Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Jules turns to leave the stage, but I catch her hand and hold it as I make a short speech, thanking everyone who’s helped me get where I am now. It passes in a blur, and before I know it, Jules and I are making our way back to our seats.
I hold her hand tightly in mine for the rest of the evening, not wanting to let her go for a second.
The rest of the night passes quickly. When the ceremony’s over, we’re told there’s an after-hours party in the room next door.
My gaze slices to Jules and it’s clear that neither of us wants to go. Bennett, Fisher, and the others all come up and congratulate me, then it’s just Jules and me heading to the car. We’re in the lobby when Caroline and Grant appear in front of us.
“Darling, wonderful speech,” she says. “Let me get your number and we’ll arrange that dinner.”
My eye twitches, but I dutifully pull out my phone. Before we can exchange numbers, Jules interrupts. “I’ll give you my number, Caroline. I’m much easier to get a hold of.”
Caroline smiles, and she and Jules swap numbers.
Grant slaps me on the back. “Here’s my card. If you ever want a second opinion about anything, just give me a call. I know you haven’t worked with Hammonds before, but we have some great international reach. Asia in particular is a strength for us. I just had an investor buy five units in a new development over the phone. He didn’t even see renderings.”
I nod, pretending I’m interested. I’m not. Not even if Hammonds was the only brokerage in the city. If that were the case, I’d set up my own fucking brokerage. I glance across at Caroline, giggling with Jules like they’re best friends. Grant is so close, I’m slightly concerned he’s going to try to crawl up my arsehole.
I need a shower.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I say. “Jules, the car is just there. We should go.”
“Lovely to see you, darling,” Caroline says again to me. “It’s wonderful seeing you’ve made something out of yourself. I always knew you would.”
I no longer care if I look rude. I nod, scoop up Jules’ hand, and head out to the car.
I’m not just going to have a shower. I’m going to have to burn my suit and shave my head to rid myself of that encounter.
I slide into the car next to Jules and sweep my hands through my hair.
“That went well,” Jules says.
I should thank her for making her speech, but I can’t bring myself to speak. I can taste Caroline’s heavy perfume, feel her fingers on my hand.
“Are you okay?” Jules asks eventually.
“I’m a fool,” I say finally. “How could I have ever loved her? How could I have let Nadia get so close? What is the matter with me that I can build a successful business like I’m riding a bike, but I can’t read people?”
“That’s bullshit,” she says, her voice harsh compared to the saccharine-sweetness she poured on for Caroline.
I choke out a laugh. “Not from where I’m sitting.”
“Then you need to sit over here. Firstly, running a business like yours isn’t easy. You work really hard and you’re completely committed. Secondly, you were a teenager when Caroline Hammond got her talons into you. You were a kid. And Nadia? Who the fuck is she, anyway? Some woman you knew for five minutes who probably had nice tits and gave a great blow job? She wanted something from you and she got it because you weren’t focused on her—you were focused on your business. She was just white noise.”
I laugh at the way Jules puts things. White noise?
“You can’t give yourself a hard time about either of those women. Yes, they were using you, but everyone uses everyone. That’s just life. You needed a fiancée; I wanted a job at The Mayfair. New York City needs more apartments and you want more money. A billionaire wants a hot wife and a hot girl wants billions. That’s the way it is. You’ve just got to make sure you’re getting what you need while everyone else is getting what they want. Separate transactional relationships from your friends and family—the ones who would walk through fire or bury a body for you. You have more people like that in your life than most. Those are the people you need to spend your energy on. Everyone else can fuck off.”
“I never thought of my relationship with Caroline as transactional.”
“That’s why it smarts with Caroline—because she took what she wanted from you and didn’t give you what you wanted in return. But that’s one woman, one time in your life. You’re one of the most powerful men in Manhattan. That’s not going to happen again.”
“How can you be so sure?”