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“This is not nineteen forty-one, and I’m not off to war.”
“You know what I mean.” He shrugs and clicks his pen off and on for a few moments. “When you inevitably take over Pruitt Holdings.” So he’s decided to broach the topic we don’t talk about.
“Talking about Pruitt Holdings, what are you doing this weekend?” I change the subject.
“This weekend? Why?”
“I’m going to my grandparent’s house for Sunday lunch. I’d be grateful if you joined. Sarah as well, if she’s interested.”
“I think we’ve got plans to head to Maine.” He grabs his phone. “Let me check my calendar.”
“Maine?”
“Fresh lobsters.” He grins. “My lady loves lobster rolls.”
“Hmm.” I frown at his words. My lady? He was far more whipped than I’d previously realized. “She’s really got you on a chain, doesn’t she?”
“Not quite,” he says, and we both know that’s a lie. “At least not outside of the bedroom.” He chuckles at his joke, and I wait, trying to pretend I don’t find him funny. “By the way, how are interviews going for your new assistant?”
“Not well,” I admit. “HR seems to have the uncanny ability to find me all the worst candidates for the job. They are lining up more interviews for tomorrow. Hopefully, they have some quality candidates this time.”
“Don’t be so harsh on them, Jackson. I’m sure they’re doing the best that they can.”
“Two days ago, I had an interview with a woman who proceeded to tell me she was a descendant of the Martians. Yes, aliens from Mars. And then there was the man who told me he had a foot fetish and asked if HR could add a rule to the employee handbook stating all women had to wear open-toed shoes, and then, don’t let me get started on the?—”
“I see.” Ethan jumps up from his seat and moves around the desk. “We all have to kiss or interview a few toads before we meet the one.”
“Thankfully, the last kiss I had was not with a toad.” I think back to Zara and wonder what she’s doing. If she’s having to explain to her editor why she didn’t have a story on me. I wonder if someone in the press has gotten wind of my dad’s stroke. I frown. She couldn’t have been that duplicitous, could she?
“So, are you going to tell me more about Mrs. Gordon Ramsey?” Ethan turns to me like he thinks he’s a comedian. “I still can’t believe she spent over three hundred dollars on breakfast.”
“Not funny and nothing to talk about. Mrs. Gordon Ramsey, otherwise known as the room service queen, is old news. So, are you ditching Maine and coming with me on Sunday? I need someone to help me play defense.”
“Me, showing up happily in love isn’t going to convince your grandma to stop trying to hook you up. It will likely make her feel more encouraged to find you the perfect woman.”
“The perfect woman doesn’t exist,” I retort, but I know he has a point. If I bring Ethan to lunch with a bubbly and loved-up Sarah, my grandparents will be even more determined to help me find love like it’s some elixir that will fill my soul. And they won’t be happy with just any old woman. I know they have expectations of the sort of woman a Pruitt should be with. She has to be wealthy, from a family with old money. She has to be beautiful. She has to be well-educated, from an Ivy. And she has to be willing to give up her career to have our babies. Oh, and she’ll serve on several boards and host parties like she’s the second Martha Stewart. She will be a younger version of my mother. I have absolutely no interest in a Stepford wife. Or a wife, period.
“If you really want and need us there, I can ask Sarah if she minds postponing our plans.” Ethan grabs his phone. “Let me call her now.”
“No.” I hold my hand up and shake my head as I stand up. “It’s fine. You two can enjoy your lobster rolls, and I’ll deal with the Pruitts myself.” I head toward the door, grab the handle, and then look back at him. “Also, you forgot one caveat with the Pillarforte deal.”
“Hmm?” Ethan frowns. “What’s that?”
“You promised Louis a beach party for the merger.” I chuckle as he winces. “Or did you forget?”
“I hoped that he would forget. It’s such a stupid idea.” He rubs his chin. “Though I suppose that’s an excuse to get you to the Hamptons.”
“Don’t make me gag.”
“Come on, Jackson. Water Mill misses you. Do your parents still have their place on Rose Hill Road?”
“Yes, all six acres.” I shake my head, thinking of the home I spent many summers in. I know each room like the back of my hand.
“I was looking at a place in Bridgehampton, though Sarah liked a house in East Hampton.” Ethan grins. “Maybe we can all go in a couple of weeks.”
“You’re determined to get me there, aren’t you?”
“Hey, at least I’m not trying to get you married.”
