Dark Intentions - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,35

more like two," Lincoln says.

He's dressed in his usual attire, a nicely tailored gray suit, open collar, no tie. He's tan from his propensity to play tennis, outside regardless of the weather.

We stopped competing on running miles against each other when I beat him, seven times in a row.

He's a much faster sprinter than I am, but I have endurance that can outlast him.

After quickly gobbling up an expensive glass of wine, I pour myself another, while Lincoln still nurses his.

"Actually, do you mind if we get some Jack Daniel’s?" he asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

Jack on the rocks is usually reserved only for a serious discussion in my family.

"What's going on?" I ask. “Something wrong with you and Marguerite?"

“No, no. Everything's great.”

“Work?” He shakes his head no.

He works at an investment bank downtown and already made it to managing partner, one of the youngest.

Lincoln plays with his diamond cuff links. I gave those to him for Christmas, and I wonder whether he wore them for this particular occasion, or whether he actually likes them.

"Do you like wearing those things?" I ask, unable to keep my curiosity to myself.

"Oh, the cuff links? Of course. They're my favorite. They go with everything.”

I smile, running my fingers through my hair, which is in bad need of a haircut. The strands are getting so long, they’re falling into my eyes.

Lincoln looks up, makes a note of this, but says nothing.

The last time we had a big blow-up fight about nothing in particular, we made an agreement. We were not going to judge each other on things that do not truly matter, and ever since then, our relationship has been much improved.

"How's work?" I ask.

Lincoln just shrugs and turns his face away. "You know how it is, tiresome, a little boring."

"You know you don't have to be there," I say, grabbing a slice of bread and breaking it open with my hands.

I butter one side and take a big bite as we wait for the appetizers to arrive. "We have more than enough money."

"We?" Lincoln raises his eyebrow.

"I'm just saying, you know that there's a trust. You know that the work that you do can be something that you enjoy and not just something that you force yourself into."

"Listen, you and I both know about the trust and the rules of the trust."

I nod.

"Marguerite is not part of it. Listen, I think you could probably take them to court and say that ..."

"Nope, I can't. Mom pays for the summer house, I couldn't afford any of that, not even on my salary.” He shakes his head.

"You don't know what it's like to just try to constantly compete with everyone around you, only it's not an even playing field."

I want to roll my eyes. We're about as privileged as a family can get. Yes, there are some strings attached to a trust that's preventing him from accessing millions of dollars, but he makes over half a million dollars a year and that doesn't include bonuses that can triple that amount.

"What? You don't agree with me?" Lincoln folds his arms across his chest, pouting.

I take another bite of the bread. "Listen, all I was saying is that you deserve to do something you enjoy for a living and it doesn't have to be what you currently do."

"Really?" He leans over, glaring into my eyes. “Do you know that she makes seventy grand as an ER doctor? Can you live on so little?”

"Yes," I say, "lots of people do."

"Well, I don't intend to be that person."

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. This has always been a thing about Lincoln. He has always had a chip on his shoulder about what he has and what he doesn't in life.

Yes, we come from an incredibly wealthy family, but there are rules governing that. If you want access to that money, you have to play it by them.

Him marrying Marguerite was a big no-no. It's laid out in my grandfather's will that the only person that he is allowed to marry is someone from a family of comparable means.

The definition of comparable means is, of course, open to dispute in court, but merely taking that action would be throwing in the possibility of losing everything.

Lincoln is the kind of guy who plays things safe. After college, he got an internship at an investment bank, then a job and he started growing through the ranks.

He puts in insane hours, and I don't think that he has ever given it any consideration