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I asked the bride to coordinate a meeting, but she said I’d do better going to the groom’s admin directly, so my assistant reached out to find a time for the three of us to talktomorrow.
I also reviewed my commitments over the coming weeks, arranged to bump one client, then huddled with Kendall and Rena to reallocate some of my work so they could take on more. I’ll owe them big time for this, but if we land Vane after this month, we’ll all be benefiting for the foreseeablefuture.
As I reach for the Met’s front doors, I’m glad to have had the walk outside. Today is rushing by and I need to breathe. This year is rushing by, really. Building a business makes it hard to stop or vacation orsleep.
Not that any of it’s about me. It’s about what we can do forclients.
I scan my membership pass on the way in. I’m a few minutes early, so I check my email when it dings with the questions fromPeople. Scanning them has the tension in my gut dialing up, because these questions are personal—but nothing I can’thandle.
“You’re wet.” Ben’s voice over my shoulder has meturning.
“Forgot my umbrella.” He doesn’t have one either but is perfectly pressed, meaning he was dropped off or got here before it started. “I was just reading some questions for my newclient.”
He swipes the phone from my hand. “‘How did you meet? What about the other person turns you on? What is his/her favorite thing? What’s their best and worst attribute?’ These are veryspecific.”
“If you’re dating, you know these things,” I correct, lifting the phone from his fingers. I head for the big staircase in themiddle.
“Where are wegoing?”
“Impressionists. I need tounwind.”
He chuckles but gestures for me to goahead.
“First, specificity is our friend,” I say as we take the stairs. “We’ll appear at the gala together, act cozy in front of your partners and Vane, and we’re done. There won’t be anyone there who would refute that we’re a couple,right?”
“Tris." Ben’s grimace has mesuspicious.
“Hold on. So we need to make Tris think we’re dating too?” I come off the top of the stairs, rounding to face him so he nearly bumps into me. “No way. This is not what I signed on for,Ben."
"What's thedifference?"
"The difference?" I notice people looking over and lower my voice. "The difference is that convincing work acquaintances for a single night is relatively straightforward. Convincing Tris—which mean we have to convince all of our friends, by the way—means startingnow, and it's a complexmaneuver."
He doesn't look nearly as upset as I feel. “You want rules? Here’s rule number one. For the next month, for all intents and purposes, we will be dating. When we’re together, we act like acouple.”
I continue to my favorite room on the second floor as my mind works. “But if we need to convince our friends, that means repeated public engagements as a couple. We might need a social calendar like Camila andAiden.”
It’s a joke, but Ben nods. “Perfect. That’s rule number two. We don’t have to go everywhere together, but we already hang out, and it makes sense we would be seen with each other. If we pick the right times, that will reinforce ourstory.”
I suck in a breath. “I don’t like the thought of lying to ourfriends.”
“Come on. They’d love it if we dated. This’ll be like fanfic for them.” I shake my head as he continues. “Listen, I get that it makes you uncomfortable. I grew up being lied to by my dad, but he did it to manipulate and get what he wanted. I need to run this firm. The associates cringe when Holt walks down the hall, and I’m sure some of them would leave if he took the helm. But they have business school loans to pay off, so who the hell knows. They’re not taking it up withXavier.”
The thought of someone awful winning out over Ben sticks with me, even though it’s not my company. I feel for everyone on their team, and I know Ben would be a far better boss and mentor. He’s tough but fair, and wants to see his peoplesucceed.
“This world is messed up,” he goes on, “and we have a chance to make it better. But until we’re calling the shots, the best way to get there is to do what people like Xavier and Richard Vane expect. After the gala, we’re home free. You’re off the hook. And in case it gets weird, rule three—we won’t do anything to compromise our friendship. We can lie to the world, but we don’t lie to eachother.”
My stomach drops, but the intensity on his face has me noddingslowly.
Everyone keeps secrets, I remindmyself.
“It’s not that strange,” he says, turning to stare at one of the paintings. “Hell, in another world, maybe we would’vedated.”
The hairs on the back of my necklift.
“In another world,” I say, “Vi and I wouldn’t have fought, and she wouldn’t have left. Your dad wouldn’t have been anasshole.”
“Sounds like a betterworld.”
