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“She’s not the mom type,” he says, moving a little closer to me, ignoring the ring of the phone on his desk behind him. “Only when we’re pissed off. You know the drill.”
I don’t. Our grandparents bought us up. No big deal for me and Danny, it was normal, but he’s talking opulence and moneyed lifestyles and that I am not familiar with. “Of course, but I didn’t expect—”
“Jenson put her up to this, I’ll bet anything,” he mutters. “Or it’s to do with my father’s fucking will.”
“See? Mama’s boy.”
He laughs, but his eyes are deadly serious. “Not at all, Scarlett. But there are games we need to play to do this, and you should know that.”
“Not unexpected ones,” I say.
“Why the fuck do you think I’m paying you so much?”
It hurts, those words. And I don’t know why.
“To keep quiet,” I snap.
His mouth hardens. And his thumb stops working its magic against my skin and he lets me go, stepping back a little and that hurts worst of all. It’s like I’ve slammed shut a door without knowing it. And I don’t know what to do.
“Fine, I’ll pay you a bonus.” He tilts his head a little, blue eyes glittering darkly. “Happy now?”
“Not at all, Hudson.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Just… just go and do it. Please. I’ll make sure you get the bonus. And work clothes are fine.”
“Did I cross some kind of Hudson line?” Sarcasm drips from my voice.
“No. Simply sticking to the rules of the letter. I’ll send the lawyer a note to add a bonus for you.” He moves away from me, back around his desk and he sits down, pulling his computer to him and I know I’ve been dismissed.
I don’t move.
He looks up. “That all, Scarlett?”
We stare at each other and it’s clear he’s not happy with me either and I don’t know how we spiraled to here.
Without a word, I turn and leave, and go and make myself presentable. There’s only the staff bathroom but I head down to another floor to use one of those. I might be his PA to everyone else, but the perks don’t extend to my own bathroom, and even if they did, I don’t want to swan out looking ready for the world in front of people here who know me. The other floors aren’t in the day-to-day world of Hudson, so…
I stare at my face in the mirror of the beautiful bathroom, all sleekly modern with a flower arrangement in one corner of the slate gray marble counter and practice a smile. Then I stop, because I’ve met his mother and I get the uncomfortable feeling she can spot a fake a mile away.
Instead, I tie and pin my hair back in what I hope approximates a cool and elegant low bun.
Scrounging in my fake Coach bag—rather, Amber’s fake Coach bag—I pull out eyeliner and mascara and touch up. It’s not really my thing, but a little won’t hurt. And then I dig for lipstick, but I stare at it in horror.
I wear a matte gloss mostly. That’s not in here. Siren red, which must be Amber’s, does not in any way at all say classy girl who knows the Hamptons.
With a shudder, I drop the tube in gold casing back in the bag and bite my lips like a baby vampire with no idea.
And then with a deep breath, I’m out of there. I’m running out of time. My phone buzzes and I glance at it as I head out of the bathrooms and into the hall towards the elevator. Martini, because of course Hudson can’t trust me on this. I shove the phone back in my bag and go to face the mother lion.
I’m a mess of nerves as I step into the wide, cool, and expensive place. There are floor to ceiling glass windows, tables with crisp linen, and beautiful pale green seats in a lush material. There are plants, for crying out loud. The fixtures are brass, the lighting low, the wallpaper of subtle vines in raised gold and cream and white to die for, and the gleaming red floorboards look like you could slide on happily.
It’s all meant to project calm and I feel anything but. I’m hot. I’m sweaty from my run here, and I look out of place in my not at all designer clothes and knock off bag.
I almost turn and scurry out the door when a waiter in black and an elegant black apron to finish his whole waiter goth vibe smiles and tells me politely to follow him.
Shit. She’s seen me. Sent someone to fetch me. I swallow down some cool air laden with delicious scents that make my stomach growl.
I don’t know why I’m in such a terrible panic. I’ve been on such a rollercoaster of emotions today and this shouldn’t matter beyond just speaking when spoken to and pushing through.
