Page 43 of Damaged Mogul
I roll my eyes. “Exactly.”
“On the plus side, it was an excuse to go shopping.”
“It was.”
“Please tell me LA isn’t sunny all the time,” she says, “because it’s been raining cats and dogs here in Paris for the last week or so. Hence why I’m wearing this”—she pulls at her white sweatshirt—“instead of a cute little top like yours.”
The sweatshirts were gag gifts from last Christmas. We exchanged personalized Vogue cover sweatshirts. Hers has my face. Mine has hers.
“Okay, I’ll lie and tell you, LA isn’t sunny all the time.”
“God, I hate you,” she says, mustering a menacing stare.
“Muah!” I send her a Hollywood kiss. “Love you, too, babe.”
“Moving right along.” She rolls her eyes. “How was shopping in LA, versus New York, London, or Paris?”
“Different cities, different experiences,” I say. “Beverly Hills is the height of opulence.”
“If you end up going to school in Los Angeles, I’m visiting for sure,” she says.
“You better.”
She grins.
“Speaking of which, how was tonight’s event?” I’m about to respond, but she lifts a hand. “Bravo on the couture.”
“You didn’t mind the dozen selfies I sent?”
She shakes her head. “I was able to admire the dress from every angle.”
“You’re such a good friend.”
“And you—” she points a finger at me—“were as glam as a Hollywood movie star.”
I beam. “I felt like one.”
“You were totally giving off vibes of a blue-eyed Jane Russell.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“I’m serious.”
More beaming on my part.
“You wore the necklace.”
My hands touch it. “I wanted to show it off.”
“Did anyone ask you about it?”
“A flamboyant blonde agent I was talking to inquired about the name and address of my jeweler in Paris.”
“Did you tell her who designed it?”
“No. It’s still my secret to keep.”
“Oh là là.” Nadine huffs in exasperation. “That’s what you should be focusing on now that you’re back in America. Not fulfilling your father’s self-serving wishes. Instead of buying a PR agency and putting you ‘in charge’”—the fingers of one hand form air quotes—“why not place a lackey he can control in the top position and call it a day?”
