Page 79 of Emergency Exit
“And for that, I will feed you all my tiramisu.” It was a stupid joke, and he wished he hadn’t made it. He wished he’d said something heartfelt and meaningful.
Harper laughed and set down her napkin on the table. “No, you won’t. Because I’m going to run to the restroom, and even if I sat here the whole time, I still wouldn’t eat your weird coffee cake. I only like the mascarpone layers.”
“My cheese is all yours,” promised Ash as she stood up.
Ash sighed and sank down in his chair as Harper left the table. Why couldn’t he ever just say how he felt?
“You know what would make you feel better?” asked a soft voice, and Ash looked up at Emma. As usual, she had an understated glamor. Taller and thinner than Harper, with a more restrained style, he had always thought Emma stood out through simply being naturally beautiful. Or at least as natural as money could make her appear. He’d always felt too messy next to her—a slob who was being given the grace of her attendance.
“What you need is a strong whiskey and a night away,” said Emma. “We could pop over to Malibu. Taking a few days off wouldn’t hurt you.”
Ash could picture the sharp salt breeze off the beach and a pink-tinged sunset. It would be restful.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” said Ash, tucking away the Malibu idea for later. A weekend away with Harper would be perfect once he got through New Year’s and the Miller project.
“Ash,” said Emma sadly, sitting in Harper’s chair. “I know I screwed up, but how are we supposed to work through this if you won’t even talk to me?”
“Work through this? Emma! For fuck’s sake, you were...” He glanced around the restaurant. People knew him here. He didn’t want to discuss this in public. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You were ripping me off!”
“OK, I get that now, but I really didn’t think that’s what I was doing!” said Emma.
Ash paused. “What?”
“Daddy does stuff like this all the time.”
He had no trouble believing that. Emma’s father, on the few occasions they had met, had put Ash in mind of frat boy cheese. It was as if whatever culture had initially gone into the man had solidified down to a hard rind and a vaguely unpleasant smell.
“And you always said to give people investment packets. I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
“Emma, please. You had to know the difference between proprietary information and information I hand out. You went behind my back and got the information off my computer.”
“I knew you wouldn’t like it, but you always get anxious about new people. You overthink everything. I thought I was helping.”
Ash didn’t have a response for that. She was right. He did get anxious. He did overthink. Or he never thought at all. Was it possible that she really had thought she was helping?
“You know I always try to take care of you,” said Emma.
That was true. Emma had always…
“How?” asked Ash.
“What?”
“How have you taken care of me?”
It was Emma’s turn to stare. “I help you achieve your goals,” she said at last. “You always said you wanted to be more sophisticated, and I help with that.”
“Right. You picked out my clothes. Tried to stop me from buying a blue couch.”
“Yes,” said Emma, nodding and looking relieved. “Exactly.”
“Reminded me to eat when I’ve been working all day. Oh, wait, that’s Romeo.”
“Well, you do pay him to be your assistant. Although, I wish you would get some who wasn’t quite so, you know, round. Has he thought about Ozempic?”
“You don’t like Mel either.”
“That’s not fair! It’s not that I don’t like her! Call me old-fashioned if you want, but I don’t like that you work with Mel day in and day out. Although, I guess the monogamous ship has sailed a bit since you’ve been palling around with that obnoxious little brunette. Honestly, Ash. Couldn’t you find someone a little more tasteful? I know you want to look like you’ve moved on, but who will believe you’ve gone from me to her and are happy about it?”
