Page 526 of The Sinner: James

“I finished the book,” I say cheerfully this time.

A smile brightens her face.

“That’s fantastic. You should’ve told me, and I would’ve bought a bottle of wine to celebrate it.”

“This is just as good,” I say, pointing to the food and drinks on the table.

I go quiet, tipping my gaze down.

“But this is not why you’re here,” she says.

I slump back in my seat.

“I’m thinking about selling my company,” I say, looking at her this time.

“And you needed to make a trip to New York to do that?”

I shrug.

“I don’t know... Probably not. But I felt like I needed to do something.”

She slides her cup onto the table before setting her elbows down.

“I don’t understand,” she says, no longer smiling. “Why are you so bothered with your company? Doesn’t it make money?”

“It does.”

“But you feel like doing something else.”

“Sort of. And it’s a good time to sell.”

“Do you have any buyers?”

“That’s why I’m here. I want to talk to David Moore.”

Her eyebrows go up.

“Couldn’t you just call him?”

“I know he’s in New York. I wanted to talk to him face to face.”

“How do you know he’s in New York?”

“James told me.”

“Does he know about your plan?”

“No.”

She crashes back into her seat, slightly disappointed.

“You don’t see a problem with that?”

“I’m not doing anything wrong. It’s my company, and I want to sell it. I hope David will be interested in buying it. He knows the ins and outs of it. He helped me set it up, so why not?”

“And you don’t see a problem with that...” she says for the second time, smiling.

“No.”

---