing our meal and considering dessert.
“None for me.” Thurston stands, rebuttoning his suit coat. “I have to watch my youthful figure.”
He shoots me a grin, patting his stomach where it pokes against his coat.
“We aren’t all doing Ironmans in our spare time to keep fit.”
I grin back and wish him a good night.
“Did he just stick us with his bill?” Harold looks from Thurston’s scraped-clean plate to his departing back.
“Thurston’s bill is the least of our worries.” Henrietta sits straight as a line in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. “Did you hear what Thurston said, Trevor?”
“Which part?” I keep my tone casual in the hope that this isn’t going where I suspect it will.
“Come on, Bishop.” Henrietta’s eyes narrow at the corners, her lips tightening. “We need to talk about this.”
“No, Henri, we don’t.” I pick up the dessert menu, even though I’m sated and don’t want another thing. I need something to look at besides Henri’s disapproving face.
“Hen, leave it alone.” Harold spears the last of his fish. He always was a slow eater.
“No, Harold, this needs to be said.” Henrietta turns her resolved expression my way. “That woman is going to cost you everything, Bishop.”
Oh, hell. I didn’t want to do this here. Now. Ever, really. I lower the menu and meet her concerned eyes.
“Henri, I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” It may be a question, but her expression already has the answer. “The man I’ve known for the last decade does not chase supermodels all over New York City.”
“Hen,” Harold half protests.
“He doesn’t risk everything he’s worked for, we’ve worked for,” she continues, “because a beautiful woman gives him some attention.”
“Henri, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” I keep my voice as even as I can with anger building in my chest like a brick wall. “Stick to the business at hand. The real business at hand, not my private life.”
“And poor Fleur!” Henrietta’s eyes go wide and outraged. “To be exposed to that woman at the event last week.”
“Exposed to?” I snap. “Sofie’s not a virus, Hen, and you’d best watch how you talk about her. And have you forgotten Fleur and I broke up a year ago? Am I supposed to mope about it forever?”
“You broke the engagement, and for no good reason, so why would you be the one moping?”
“My reasons are my own and none of your business.” I crush the linen napkin in my fist, hoping it helps me control my temper. “Fleur knows why we aren’t together, and my reasons existed before I met Sofie and still remain.”
I lean forward, fixing my eyes on my friend of more than ten years.
“What exactly do you dislike about her so much?” I ask. “That she’s beautiful? That she posed nude? That she’s been in high-profile relationships? I know women can be petty and jealous about her, but—”
“Jealous!” Derision twists Henri’s mouth. “That woman has nothing I want.”
“Do you even know what she’s in the middle of?” I demand. “The allegations she’s leveling against Kyle Manchester, the ‘powerful enemy’ Thurston referred to?”
“I’m sorry if what she says happened to her happened, but—”
“It did happen to her, Henri.” Tension knots the muscle in my jaw.
“How do you know?” She tilts her head, eyebrows up. “What if it’s just a scheme to get more attention? Like posing for Playboy? And did you know she had an affair with a married man? Someone’s husband, Trev.”
“She didn’t know he was married.”
“Is that what she told you?” Henrietta rolls her eyes, disgust marring her face. “And of course you believe her.”
“The woman was raped.” The volume of my voice doesn’t rise, but my displeasure is inescapable.
“If it’s true, I sympathize with her.”
“Aren’t you a feminist? A defender of women’s rights? Women who’ve been subjected to injustices like FMG? Why would you, of all people, vilify the victim?”
“It’s hard for me to see Sofie as a victim, Trevor. You can’t compare her to someone like Halima.”
Yet Halima recognized the same strength in Sofie that I saw right away. I can’t help but remember how she connected with Sofie at the event, and I know Henrietta is wrong about her.
“I know her, Hen.”
“No, you’re screwing her, Bishop,” Henrietta says. “There’s a difference.”
“That’s enough, Henrietta,” Harold interjects harshly, eyes distressed behind his spectacles. “Drop it before you say something you’ll regret.”
“Oh, she already has.” I lean forward, colliding my eyes with Henrietta’s. “You’ve been a faithful employee and a great friend, Hen, but if you ever talk about Sofie that way again, things will have to change.”