I’m not moving in with Marcus.
No matter how good things currently are between us, it’s way too soon for that.
Unfortunately, my grandparents don’t think so. At lunchtime, Grandma calls me, asking if the move has gone as planned, and since I don’t want to disappoint her and Gramps, I end up telling her that we’re doing a trial run this week, to see how my cats adjust. Thank you, Marcus, for that idea. This way, I’ll be able to blame the cats when I tell my grandparents that we decided separate residences are the way to go for now.
Which they totally are. Granted, all three of my cats love his place, and I’m beyond pampered there, with Geoffrey making scrumptious dinners and plying me with green juices every morning, but I have to maintain my independence. This particular dinner with Marcus’s investors went better than expected, but I’m still not the beautiful, polished socialite he was looking for. If he keeps bringing me to these events, there’s a very high chance that I’ll screw up and embarrass him somehow, and then he might decide that living together was a mistake and I’ll end up scrambling for a place to rent. Not that he’d throw me out on the street, but still. The flame between us burns hot right now, but there’s no guarantee that this will last.
It’s not like he’s in love with me.
My chest tightens at the thought, but there’s no time to dwell on it. The stream of customers keeps coming, and I keep ringing up their purchases. Finally, around three, there’s a lull, and I head to one of the armchairs in the back, hoping to close my eyes for a five-minute micronap. But just as I’m settling into a comfy chair, my phone rings.
Yawning, I pull it out of my pocket and glance at the screen, expecting it to be Kendall calling to get an update on last night’s dinner. But it’s Janie, all bright and bubbly as I pick up.
“Hey, Emma! It was sooo good seeing you last night. I can’t believe we haven’t hung out in so long!”
“Um, yeah.” Having seen Landon in action last night, I can believe it, but I don’t say it. Kendall, Janie, and I had been inseparable in college and for a couple of years after graduation, and I don’t want to lose a friend just because I don’t like her boyfriend. Not that she’s been much of a friend in the past few months, but maybe that’ll change now that we’ve reconnected. Forcing myself to inject some enthusiasm into my voice, I say, “We should definitely grab lunch or dinner soon.”
“Yes! How about today? Landon and I can come to Brooklyn after work. Unless… Are you living in Manhattan now, by any chance?”
“No, but I will be in Tribeca for a bit— Wait, actually, tonight’s not good.” Not only am I too sleep-deprived for another late dinner, but an outing will interfere with my packing-and-cat-catching plans.
I’m determined to sleep in my own bed tonight.
“How about tomorrow then? Like I said, we’re flexible about the location. Brooklyn, Manhattan, whatever works for you.”
Well, that’s a first. A few months before Janie started dating Landon, she got a job at a PR firm in Midtown and moved from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side—and right away, Brooklyn became like another country for her. Kendall, who also lives in the city, feels the same way, so I think it’s a Manhattanite thing. Either way, Janie’s sudden willingness to trudge to the boroughs is odd, to say the least.
“Let me check with Marcus and get back to you,” I say as the bell over the door rings, signifying another customer. “He said something about working late tomorrow, so that may be a good time for the three of us to—”
“Oh, we can do it another day, then. Whatever works best for you and Marcus. Landon is dying to get to know him better.”
Ah. So this is not about seeing me.
“Yeah, I’ll let you know which day works,” I say, doing my best to conceal the hurt in my voice. For a minute there, I thought Janie genuinely wanted to resume our friendship. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to run. It’s a busy day here at the bookstore.”
“Of course. I’ll be waiting. Bye for now!”
And as I head back to the register, sipping on a sugar-laden coffee to wash away the bitter taste in my mouth, I realize that this is going to be another downside of dating a billionaire.
My mother isn’t the only one who believes in using people—and I’m now someone to be used.
* * *
“Just tell her Marcus is too busy to hang out with her asshole of a boyfriend,” Kendall says when I relay the conversation after bringing her up to speed on last night’s dinner and everything that followed—minus the sex, of course.
There’s no way I’m telling her I had anal. My face flames like the surface of the sun when I so much as think about how dirty-hot the whole thing had been.
“So you think my theory is right?” I ask, pulling my mind out of the gutter to glance out the window at the bumper-to-bumper traffic. I left work early, as planned, but it’s snowing again, and even Wilson’s driving skills can’t help us get through the gridlock any faster.
If we keep creeping along at two miles an hour, I might end up staying at Marcus’s place another night.
“The theory that Landon pressured Janie to stop being friends with us because we don’t fit the image he wants her to project? It’s possible,” Kendall says thoughtfully. “He does seem like the type to do that.”
“No, I said that I don’t fit the image,” I correct. “You do—and didn’t you say Janie
