“What if they turn on her?” I ask so quietly that I’m almost surprised they hear me.
“They won’t.” Kai sounds so sure. I wish I shared his optimism.
“We won’t let them,” Poppy says. “Felix is there ,and he’s in charge of her inheritance. He’ll make them toe the line. He already made Ginny attend dance lessons with her.”
“He did?” I ask hopefully. Ginny tended to skip out on little things like that, reserving her attention for charity functions and luncheons—whatever Malcolm would want.
Poppy nods her head. “He’s got them in check.”
“Are they that bad?” Kai asks.
“Worse,” Poppy says. “I never understood how a woman so desperate to have a baby could be so disinterested in her child.” It’s unlike Poppy to criticize someone, especially a family member. By her terms, this is the height of judgment.
“It’s part of the terms of their prenup,” I explain, gulping against the guilt surging in my throat. I was taught never to air family business that might reflect poorly. “My father told me once. If Malcolm divorces her before she gives him a child, she gets nothing. Having Ellie ensured she would be taken care of for life.”
“She had a baby to crack the terms of a prenup?” Kai asks. “Your lawyers are terrible. I would never sign that.”
“The lawyers can be a bit backwards when it comes to middle-class wives and billionaire husbands,” I say dryly.
“And middle-class men? Or, for that matter, poor guys?”
“We’re taught from a young age that they don’t exist,” Poppy says. “I’m not joking! You can marry into money if you’re a woman, but marry down and you’re out.”
“Really?” Kai turns to me for confirmation. “Is that where things went wrong for you and Sterling?” He winces when he realizes that he just brought up a painful topic.
Before he can apologize, I jump in, “I have no idea what happened with Sterling and me. I have no idea why he betrayed me.”
Kai opens his mouth again, another question in his eyes.
“Change of subject!” Poppy says. Her head tilts, and she grabs my hand. For an awkward minute, she studies it. I half expect her to start telling my fortune. When she finally looks up, she shakes her head with disapproval. “When do you start your new job?”
I bite my lip. So maybe Sterling isn’t the only call I’ve been avoiding. “I’m supposed to pop in to do paperwork, but after what Malcolm did…”
“Nope!” Kai interrupts loudly. “You aren’t letting your brother wreck this for you. She hired you. Do you think that offer is going to be around forever?”
“I doubt it’s around at all. I own the business. I’ll never be there because she wants me, not now,” I say, looking for some inkling of understanding. Instead, I’m met with tough love.
“I’m with Kai,” Poppy says in a firm voice. She pulls out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” I can’t help my suspicion. I can’t trust her not to intervene if she think’s she’s helping me.
“Elsi,” she says.
“No!” But I know it’s too late to stop her. She holds a finger and mouths: shush. “Are you available? It’s an absolute emergency.”
“Who’s Elsi?” Kai whispers.
But Poppy’s off the phone before I can answer. “She’s my miracle worker.”
“Her stylist,” I say to him.
“Miracle worker,” she says, “and she deserves the title. She’s on her way. We need to get you ready for your first job.”
“I don’t need to do any of that. It’s going to be awkward and terrible. I should probably just sell.”
“No!” Kai and Poppy yell in unison.
“I’ll take this one,” Kai says to her. He puts an arm around my shoulder. “They know you own the place. So what? Own it. Treat people well. Do the work how you think it should be done. People will think what you let them think—until you show them differently. Trust me.”
Kai would be an authority on the matter. I understand what they’re trying to tell me, but it doesn’t make me feel that I’m making the right choice. “The truth is that when Sterling showed back up, I was ready. Ready to claim my life. Ready to be on my own.”
“And that hasn’t changed! So, they know who you are. Go show them you deserve their respect,” he adds.
“Yeah?” He makes it sound so easy. “How?”
“I’ll tell you what Simon Cowell told me: fake it until you make it,” he says with a laugh.
“And that’s where Elsi comes in,” Poppy adds. “And while we’re on the subject, are you planning to… um… decorate?”
“Is there something wrong with this place?” I pretend to be offended.
“Not for a fifty year-old woman,” Kai says.
“You need someplace—”“Sexy,” Kai finishes.
“And chic,” Poppy says.
“And minimalist,” Kai adds.
“Bright and airy.”
“Okay! Okay!” I surrender. “I already told them to send the house decorator.”
“I’ll speak with her,” Poppy says seriously. “Now take that onesie off before Elsi gets here.”
“It’s not a onesie,” I argue as she shoves me into the attached bedroom.
“Whatever you have to tell yourself, darling!”
When the familiar knock comes from the door there are cucumber slices on my eyes and my nails have just been painted a smokey purple-gray. Poppy darts off to answer it. She reappears holding a large box. “More gifts from Sterling.”
“Get rid of it,” I tell her, but she’s already opening the box.
She lets out a little moan when she sees what’s inside. “It’s chocolates from La Bonne Bouché.”
“Get rid of it,” I repeat.
She ignores me, dropping the box on the entry table before plucking a truffle from the pink tissue paper inside. “You can throw away flowers, but a girl never throws away chocolate.”
“I agree with her,” Kai calls through a sheet mask.
I shrug, pretending that I have no interest in them. The truth is, part of me enjoys torturing Sterling. I don’t want the gifts, but I don’t want them to stop coming. My stomach does a flip when I realize why.
“Has he called today?” Poppy asks.
“He will.”
She looks far too pleased at the prospect. Since I finally hooked up with
