Page 89 of Take What You Want

Cranberry juice and vodka spray out of my mouth and onto the pavement as I choke on a laugh. “Well,” I cough, “I can see how that is quite annoying.”

“Extremely.” Hallie smirks. “He stopped coming by my desk the week after you left when he realized he wasn’t going to get any updates about you.”

“Why would he even be asking you?” He didn’t care enough about me while we were dating, so I don’t know why he’d care what I’m up to now that we’ve broken up.

Hallie crosses her ankles and leans back on the striped cushion. “Because he knows he fucked up.”

Why do the men in my life realize they fucked up after the fact, and not before they even make the mistake to begin with?

Hallie switches the subject. “Are you ever going to come back?” she asks solemnly, like she already knows my answer.

I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m finally working with the clientele that I want to out here. My boss trusts me, and it truly feels like a team, not a boy's club.”

“Are they hiring?”

“I’ll see.” I chuckle. “But I don’t know. The last time I emailed Chester, I didn’t even get a response. So at this point, I don’t even know if I’m welcome back, or if I’d even have a job at the expansion office here.”

“Would you even want it if you did?”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I know our friendship is deeper than working at the same place. “No. I don’t think so.”

Hallie’s face drops but after a moment, she smiles. “I get it. I can see how much happier you are out here.”

“You can?” I haven’t felt very happy the past few days.

“And I assume it doesn’t only have to do with the new job, but also maybe a certain roommate of yours?”

A groan spills from my lips as I wave her off. “Not now. You just got here. Let’s just enjoy this beautiful day, okay?”

She arches a brow at me, tsking. “Fine, but you’re not getting out of that one. I need to hear everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I sigh, letting my head fall back against the lounger as I pull sunglasses over my eyes. “Now, whose hand was that in your story from The Point last weekend?”

Hallieand I spend the afternoon by the pool, catching up and cooling off in the water before we go to Rodeo Drive for some window shopping. Browsing is just as fun for the two of us andwe pick up dinner on the way home so we can eat in the theater room while watching one of our favorite movies.

After our first bottle of wine, I let Hallie take her pick from Nikolai’s temperature controlled wine cellar. She gawks at the rows and rows of bottles.

“How can one person have this many bottles of wine?”

“You can take as many as you can fit in your suitcase.”

Hallie gapes at me. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “He wouldn’t care.” If anything, Nikolai would probably be happier that they get consumed by someone who appreciates them more. When I first saw the cellar, I was shocked by his collection and even more so when he told me that most of them were gifts. From label executives, agents trying to woo him away from Arun, fellow artists trying to show off or suck up.

If they knew the real Nikolai like I do, they wouldn’t bother with expensive bottles of wine. They’re wasted on him.

He loves nothing more than the Russian vodka from his mom.

“How is it living with a roommate again?” she asks as we make our way back into the theater room and retake our seats on the plush, leather recliners.

It’s so weird to hear Nikolai referred to as my roommate when he’s so much more than that, but also not at the same time. “It’s been fine. We’re both busy, but our schedules also make us two planes passing in the sky sometimes.” More like when I want to avoid him and not confront feelings I don’t want to acknowledge, I can.

“Please tell me you’ve slept with him.” Her eyes spark.

“Nope.”

“Damn shame.”

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