Page 90 of The Hookup
“Because he’s Geoffrey.” The more she thought about it, she saw that Geoffrey had been distant with her ever since she’d landed the Pembroke deal. At first she had thought that he was just being a dickhead because she’d snubbed his advances at the club, but as time went on, she was starting to think otherwise. He hadn’t hidden his displeasure when Remington gave her the account, but she was used to it; used to having to fight harder to get ahead in the corporate world.
But Geoffrey was as ambitious as she was, and he no longer masked his simmering resentment as easily. She had heard from others that he’d made a few chauvinistic remarks on the sly. She would have challenged them, had she not been too preoccupied by her current workload.
She didn’t want this to mess up the Pembroke deal, and all her attention and energy were directed there. Even Luke ceased to take up any of her thoughts.
Too many late nights weren’t good for her, and Erin was right. She wasn’t going to finish all her work overnight. There would be other fires to put out tomorrow. The work never stopped. Geoffrey, or Remington, or both of them, and others, would put more obstacles in her way.
“Let’s go,” she said, suddenly deciding to do it now. Why have the weight of splitting with Luke hanging over her head? Why not just sever the ties now?
“You’ve changed your mind?” Erin asked, clearly perked up by this sudden turn of events.
At the back of her mind she was already working out her strategy. If she showed up with Erin now, she would feel empowered to do it.
She had convinced herself that she was busy at work and couldn’t have a social life, but the truth was she was being a recluse. She could have made time, just like she had before, but she was choosing to hibernate in her office. Not facing Luke, not even going to see Savannah, she had avoided contact with others. This current funk had to stop. In fact, more than Luke, it was Savannah she felt the urge to visit, not only because it was her perspective and sage advice that she needed the most, but because she needed to offload, and she couldn’t do that with Erin. But Savannah would also be bitterly disappointed in her if she confessed about the current state of her life.
She would figure out how to approach her cousin later. There was a more pressing issue that she had to deal with, and tonight Erin would be her wing woman.
An hour later they were sitting across the table from one another, on the usual big comfy couches she had come to know so well.
She had lied when Erin had asked her how her Valentine’s Day had evening had gone. She had lied through her teeth and said Luke had come over, and bought her some expensive lingerie. Erin had made a crude joke, which she had ignored.
She craned her neck and looked around the semi-crowded place, hoping to get a glimpse of Luke, but he was nowhere in sight. Her hopes deflated. It would have been the perfect time to confront him. The bar was relatively quiet, and she could have said what she needed to him here in public, but away from prying ears, and then she would have been done with it.
But if he wasn’t around …
Disappointed, she looked around the room again and caught sight of Marie, sitting with her back to her. Kay was surprised to see that she was still here because Marie had mentioned that she didn’t often work late. It made her wonder if Luke had gone away on business.
The sneaky little rat.
That would be typical of him, to go away for a few days and not think to tell her. She excused herself and strode across the terrace to Marie.
“Hey, Marie.” She tapped the woman’s shoulder. Marie turned around, and she looked wary. Dark circles under her eyes gave her the expression of someone who hadn’t slept well.
“Hey,” Marie replied, her tone quieter than she last remembered. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve had better days. My friend dragged me here.”
“Dragged? I didn’t think we had to drag you here. I noticed we haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Work’s manic,” Kay replied tucking her hair behind her ears, getting fidgety. “I was looking for Luke but he’s not around. Is he away?”
“He’s … busy.”
“He’s always busy,” she laughed, her insides going all smooshy. She’d felt tense from the moment she’d set foot in here, and just wanted it all over with. “Where is he?” She would go to his apartment if she needed to, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to sleep well tonight with this unfinished business hanging over her head like a dangling sword.
Marie opened her mouth but didn’t answer straight away. “He’s been...uh… busy with the new site.”
Kay sensed Marie’s hesitation and wondered if Luke had said something to her. Her reply at least indicated that he was still in town. This was worse; knowing that he was here, in New York, and still hadn’t bothered to call her after that last awkward meeting. It proved to her that he didn’t care.
She stared back at Marie’s impassive face, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind her expression. Had the slimy toad ditched her without having the balls to tell her to her face? It might explain why Marie was looking at her with something that bordered on pity.
Folding her arms, she asked, “Is he in his office? I need to speak to him.” There were still some things she needed to say to him, even though he’d beaten her to the splitting up.
“I’ll get him to call you.”
“Is he avoiding me?”
Marie sat up and leaned back against the chair. “He didn’t call to tell you?”
