Page 96 of The Bonus

Gabriel sinks into a chair at the dining table and I flick on the coffee machine.

Shit…I search my mind for the next thing to say.

I glance over my shoulder to see him looking around my house, I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. Everything in his world is opulent and over-the-top luxury and this is a little log cabin on the lake where everything is homemade. Even our cushions on the couch are crocheted, not that I like them. Mavis down the road makes me all kinds of ugly shit. The kids think her creations are marvelous and who am I to be a grinch.

I put Gabriel’s coffee down on the table and take a seat beside him.

“So…” I shrug.

“So…”

“You.” I swallow the bucket of sand in my throat. “I’m assuming the results are back.”

“Yes.” His eyes hold mine. “How were you so sure?”

“Because I don’t sleep around, and you know that.”

He rolls his lips and remains silent.

“So what happens now?”

He sips his coffee and winces. “Ugh. What is this fucking shit?”

“Coffee, Gabriel.”

“Christ almighty, you still make the worst fucking cup of coffee.” He pushes his cup forward. “That’s inedible.”

“You drink it, not eat it,” I snap.

He raises an eyebrow as a silent warning, and I widen my eyes back. “Don’t.”

“Don’t you.”

God, this is never going to work.

We fall silent for a while.

Finally, I ask him what I need to know. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to make the arrangements.”

Arrangements?

“For what?”

“You’re going to have to move back to New York.”

“Sorry…?”

“I’m very busy with a lot on and I don’t have time to be coming out here.”

What?

“Of course I will cover the costs and get you a nice place, the movers will pack for you and everything will be taken care of.”

I stare at him as I have an out-of-body experience.

“I was thinking of my penthouse in Park Avenue, you may decorate it however you wish, I suppose.” He thinks for a moment. “But I want to get a say on the interior designer you choose.”

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