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Kendall’s lips twist in doubt. “I heard he never takesmeetings.”
“He’s coming in Monday.” I think back over the summary points I prepared inadvance.
“I bet she was running a lemonade empire at age four," Rena says toKendall.
“No. My first business foray was a pageant in high school. My twin sister, Vi, entered. I did hair for her and all the other girls. Made two hundred bucks and earned the eternal gratitude of everyoneentering.”
“You didn’tcompete?”
“Getting people to look at her was Vi’s thing, notmine.”
She lived for it, and she was good at it. I learned to focus on other things I was goodat.
“I didn’t realize you guys were twins.Identical?”
I pull up a photo on my phone and their eyes widen as they take in the picture I’ve stared at a thousand times—the two of us wearing matching camp T-shirts, shorts, and smiles in eighthgrade.
“Wow. You must’ve been close.” Kendall shifts closer,engrossed.
“Until college.” My chest squeezes, the familiar swirls of regret and betrayal blending into a cocktail more complex than the one I was drinking. I finger the rose gold bangle on my wrist that I’ve worn for adecade.
The bartender sets the bill in front of us and I swipe it before either of them can think aboutit.
“Hi, Daisy.” A smooth voice has me turning my head to see a familiar man in a pressed suit. He's medium height and attractive, a few years older than me, with a confident smile and trimbuild.
“Marc. Nice to see you. We met at a charity event a couple of months ago," I explain to myfriends.
"And she promised to go out with me, but I never got her number." His eyes sparkle. “A few of my friends are going for drinks. If you ladies are donehere…”
Rena and Kendall look between us, anticipation on their faces. They’re both going home to their guys, but I can see their wheelsturning.
“I have plans tonight,” I answer, and three facesfall.
But Marc doesn’t let that stop him. “If you finish early, stopby.”
I give him my number this time and send him off with a promise tocall.
Rena nudges me as he leaves. “Are your plans hotter than that? Because you’ve had a long week and you deserve torecuperate.”
I shoulder my bag and head for the door as my phone buzzes with atext.
“Oh, I get it,” Rena declares after noticing who it’s from. “You don’t need a man because you have the hottest venture capitalist in New York sending you dickpics.”
I send her an arch look without checking the message, though every part of me itches to look. “Benji and I arefriends.”
“And if anyone else called him Benji, he’d shoot them a charming grin and flash those beautiful brown eyes and then buy their grandfather’s company and sell it off forparts.”
“That’s only business.” I start back toward the subway, and they fall into step next tome.
“It’s not business. It’s a god complex. Besides, the guy could have any woman in New York and he knowsit."
“Ben doesn’tdate.”
“Heconquers?”
I shake my head, swallowing the laugh. “His schedule is worse than mine. Plus, he’s very particular about hislife.”
Rena makes a sound of agreement as we start down the steps. “Still, I bet you've stared at him shirtless. Given some romantic name to how hesmells.”
