Page 131 of Best In Class
The only soft touch is the long silk scarf tied around the neck of a tall brass lamp, which flutters as the AC kicks on.
She bought that scarf after her divorce when she went to Paris alone. I think it’s the only sentimental thing in her office.
“He wants to marry me,” I tell her, gleefully.
Nina exhales and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I swear, if I hear one more engagement story over a CAD file, I’m going to start drafting prenups as part of onboarding.”
I grin, leaning against her doorway with my coffee. “You mean you’re not secretly thrilled that Savannah Lace is now known for skyline-altering designandlife-altering romance?”
Her eyes flick up, her expression dry as ever. “Luna, we’ve had four engagements, two weddings, one pregnancy, and an office-wide debate over whether a bridal shower counts as billable time.”
“Thatwas a productive debate.” I lean back in my chair.
She makes a dissenting sound. If a man made it, we’d call it a grunt, but Nina is too polished for that.
“How are things with Diego?” I ask.
That earns me a sigh. And a long silence.
Then, quietly, she says, “It’s complicated.”
I blink. “You just said themagicword. You never saycomplicated.”
She gives me a look that asks, ‘Really?’ without saying a word.
“Look, I don’t like talking about such…private matters,” she says, tucking a curl behind her ear. Her hair is pulled into a low twist today, a few salt-and-pepper strands loose against her temple.
“I know, but I’m your BFF! So, spill!”
That gets a twitch of a smile.
Nina presses her lips together and shakes her head. “Samwill lose his mind when he finds out I’m dating a man years younger than me.”
“Diego is like five years younger than you. Big deal.”
“You saw Sam at your parents’ anniversary party.”
I nod wearily. “He’s a complete douchebag.”
Sam made a snide comment about a project Savannah Lace supposedly lost to his firm, tossing it out like proof of Nina’s failure. I reminded him—loudly enough for the nearby guests to hear—about the Savannah bridge project his company lost to us, which was a major coup.
Nina, for her part, stood tall and poised, like a queen too dignified to swat at a buzzing fly.
“He’s powerful. Petty. He’s got friends in every corner of this city, and he doesn’t take rejection well. When I filed for divorce and laid out the adultery receipts in court, I humiliated him. He’s been biding his time ever since.”
I hunch forward, knuckles tapping lightly on the counter. “You’re scared of what he’ll do?”
“I’m scared of the damage he’ll try to cause,” she counters. There’s a flicker of something broken in her eyes. “I’m scared for Bianca. I’m scared he’ll drag Diego into something ugly just to spite me. I’m not scared ofhim. I’mtiredof him.”
My throat tightens. Nina is indomitable. Never afraid of anything. The strongest woman I know.
“You know, Lev works in lumber and Noah in construction, I’m sure they know shady characters if you want them to work Sam up in a dark alley or something,” I joke.
She gives me a smile like a sigh, quiet and full of oldweight. “Now, wouldn’t that be lovely.Butthe moron is my daughter’s father, and she adores him. He may have cheated on me and treated me like crap, but he loves Bianca. I won’t interfere with that.”
“Vengeful wife versus good mother?”
“Yeah.” She rests her elbows on her desk. “And good mother always wins.”
