this—because he’s unwilling to. Same old story.
“I don’t know,” Laurent says, a faint trace of dropped consonants pointing to English being his second language. The cafe name, his style. “It’s a lot of damage.”
It’s really not. I count one table, two chairs, and an umbrella. Replacing it should cost less than a thousand dollars. I don’t care. Getting out of this cleanly is worth a lot more to me.
I switch to French, mostly so the people around us are less likely to object to my buying him off, but also because a French man prefers being spoken to in his native language. I hand him a business card. “Envoyez-moi le chèque.”
He takes the business card without hesitation, giving me one more careful look. “Et leurs dîners?”
He wants proof he’ll come out ahead before he’ll let me leave.
I slide an Amex Black out of my wallet and hand it to him. “Oui.”
“Très bien,” Laurent says, tucking the card into his pocket and shuffling back towards the interior of the cafe.
“I’m glad your French is better than mine,” Luca mutters. He offers his hand to Noah, but he refuses the help.
Standing Noah, dusts himself off. Then, he puts his hand on my chest and leans in close, knowing every person around us will be straining to hear every juicy detail. “Your luck will run out. I’ll be there when it does.”
“I doubt it.” Lately, my luck’s been turning around.
22
Adair
“Are you ever going to stop pacing?” Poppy asks.
“What am I supposed to do? He’s been gone for almost two hours. What if something went wrong?” I actually wish I could calm down—but it’s no good. The second I try to sit down I find myself back on my feet trying to outpace the weight bearing down on my chest.
We’re at Sterling’s apartment, just Poppy and me. I don’t feel safe at the Eaton anymore, for obvious reasons.
“You’re upsetting Zeus,” she says, rubbing behind his ears.
Actually, he hasn’t left her side since we arrived. I pause to consider this and realize I’m being a selfish bitch. “Oh my god. I’m sorry. I’m stuck in my own head, and after what happened earlier…”
“That’s not your fault,” she says. “I’m the stupid girl who convinced myself he loved me back.”
“Loving someone is never stupid.” I lower onto the couch beside her, pushing Zeus to the ground, so I can hold her.
“It feels stupid,” she says with a sob, “in hindsight.”
I’m not sure what to say to her. I know from experience that empty platitudes like there’s plenty of fish in the sea and everything happens for a reason is like pouring rubbing alcohol on a gaping wound. It hurts and it’s unlikely to help.
“Look Cyrus is a dick, I should have told you that sooner,” I admit.
“He hit on you, didn’t he?” she asks.
“He was drunk. It didn’t mean anything,” I say.
“Don’t make excuses for him,” she says, wiping her eyes. “Everyone makes excuses for him, even me. No more.”
“Something tells me, he’s not going to get off so easily this time,” I say.
“I just...he made that sex tape of you. I keep thinking I’m going to throw up.” She reaches up and locks her hand over mine.
That’s a sentiment we share, and I’m more than a little put out that Sterling didn’t warn me about what he’d discovered.
“He deserves whatever he gets,” she says fiercely.
“They usually do,” Sutton says, coming through the front door and tossing keys on the counter.
“Sutton!” I jump up. “Are you okay? Did—”
She cuts me off with a withering glare. “Don’t pretend to care.”
I start to tell her that I do care, but I don’t have the energy. Instead, I shrug.
“So, what did he do?” Sutton drops onto the floor, crossing her legs under her.
“You don’t want to know,” I say when Poppy’s lower lip trembles.
“You were way too hot for him anyway,” Sutton says matter-of-factly.
This actually manages to perk her up. “Thank you.” Poppy gathers herself a little, sitting up straight like she’s determined to be sociable. “You’re going to school in New York, right? What are you studying?”
“I haven’t decided.” Sutton flashes me a blinding grin. “But I’m looking into transferring to Valmont in August.”
“Oh, I can help you with that! I know everyone in admissions.” Poppy begins peppering her with questions, momentarily distracted by a mission to help someone.
I’m trying to see this as a positive and not obsess over how much she hates me when the door flies open to reveal Luca and Jack, laughing and joking,