Page 9 of Don't You Dare Marry Me

Greer laughed at that. Abagail shot Greer a sharp look. She didn’t need both of them to come after her like that. “And you can cut it out, too.”

Greer put her hands up in the air. She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face, but she was giving in to Abagail’s demand. Greer focused on Nicola, her lips keeping that ever-present smile she always wore. “What do you do for work?”

Nicola frowned. “I uh… don’t work right now.”

“She quit her job when Warren told her that he wouldn’t marry a woman with a job.” Abagail tossed back her third drink of the night. “And the idiot agreed with him and did it.”

“Again Abagail, don’t be a jerk,” Greer said, pointedly.

“Would you do that? If Ivy, Lachlan, and Nathalie told you today that you could live with them, but they wouldn’t pay you anymore, would you do it?” Abagail looked at her directly.“Think about it. Because if you end up in a relationship with them, why would they pay you? A woman’s labor is often considered free labor. Don’t be stupid enough to fall into the trap that the patriarchy has set for you.”

Greer paled slightly, and Abagail knew she’d pushed it too far. But the point she was making wasn’t solely for Greer’s sake, it was for Nicola’s. “You don’t think they’ll do that, do you?”

“I don’t know.” Abagail squared her shoulders. “I don’t know them well enough, and neither do you. You’ve worked for them for how long? Four months? That doesn’t mean you know them at all. And it’s not like you know how they’re going to react if you ask them for more than just a roll in the hay.”

“Abagail!” Greer squeaked.

“She doesn’t know you.” Abagail waved Nicola off. “Forget she’s here.”

“Why are you being such an asshole?” Greer frowned at her. “This isn’t like you.”

“You know me through Elia.Thisis different.” Abagail pressed her hand down on the table and leaned in toward Greer, effectively shutting Nicola out of the conversation. It’d be a good way to prove exactly how the conversation was going to go from here on out.

“She’s family,” Greer mumbled.

Abagail barked out a laugh. “Fuck family.”

“Well, I agree with the sentiment, but that doesn’t mean you need to be a bitch about it.”

“Fine.” Abagail pointedly looked at Nicola. “You’re broke, you need a job, and you’re out a rich sugar daddy to support you. So you’re here for…what exactly? Because I doubt that Warren told you to bring this to me. You could have very easily given it back to him.”

Nicola turned her chin up, sending Abagail a thousand-watt smile. “I could have. But I needed to talk to you.”

“Talk to me? Oh, this better be good.” Abagail sat back in her chair and crossed her arms with an expectant look on her face. She glanced at Greer, as if making her point that she didn’t have to be an asshole.

“I just need some cash to make it through a few weeks until I can get a job.”

“And here it begins.” Abagail rolled her eyes, her point proven. “How much?”

“Two thousand, that’s it.” Nicola sent Abagail another smile. Was she toying with Abagail? She wasn’t even bothered by Abagail’s flippant and dismissive tone. And there was that undertone of flirting that she always seemed to have when they talked.

“Onlytwo thousand. And you can’t ask Warren for it because he’ll tell you no.”

“Of course he will.” Nicola leaned forward, her low-cut shirt showing off her cleavage.

Was this a seduction? Nicola had certainly seemed to come in here with a plan, and she was taking full advantage of the fact that Greer was forcing Abagail to even have this conversation. But what was she going to do about that fact?

Absolutely nothing.

“I’ll give you the two grand, but for a price,” Abagail lowered her voice, the idea hitting her far more quickly than she imagined it would. If Nicola was that desperate for money, then perhaps she knew why Warren had jumped out of bed with her and into bed with Chaya. Abagail held back the sneer that wanted to twist her face. Because she hated Chaya. And the last thing she wanted was for Chaya to get her hands on the family money.

“And I think I’m out of here.” Greer stood up from the table, awkwardly hitting her knee against the top of it as she moved. Abagail focused on her, confused as to why she was leaving whenshe was the one who had started this conversation in the first place. “And Abagail, if you can afford to give her two grand, you can afford to pay for my drink tonight because I don’t really want to be present for this any longer. Thanks for the advice.”

Abagail looked at her curiously. “What advice?”

“To break up with them.”

That’s right. Abagail had told Greer to end her relationship with her three bosses. “Will you?”

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