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“I called you six times, but you didn’t answer. I was ready to rush security to get to your desk, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate that.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.” I fumbled to get my key out of my purse.
“What’s the matter? Did the interview not go well? I’m sure you’re just being hard on—”
“I didn’t get an interview.”
“Well, I’m sure they’ll reschedule one.”
I balled my fist around my key. “No. They won’t.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous. I’ll just call them and explain.”
“No!” I said. “Don’t do anything else.”
He closed his mouth and cocked his head. “What do you mean by anything else?”
I shut my eyes and breathed through the pounding of my head. “Look, Luke. I’m tired and—”
“I get it. I’ll call you in the morning and we can go for lunch and talk about everything.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Everyone thinks I got the Crawford account not because I work hard but because I slept with one of the Crawford brothers.” I was still so angry about the vile rumors.
“What?”
“Yes. So, I didn’t get the promotion and I won’t make partner anytime soon, but most importantly, I can’t pay for my mother’s medical bills.”
He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. “But we took down the picture.”
“Faith had screenshotted it.”
“That little—”
“I’ve got to go.”
“I don’t want you to leave upset. Let’s talk about this.”
“I don’t want to talk right now, Luke.”
“Everything will be all right.”
I don’t know why his placating tone irritated me, but I snapped.
“No. It won’t be all right. Everything is not fine. I don’t have a cushy trust fund I can fall back on. I have serious bills to pay and it’s all my responsibility. Not all of us are lucky to be born rich, you know!”
“Hey that’s not fair,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No. Do you know what’s not fair? That you take nothing seriously. You float about your day—your biggest decision is deciding what you want for lunch and never having to worry about someone else that depends on you. You have no responsibilities and no care in the world while the rest of us live paycheck to paycheck and fight for every dollar we earn. And yet you are the billionaire. You are the one the tabloids follow around and people fawn over.”
He stepped back as though I’d slapped him. And perhaps I had with my words. I immediately regretted them and knew I should never have had this conversation jet-lagged and angry. “Luke, look—”
He raised his hands. “No. I think you’ve said enough.”
He turned and walked away.
“Luke?” I cried. But he didn’t turn back.
“Grace?” my mother called from the other side of the door. “Is everything okay?”
