Page 34 of The Marriage Bid
“Everything I’ve known about you has been against my will.”
“Sure. Sure.”
“Fuck you, Tyler.”
“Been there, done that. Got the t-shirt.”
The gall to slam my words back at me. I got out of my seat and went to the opposite side of the plane before I punched his pretty face. He was insufferable. A jerk. And I would be more than happy to be rid of him finally.
???
“You’re back!” Malaya screamed when she saw me at my desk the following morning. “Why didn’t you give yourself some time to rest?”
“I’ll rest when I am done with H&H. Unless, of course, you want to offload it and give me Rainsuite instead.”
She sighed. “You know I can’t do that.”
Malaya had gotten the Rainsuite deal after a friend from her high school had asked her if she was still working in interior design. This led to the friend introducing her to her real estatedeveloper boyfriend, who wanted someone to do designs for homes he would be selling. The boyfriend was impressed with Malaya’s work that he only wanted her and only her to do the work. Which I totally understand; Malaya is good. But this meant we were now busier than ever. After our initial hiring spree, Malaya and I were thinking of going on another one. She had suggested it after she had called, telling me about the Rainsuite deal she had clinched. There was just too much work now for the boutique office we were running.
“You’re right,” I said. “I feel like a lead weight dragging us down. You’re bringing in all the clients.”
Malaya bent her head to the side. “Come on. You were the one who kept us afloat with your previous contacts.”
“One-time clients. If we nail Rainsuite, we could have a consistent client on the books.”
“Rainsuite and H&H. How was Italy, by the way?”
“Uh, fine.” I spoke too fast and winced. If there was anyone who could easily catch if something was off, it was Malaya.
“Why does it sound like it wasn’t?” Her face fell in horror. “Please don’t tell me they refused to make the sofas.”
“Oh no, it’s not that. That went well.”
“Except for…”
“Except for nothing.” I turned back to my laptop as though I were doing real, important work.
“Ah, I see. You went to the romantic city of Florence via Gulfstream Airways with your sexy husband, and you two got to,” she mimicked her finger entering a hole.
“Nothing of the sort happened or could have happened. He had his employees with him,” I lied.
“It’s not as if they’re with him the entire time. I heard your room was next to his.”
“How did you even know about that!”
Malaya sat down in her chair with dramatic flair. “I have contacts. So how was it? I heard you got a really great suite. From the sound of it, I would have thought he was trying to get into your pants. But maybe I was mistaken.”
“What do you mean? It was Lindy who got that suite.” Tyler was probably smarting, but it was probably too late to do anything about it.
“Uh, no. Tyler was the one who bumped you up.” She raised her hands in the air. “At least that’s what I heard.”
“You should gossip less with the clients.”
She flashed a knowing grin. “How else am I to get business?”
“I can’t with you,” I chuckled.
Kayla buzzed my desk phone. “A call from H&H for you,” she said. What now? I didn’t have a meeting with them until the following week. “Put them through,” I said.
