Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,54
good-looking guy with perfect chestnut hair and an impressive tan grinning down at us. “Finally got yourself a woman, have you?”
“Hello, Carter,” Luke says tightly. “This is Ellie. Ellie, this is Carter.”
He sticks out his hand and nearly crushes mine in it. What kind of man shakes a woman’s hand that way? But it makes me think of Luke’s weak grip, and how he probably wishes he still had a strong handshake like Carter.
“Good to meet you, Ellie,” Carter says. “We’re all really pleased for Luke. We were beginning to wonder if he’d turned gay or something. But you seem all woman to me.”
“Christ, shut up, Carter,” Luke says.
In a few minutes, Carter’s girlfriend Olympia joins us from the restroom. Olympia is one of those completely perfect-looking women who seems designed for magazines or TV, and I later find out that she is, in fact, a model. Then Peter shows up with his girlfriend Regina, who is also a model.
Thank goodness Peter is at least fairly ugly, or else the amount of beauty at this table would simply be overwhelming. But I still feel awkward sitting here, in no small part because Carter and Peter can’t stop talking about women. Before our appetizers arrive, I discover Carter thinks Emma Stone is the hottest actress in Hollywood, but Peter thinks she is “a dog” and prefers Hailee Steinfeld. Of course, if Emma Stone is a dog, I can’t even imagine what he must think of me.
“What about you, Luke?” Carter asks him. To his credit, Luke has gracefully stayed out of the conversation.
Luke glances at me. “Um, I don’t know.”
Peter snickers. “What, do you have to get Ellie’s permission to participate in the conversation?”
“Are you seriously that whipped, Thayer?” Carter says.
Luke’s face darkens and for a second, I’m worried he’s going to say something regrettable, so I quickly interject with, “It’s okay, Luke. I want to hear who you like too.”
“You do?”
“Of course,” I say. “Aren’t we both supposed to make a list of five celebrities we’re supposed to be allowed to have sex with if the opportunity arises?”
Luke laughs. “Okay, so who would be on your list then?”
“Um,” I say thoughtfully. “I’m not sure.”
“Justin Bieber?” Carter suggests.
I roll my eyes. “No, it would be more like… Hugh Jackman.”
“Wolverine?” Luke looks amused. “I would have taken you more for the Peter Parker type.”
“Well, maybe you don’t know everything about me.”
Peter is still snickering. “Ellie, nothing personal, but I doubt Hugh Jackman would have sex with you.”
My face turns red as Luke says to Peter, “Yeah, and I’m sure Hailee Steinfeld would jump at the chance of having sex with you.”
“I could get Hailee Steinfeld,” Peter says confidently. “If the opportunity arose.”
Sometime before the arrival of our entrees, I’ve decided that I don’t like either Peter or Carter. In fact, I kind of hate them. I’m glad Luke prefaced the dinner by telling me they were assholes, or else I would have lost all respect for him.
Eventually, I become as quiet as Olympia and Regina, who must have learned the hard way to keep their mouths shut. The dinner is very much a competition between the three men, who subtly jab at each other any chance they get. Carter and Peter tease Luke about his lack of romantic success, whereas Luke casually mentions Peter’s company’s stock recently plummeted. As much as he says he hates them and feels he “can’t win,” Luke plays the game as well as they do.
It becomes obvious to me that while Peter and Carter have more social success, Luke is the far better businessman. I’m fairly sure Thayer Industries is the largest company of the three of them, and Luke has the most money—he’s the only one who’s a billionaire. And I also think Luke’s lack of a love life is a consequence of his financial success. How do you have time for your social life when all you do is work?
It’s painfully clear neither Peter nor Carter work very hard. They talk a lot about traveling through Europe, going horseback riding (why do the rich always ride horses?), and various other recreational activities. “We’re going rock climbing in two weeks,” Carter says. He adds, “That’s not really Luke’s activity, is it?”
I recall Luke told me the way he got injured was rock climbing. I want to ask if these were the guys he was with when it happened, but that would be as tasteless as Carter’s comment.
When the check comes, it’s a battle to the death