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“Stop worrying, she’s nothing to me. Just a date.”
“Right…your ‘date.’” He puts air quotes around the four-letter word. “Stop with the bull. I saw the way you danced with her earlier. The way you haven’t stopped looking at each other.”
“She’s an attractive woman,” I say defensively.
“You should have been here with Ava.” His face hardens. “Don’t you know how lucky you are to have her? She would have wowed Tanaka with her beauty and charm. And her love for your baby.”
“Ava wasn’t feeling well, and she had nothing to wear,” I counter.
Gabe raises a derisive brow. “Oh, and your nanny had a closet full of designer gowns she could choose from?”
“She borrowed something from Ava. Ava’s the same size. Or at least she used to be.”
“Then you should have come alone.”
He’s royally pissing me off. “Gabe, cork it. I don’t pay you to challenge me.”
“Actually, you do. I’m your partner.”
I take a glug of my drink. The tension between us is so thick a knife couldn’t cut through it. Gabe takes a quick sip of his and sets the glass down.
“Listen, Ned. We go back a long time. I’ve always had your back. Cleaned up after your messes.”
My mind flashes back to one of the messes he cleaned up. My senior year, I messed around with some waitress I met at a bar. She found herself in trouble, and hounded me. But my trust fund was frozen because my father didn’t trust me. I’d messed up too many times and he was tired of bailing me out. Gabe told me to tell my parents I was failing an accounting class and that I needed five thousand dollars to cover the cost of a tutor. His advice worked like a charm and my father sent me a check. The girl went away. I never heard about her again until…
Gabe brings me back to the moment. “Listen, Ned. You have a lot on your plate. A lot to gain. A lot to lose. We’re this much away from making the deal.” He holds out his thumb and index finger, a fraction of an inch apart. “One fuckup and the deal can go south.” He folds his fingers and gives a thumbs down. “Don’t. Blow. It.”
He pauses, his eyes narrowed. “And don’t hurt Ava. She’s a rare, fragile butterfly.”
I know he’s always had a crush on my wife, but this is taking things too far.
“I’m telling you, man, there’s nothing going on. I’m being above board.”
“You’ve had this woman…Marnie…”
“Marley,” I quickly correct through clenched teeth.
“Whatever her name is…in your employ for only two weeks.”
“Two and a half weeks. She signed a contract and an NDA…including no posting any personal stuff on social media.”
“That means nothing. Maybe she’s a nutjob…an extortionist and she’s going to threaten to tell the Japanese investors—or the media—some lie if you don’t pay her an exorbitant amount of money to keep quiet.”
Gabe stops to take a bite of his filet. I do the same. The meat is cold and tough. As I chew, I digest Gabe’s words. While my track record for recognizing a star when I see one is second to none, I can’t say the same when it comes to my judgment of people.
Gabe swallows and puts his fork down. “And there’s one other thing I should remind you of as your friend.”
Gabe may be my best friend, but right now I want to punch him. “And what might that be?”
“Your parents’ will stipulates that you must stay in your marriage until?—”
I cut him off. “I know. I know. Until Isa is eighteen to receive the rest of my inheritance. Yada, yada, yada.”
“Don’t yada me.”
I take a swig of my wine and just blurt it out. “And what if Ava should die?”
Gabe’s eyes plow into mine as he almost chokes on his steak. “Jeez. How could you even say that?”
